Pineapple tamales

Holiday Sweet Tamales
Makes 50 tamales

5 lbs. Maseca Masa Harina

12 oz. brown sugar
2 T. baking powder

46 oz. chicken broth (College Inn)

46 oz. pineapple, crushed, in juice

1 lb. raisins

2 oz. red food color

1-1/2 lbs. Manteca (lard) Armour

50 corn husk leaves, soaked in warm water for 30 min.

The Masa: Put Masa in bowl. Add sugar, baking powder, chicken broth, pineapple juice only, and Manteca. Work by hand 5 min. or ?til thoroughly mixed and texture is smooth and even. Add food color and mix until is a soft pink color.
The filling: Combine pineapple and raisins in a separate bowl and mix well.

The tamales: Place part of the dough in a corn husk and spread evenly, leaving 1 to 2 in. of exposed corn husk at each end and at bottom tapered end. Add 1T. of pineapple and raisin mixture in center of dough and bring sides of corn husk together, folding the dough. Tuck one side of husk under the other and roll up tamale so dough is completely enclosed inside husk. Fold bottom tapered end up and place tamale in steamer pot, keeping fold in place. Repeat for each tamale.

Steam 30 to 35 min. over boiling water, adding hot water as needed to keep steam constant. Tamales are done when firm to touch but not hard, and dough comes away easily from the husk.

PINEAPPLE FILLED EMPANADAS.

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Pineapple Filled EMPANADAS
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 cup flour
1 cup fruit preserves
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Day Before: Cream butter and cream cheese together until smoothly blended. Beat in the flour. Shape dough into a smooth ball, wrap in foil or cling wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to a week.

At Baking Time: Remove dough from refrigerator 30 minutes before using. Preheat oven to 375. Roll chilled dough thin. Cut with 3 or 4 inch round cookie cutter. Place small spoonful of jam in center of each round, moisten edges with water. Fold round over and press edges together. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet 15 to 20 minutes.
Immediately roll in sugar mixed with cinnamon or powdered sugar.

PINEAPPLE FILLING
1 (13 oz.) can crushed pineapple
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. butter

Cook pineapple, sugar and cornstarch until thick. Add butter while warm. Cool before using.

POCKET TACOS.

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A yummy, deep fried, slightly sweet bread that you open and stuff with taco fillings.

1 package yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 cup warm water (120-130 degrees)
1 well beaten egg
1 tsp salt
4 Tbsp sugar
3 3/4 cup flour
Oil

Mix all together and kneed until smooth. Form into 4 equal balls. Cover and rise until double in size. Flatten each ball like a pancake. Cut in half and deep fry in fairly hot oil. To serve, cut a slit in the straight side to make a pocket and stuff with favorite taco fillings. Makes 8 pocket tacos. Makes 8 pocket tacos (1 or 2 per person)

                                sweet  tamales

Sweet Tamales With Raisins and Pineapple
Recipe by Rick Bayless

authentic mexican by rick bayless

Yield: 24 tamales

I N G R E D I E N T S
1 8-ounce package dried corn husks
1 medium-size fresh ripe pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into rough cubes
10 ounces (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter, rich-tasting pork lard or vegetable shortening (or use a combination), slightly softened but not at all runny
1 1/3 cups sugar
Salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 pounds (about 4 cups) fresh coarse-ground corn masa for tamales OR 3 1/2 cups dried masa mix for tamales mixed with

2 1/4 cups hot water

2/3 cup raisins

I N S T R U C T I O N S

Preparing the cornhusks.

Cover the husks with very hot water, weight with a plate to keep them submerged, and let stand for a couple of hours until the husks are pliable.

For forming the tamales
Separate out 24 of the largest and most pliable husks?ones that are at least 6 inches across on the wider end and 6 or 7 inches long. If you can?t find enough good ones, overlap some of the large ones to give wide, sturdy surfaces to spread the batter on. Pat the chosen husks dry with a towel.

Preparing the batter.
In a food processor or blender, coarsely puree the pineapple. Measure out 2 cups puree. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter, lard and/or shortening with the sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and the baking powder until light and fluffy in texture, about 3 minutes. Continue beating as you add the masa (fresh or reconstituted) in three additions. Reduce the speed to medium-low, then add the 2 cups pineapple puree. Continue beating for another minute or so, until a 1/2-teaspoon dollop of the batter floats in a cup of cold water (if it floats you can be sure the tamales will be tender and light).

Beat in a little additional water if needed to give the mixture the consistency of soft (not runny) cake batter; it should hold its shape in a spoon.

For the lightest textured tamales, refrigerate the batter for an hour or so, then rebeat, adding enough additional water to bring the mixture to the soft consistency it had before.

Setting up the steamer.
Steaming 24 husk-wrapped tamales can be done in batches in a collapsible vegetable steamer set into a large, deep saucepan. To steam them all at once, you need something like the kettle-size tamal steamers used in Mexico or Asian stack steamers, or you can improvise by setting a wire rack on 4 coffee or custard cups in a large kettle.

