Tamales (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Stephan Pyles (Author), John Sedlar (Author), John Harrisson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Fresh takes on tamales–from three pioneers of modern Southwestern cuisine

Inexpensive and easy to make, tamales–those delectable little packages of corn masa dough with a tasty filling and wrapped in a dried corn husk–are one of the most versatile, and increasingly popular, dishes of Southwestern and Mexican cooking. This beautiful book brings together the "top tamales" of three acclaimed southwestern chefs, who pack a delicious array of flavors into renditions that range from the classic to the exotic: Ratatouille Tamales with Rosemary-Queso Fresco Pesto, Lamb Tamales with Mint, Black Beans, and Blackened Tomato and Mint Salsa, and even Chocolate Bread Pudding Tamales. With photographs and illustrations, this book offers a wonderful contemporary introduction to what could be called North America’s "original" wrap.

Mark Miller (Santa Fe, NM) a is a partner in two restaurants, Red Sage in Washington, DC and Wildfire in Sydney, Australia. He owns Coyote Café in Las Vegas.
Stephan Pyles (Dallas, TX) is the first Texan inducted into Who's Who of Food and Wine in America. His restaurant, Star Canyon, has been on the list of "best new restaurants" in Esquire, Bon Appétit, and Town & Country.
John Sedlar (Santa Monica, CA) was declared by Gourmet as "the father of modern Southwest cuisine." He has made frequent television appearances on such programs as the Today show, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, CBS This Morning, CNN, and the Food Network.

From the Inside Flap

Tamales—little packages of corn mass dough typically containing a tasty filling and wrapped in a dried corn husk—are an increasingly popular feature of Southwestern and Mexican cooking. They are inexpensive, easy to prepare, and highly versatile—they can be made with all types of fillings and in limitless styles. In Tamales, three pioneers of America's modern Southwestern cuisine present their imaginative and delicious takes on this exciting wrapped food.
The three chefs introduce readers to the many kinds of masa, or dough, with which tamales can be filled. The rich and vibrant flavors range from chipole chiles to red Thai curry. The authors also guide the reader in the basics of tamale making—stuffing, wrapping, and cooking—clarifying the steps and demystifying tamale preparation.
The tamales themselves contain worlds of flavorful diversity. There are vegetarian tamales such as Ratatouille Tamales with Rosemary-Queso Fresco Pesto; Roasted Potato, Garlic, and Sun-Dried Tomato Tamales; and Asparagus and Hollandaise Tamales. The seafood tamales include the flavors of Caribbean jerk shrimp, Lobster Newburg, and smoked salmon with horseradish crema. Poultry is a natural tamale filling. Try Arroz con Pollo Tamales, Squab-Chestnut Tamales with Red Cabbage Chow Chow, or Chicken Tamales with Mole Poblano.
Meat-filled tamales range from Coriander-Cured Beef Tamales with Barbecue-Onion Marmalade to Lamb Tamales with Mint, Black Beans, and Blackened Tomato and Mint Salsa. Tamales even make wonderful, innovative desserts; the inspired recipes in this book include Ginger-Sticky Rice Tamales with Mango and Basil, Mom's Apple Pie Tamales, and Chocolate Bread Pudding Tamales.
Tamales are quickly becoming one of America's favorite wrapped foods. It's no wonder: they welcome any flavoring and suit every occasion. After tasting these outstanding recipes, you'll realize it's true that good things come in small packages.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons (December 19, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028613279
• ISBN-13: 978-0028613277
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #193,864 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Cookbook, November 7, 2000

By	Scott McPherren (Milwaukee, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This is one of my favorite cookbooks. I have made several of the recipes in this book and all have turned out excellent. The arroz con pollo recipe is my personal favorite, my friends and family agree! This is not a "quick" cookbook, however, many of the recipes I have tried require several hours. Many recipes require roasting peppers, rehydrating dried chiles, and chopping lots of veggies. Fortunately most of the work is prep work, towards the end of the recipe it's "put the skillet in the oven and bake for 40 minutes" or "steam the tamales for 25 minutes" which means if you time it right, you still have time to get ready for the guests to arrive after all the messy stuff is done, while the meal is still cooking. Also, if you want, prepare the tamales and put 'em in the fridge, a great idea if you have several hours before the guests arrive. And don't worry if you can't find dried corn husks or banana leaves, plastic wrap works fine in their place (they suggest this in the intro, as well as a dozen other items that can make these recipes easier). If you like Mexican food, and like spending a few hours in the kitchen just so your guests say "this is the best food I have ever had!" then this is a book you want to take a look at.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CUT A TAMALE MANY, MANY WAYS, March 10, 2004

