Foods of Christmas Past and Present have always been one of my favorite. Who doesn’t like to eat. As a matter of fact, we just celebrated Christmas three days ago. And wow, did we eat up all that was presented before us.
Foods of Christmas past and present are traditionally in Mexico and in homes along the Texas/Mexican border I grew up with, we celebrate “Las Posadas”. Not everyone does it, but there are many families that still hold on to the traditions of the past. We do the same in the U.S. with English Christmas carols and Santa Clause. We celebrate it with lots of great tasting food and wine and other spirits.
“Las Posadas” are a reenactment of the birth of the Christ Child and the journey Mary and Joseph went through looking for a place to stay. They went from place to place, but there was no place to stay anywhere. They finally found a stable. In this reenactment folks get together and do this for nine days, before Christmas. There is usually a person with a guitar and they all go singing from house to house asking for a place to stay, until they reach the designated house. The host says “Enter you are all welcome”, and the celebration begins.
Foods of Christmas Past and Present
Foods of Christmas past and present. Some of the favorite foods I enjoy, usually sweets, are laid out on a table and everyone serves themselves the traditional “Tamales” with hot chili sauce, Pozole or Menudo (Beef tripe and hominy with chili powder and spices), Tacos, Enchiladas with green or red chili sauce, Chalupas, Buñuelos, cookies, cakes, rice, beans and so much more. Lots to eat and lots to drink. These are the most festive times of the year. The following are a few recipes of the many different foods. The More Than Muse Blonde Rose wine pairs very well with a lot of dishes and pastas, seafoods, meats, and Mexican foods like tamales.
Traditional Tamales
These are just some of the ingredients. It’s a very long process and there are quite a few different recipes. To get the full picture, you can Google the recipes. You first start out with dry corn husks and soak them in water over night. Then there is the preparation of the pork or chicken meat and the masa (corn dough) with all the spices. You really have to love doing this, because it takes a lot of work. Most people, like me, go to places that specialize in just Tamales and buy them already made and ready to eat. These are some of the ingredients for this long process.
Ingredients
- 15 ounces (approximately) raw pork butt or chicken breast
- 2 cups beef (for pork) or chicken stock
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 2 dried de arbol chilies
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 pinch cayenne
Masa dough:
- 1-1/3 cups fat (lard or vegetable shortening), chilled
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 scant teaspoons salt
- 4 cups masa harina (corn flour)
- 1-1/3 cups beef (for pork) or chicken stock
Bunuelos
Buñuelos are my favorite. They consist of the flour tortilla fried in cooking oil until golden brown. Sprinkle sugar and cinamon and let them cool off. These are the easist to make.
Part of the celebration includes the breaking of the Pinata. Children gather round and take turns trying to break the Pinata, which is filled with candy. The Pinata can take the shape of a cartoon character, an animal or a star.
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I just wanted to share some of what makes my neck of the woods unique. Hope you enjoyed and bon appetit ya’ll.
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