It is best to line the rack or upper part of the steamer with leftover cornhusks to protect the tamales from direct contact with the steam and to add more flavor. Make sure to leave tiny spaces between the husks so condensing steam can drain off.

Forming the tamales.
Cut twenty-four 8 or 10-inch pieces of string or thin strips of cornhusks. One at a time, form the tamales: Lay out one of your chosen cornhusks with the tapering end toward you. Spread about 1/4 cup of the batter into a 4-inch square, leaving at least a 1 1/2-inch border on the side toward you and a 3/4-inch border along the other sides (with large husks, the borders will be much bigger). Sprinkle a few raisins down the center of the batter. Pick up the two long sides of the cornhusk and bring them together (this will cause the batter to surround the raisins). If the uncovered borders of the two long sides you?re holding are narrow, tuck one side under the other; if wide, then roll both sides in the same direction around the tamal. (If the husk is small, you may feel more comfortable wrapping the tamal in a second husk.) Finally, fold up the empty 1 1/2-inch section of the husk (to form a tightly closed "bottom," leaving the top open), and secure it in place by loosely tying one of the strings or strips of husk around the tamal. As they?re made, stand the tamales on their folded bottoms in the prepared steamer. Don?t tie the tamales too tightly or pack them too closely in the steamer. They need room to expand.

Steaming and serving the tamales.
When all the tamales are in the steamer, cover them with a layer of leftover cornhusks; if your husk-wrapped tamales don?t take up the entire steamer, fill in the open spaces with loosely wadded aluminum foil (to keep the tamales from falling down). Set the lid in place and steam over a constant medium heat for about 1 1/4 hours. Watch carefully that all the water doesn?t boil away and, to keep the steam steady, pour boiling water into the pot when more is necessary.

Tamales are done when the husk peels away from the masa easily. Let tamales stand in the steamer off the heat for a few minutes to firm up. For the best textured tamales, let them cool completely, then re-steam about 15 minutes to heat through.

Working Ahead:
Both filling and batter can be made several days ahead, as can the finished tamales; refrigerate, well cover. Re-steam (or even microwave) tamales before serving. For even more flexibility, batter, filling or finished tamales can be frozen. Defrost finished tamales in the refrigerator overnight before re-steaming.

Tamale Spreader Instructions
I have to admit I was a bit skeptical of using this tamale masa spreader gadget for spreading masa. But after struggling with a spoon I gave this a try and now "I'm a believer"!

Pick up ? cup of masa dough with front of spreader.

Place on husk and press to the angle of the spreader

Slide towards the bottom of the husk until the entire husk is covered.

The spreader works best with soft, warm, masa

Use the large smooth surface to spread.

For thicker masa use more masa and less pressure.

tamale masa spreader from gourmetsleuth.com

About Masa
Fresh masa dough is always preferred.You can purchase "masa for tamales" at your local tortilla factory if there is one in your area. If it is not available then we feel Maseca brand Masa is the best on the market.

cran-apple tamale turnovers

Yield

18 servings

Measure Ingredient

2 cup Cranberries

1 cup Raisins

4 medium Granny Smith Apples

1 cup Apple Juice

? cup Water

2 tablespoon Arrowroot powder

Finely Chop apples In a large saucepan combine all filling ingredients except water and arrowroot. Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes. If filling is too thin remove cover and evaporate excess liquid by simmering over low heat. Dissolve arrowroot in water and add to cranberry mixture. Stir until thick lkie stewed fruit. Fill and cook tamales, according to "Tamales: Basic Procedure" ** Hint: experiment using different types of Fruit filling. *** Vegetarian Gourmet - Summer 1993, Don Matesz ***

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                           Sweet Tamales

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 3 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Mexican

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

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12 ounces Instant grits
1/4 cup Grated coconut or chopped -- almonds
2/3 cup (3-1/2 ozs) masa harina
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
1/2 cup Unsalted butter -- cut in 4

  1/2  cup           Lard -- cut in 4 pieces
1 1/2  cups          Water or complimentary fruit -- juice
                     Shucks or wrappers of choice
                     Citrus peel ties:
3                    Oranges
3                    Lemons
4      cups          Water
  1/2  cup           Sugar

Dough: filling of choice, lemon orange sauce or Guava Sauce Have ready the
Using the metal blade, grind the grits with the coconut or almonds for abo
Using the metal blade, whip together the butter and lard for 30-45 seconds
Test the consistency of the dough by pinching off a small piece and set at
Place 1 heaping tablespoon of the dough on the prepared wrappers. Spread t
Steam for 2 to 2-1/2 hours. After 2 hours, test one tamale for doneness. T
To serve, unwrap the tamales and serve with Lemon-Orange Sauce or Guava Sa
Citrus Peel Ties are an optional tie for Sweet Tamales and make a lovely p
SWEET TAMALE FILLINGS Use about 1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons filling per tamale,
1. 2 cups fresh or canned chopped fruit, well drained. Add a light coating
(Reserve fruit juices for the dough or a sauce.) 2. 2 cups thickened homem
3. 2 cups chopped candied fruits (raisins, apricots, dates, pineapple, etc
4. 3/4 cup white seedless raisins, plumped for 30 minutes to 1 hour in 1/2 Thi
s
recipe is adapted to Cuisinart.
=============== Reply 143 of Note 4 ==============
Board: FOOD BB Topic: ETHNIC Subject: MEXICAN FOOD
To: ASXV66A JAMES KILGORE Date: 07/03 From: ASXV66A JAMES
KILGORE Time: 6:47 PM

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Mexican Tamale Dough
Ingredients

6 cups masa harina

1 cup vegetable shortening

? teaspoon of salt

2 ? to 3 cups of meat broth, heated to lukewarm.