By	M. L Martindale "Owner/Operator http://www.Fo... (LARGO, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

TAMALES
By Mark Miller, Stephan Pyles, and John Sedlar with John Harrison
Photographer: Lois Ellen Frank

If you are not Latino or never lived in the southwest, chances are your first tamale was a strange little package, wrapped and tied as a bundle inside an early TV dinner. Further, it was probably pale red, mushy and you liked the nearby enchilada better.

Tamales become gourmet, fusion cuisine in this book, and your ideas for more can be endless. Basically think of a tamale as a house in structure. It has its foundation, living rooms and finally the roof. With tamales the foundation is a corn husk wrapper lined with masa dough, the living area is the filling and the roof a tantalizing sauce. Tamales can be vegetarian, seafood, poultry, any meat or desserts, depending on ingredients. Tamales, the lined corn husk wrapped around and filling and cooked over steam.

The masa base for the dough is large-kernel corn which looks like hominy. It is dried, cooked in limewater, drained, dried again and ground into flour. You can also purchase it, then proceed with one of the book's intriguing flavored masa dough recipes. Some variations include:

Roasted Corn Tamale Masa Dough
Wild Mushroom-Chipotle Tamale Massa Dough
Red Thai Curry Tamale Massa Dough
Habanero-Blackened Tomato Tamale Massa Dough
plus many more.

Just a few of the filling and sauce recipes are:

Wild Mushroom and White Truffle Tamales
Artichoke and Sun-Dried Tomato Tamales with Olive Oil and Saffron
Salmon Tamales with Red Pepper Masa and Mole Amarillo
Shrimp Tamales with Ranchero Sauce
Clam Tamales with Fennel and Chayote-Melon Salsa
Chicken Tamales with Mole Poblano
Duck Tamales with Pineapple and Chipotle
Bittersweet Chocolate Tamales with Anchos, Prunes and Raisins (one of several dessert tamales)

Apt headnotes identify newly-introduced ingredients and clarify each recipe's mission. Helpful, too, is the book's section, Basic Recipes, Sauces, and Techniques. In it they cover such steps as blackening tomatoes, tomatillos, chiles, and onions. It also goes into how to process chiles, toast herbs and spices and make delicious stocks.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh Gourmet Tamales---Sandwich of SW-Mex Cuisine, September 23, 2004

By	rodboomboom (Dearborn, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

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Here are three superb chefs who know their stuff about tamales, even going together to Oaxaca to learn firsthand the traditions handed down over three thousand years of tamale practice.

It's all here, from masa, wrappers, steaming techniques, then recipes, glorious recipes using fowl, seafood, even wonderful dessert tamales.

Just a few is all that I've been able to attempt. It does take effort and devoted time to do these correctly, especially for those who have not attempted such before. But as others profess, the results are worth it! One that particularly grabbed my tastebud attention was Escargot Forestiere made with snails, ham, mushrooms, with flavorful Merlot Veal stock. This turned out absolutely unbelievable, reminding me somewhat of Esgargot Under Pastry, which is one of my favorites. Being the exploring non-traditionalist that I am when first attempting something, I turned to an exotic dessert tamale also: Arborio Rice-Dried Fruit Pudding Tamales with Rum Cream. It was rich and outstanding, the perfect finale dish for any who enjoy Rice Pudding.

This is truly a great resource to play with and explore different flavor combos, what cooking is about and when it becomes fun. This cookbook is one of those that inspires going off it one's own culinary directions, having seen what these three Tamale Masters do.

There is great source section and even dinner plate source info if desired.

This is great one-dish specialty cookbook from three great chefs! Already familiar with the likes of Miller and Pyles, neat to learn from Sedler, who has some of my favorites from this. Great photos and written text.