My family’s stories come wrapped in tamales. Making tamales at Christmas, I learned what it takes to make a good filling. I learned the secrets wrapped in masa and cornhusks.  I learned what filled up my mama. Each year, as the Texas air chills, we assemble four generations of family for our annual tamalada. My sisters, my aunts, my cousins, my mother, my grandmother, my daughter and I gather.  Family fills my kitchen.  We are an aproned army guided by women. We carry on a tradition that dates back centuries, to the Aztecs and Mayans, to the generations before us. Our tamales bear our signature in corn masa; a soft, moist dough spread like thick, golden paint on a cornhusk. The masa is filled with just the right amount of pork, beans, chicken, cheese or peppers. The tamale is then wrapped in water-softened cornhusks and steamed. When we’d fill our tamales, my grandmother would say “never too much, never too little.” The balance between the inside filling and the outside layer is the secret in each tamale. Joined by friends and family, our kitchen packs a revolving crew of cooks, choppers, spreaders, fillers and wrappers. Tejano music mingles with Christmas … Continue reading The Truth in Tamales