Directions

Mix the masa with the shortening and meat broth and knead to the consistency of solid dough.

Set the dough aside in a mixing bowl, loosely covered. Now for the filling you should use your imagination but, for now how about a more traditional classic tamale filling recipe.

Yield 2 ? to 3 dozen.

Note: If the dough becomes too stiff to work later you can beat in a little hot water a tablespoon at a time.

Masa harina is flour made from ground dried corn and available in larger grocery stores.

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Sweet Blackberry Blue Corn tamale -- serves 8

Try to get blue corn masa harina for this; white or yellow will do, but blue looks prettier. Don't use ordinary corn meal; masa harina is treated with lime water and cooks differently. If you have dried corn husks, you can steam the tamales in them, otherwise use aluminum foil.

Tamale dough
    3/4 cup strained blackberry puree
    1/4 cup water
    1/2 cup sugar
    1/2 tablespoon maple syrup or molasses
    1 cup blue corn masa harina
    2 tablespoons softened butter
    1 tsp fresh lemon juice
    8 big dry husks, or 10" aliminum foil squares

Filling:
    1/2 cup finely  chopped pecans or black walnuts
    2 tablespoons maple candy rolled into crumbs OR
        2 tablespoons almond paste
Topping:    
    3/4 cup sour cream, do not use yoghurt
    1/4 cup whipping cream
    1 tsp vanilla
    1 tsp almond extract
    2 cups fresh blackberries "destemmed" and washed
    2 TBS sugar

Bring puree, water, sugar and molasses to a boil. Whisk in masa harina and stir mixture over low heat at a slow-popping bubble for 10 minutes. Stir in butter and lemon juice off heat. Mixture should be a firm, dry dough. not sticky, not crumbly.

Roll and pat dough into 8 squares on the foil or husks, leaving 1-inch edge margin at the sides and slightly more at the ends (to tie up or twist-flod closed). Use about 4 TBS per tamale. The dough should be about 1/2 inch thick or less. Now lay out a row of filling along the long center of the tamale (parallel to long sides of husk if used). Fold up each edge around it to meet in the middle -- a fat rectangle, rather than a roll -- and press edges of tamale closed at ends and top. Fold up and tie husk ends (if using),or fold up and seal shut foil. Steam tamales for 10 minutes in a steamer or wok.

While steaming, whip cream, starting with whipping cream and adding sour cream, form soft peaks, add sugar and flavorings. Remove tamales, cool slightly, open them up and put on big serving plates. Pour a little juice from berries (if some has formed) over each tamale, top with some berries (1/4 cup each) and the cream, saving a few berries to garnish each dish.

If you can find blue corn masa harina, these tamales will be a very interesting purple color from the corn and berries. It's prettier if you use maple syrup, not molasses. Note that you can use several other kinds of fillings: blackberry jam mixed with nuts, just nuts with sugar (but it tends to fall apart), nuts with some sugar and egg to hold it together, etc. You can also use a different kind of jam or jelly (strawberry, raspberry) with the nuts for a red color when the tamale is broken open. In my opinion, using jam or jelly makes it too sweet and overpowers the corn/blackberry flavors. You can also use raspberries instead of blackberries, but they are more sour, so use jam or jelly with the nuts, and don't use blue corn masa, use white or yellow corn masa, so the tamale will be pink.

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Tamara's Tamales
Milk Chocolate Tamales

6 cups basic fresh masa
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 bars (1 1/2 oz. each) milk chocolate, each broken into 12 pieces

12 large corn husks, soaked, washed, and drained, plus more for ties

Optional:
2 cups chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, strawberry coulis or whipped cream

Makes 1 Dozen Tamales

Prepare the masa.

In a large bowl, combine the masa, sugar and vanilla until well blended.

To assemble the tamales, place 1/2 cup of the masa mixture in the center of the smooth side of a corn husk. Using the back of a wet tablespoon, make an indentation down the middle of the masa and fill with 6 pieces of the chocolate. Fold both sides of the husk in toward the center, tie at both ends and prick the tamale several times using the tip of a very sharp knife to vent. Repeat for the remaining tamales.

Steam the tamales for 55 minutes or until done.

For a unique dessert, serve plain or topped with one or more of the optional ingredients.

http://www.fabulousfoods.com/cgi-bin/MasterPFP.cgi?doc=/recipes/dessert/misc/choctamales.html