Tradition: Cena de Noche Buena / Christmas Eve Dinner.

My daughter Alana and I started a tradition of making tamales for Christmas several years ago. It brought us closer to each other at this very special time. Over the years we got quite good at it; from the beginning I got the recipe for "Tamalitos de Especia" from my mother's "puño y letra" -- her own handwriting. I always loved these little tamales we had during our childhood visits to my abuelitos and tías over the holidays in Papantla, Veracruz -- my parent's hometown. Marinated pork with olives, walnuts, capers and spices among other secret ingredients was the stuffing for these culinary jewels wrapped in corn husks. Alana was in charge of selecting what kind of tamales we would make every year. Of course there was the "Especia" ones along with the cheese and tomatillo sauce we always made for Bob --my father-in-law-- who was a lifelong vegetarian. Over the years we made chicken mole, black beans, carrot and zucchini, strawberry and chocolate chip to name a few. While I was finishing cooking the stuffing for the year's tamales Alana set up the production line at the dinning room table; soaking the corn husks and tearing up some of them to make the ties that would identify each kind of tamal; single tie, double tie, etc. With the masa ready and the different kind of stuffing laid out we got to work. We made dozens; sometimes too many we had to freeze some. In the end we stuffed and congratulated ourselves at dinner in Noche Buena. We outdid ourselves every year we said.

Earlier this year Alana moved to New York pursuing her dreams and life objectives; she lives in Brooklyn now. Actually, I may say that that she moved back to the east coast; she grew up there when we lived in Sparta, New Jersey while I was working for an advertising agency in Manhattan for most of the 90's. We moved back to Northern California in 1998.

Our family had a very busy year with my daughter Roxanne's wedding and Alana traveling back and forth. Sadly, there was no time or partner to make tamales this year. But I promised myself, this tradition will not die!

Cochinita Pibil for this year's Christmas Eve.

So this year I was left with the prospect of what to have for our Noche Buena dinner. I did not want to to cook a turkey or a ham. So I thought, I loved cochinita pibil and always wanted to make it. I'm so happy I finally had the courage and time to make it. Actually it wasn't that hard to prepare; living in California you can get all the ingredients at your Mexican store. Searched the web for an authentic recipe and listo! I made a holiday dinner to remember!

I found the following recipe and video from "Toque y Sazón", Jus Palta is it's chef and producer. I'm very happy I found it; you can also visit his Facebook  and YouTube pages by clicking on the links. So, here it is; the only difference from their recipe is that I cooked it on a slow cooker for 8 hours. Enjoy!

Delirio De Oaxaca Mezcal Añejo Premium; one of my favorite Christmas gifts.

Matt, my son-in-law, keeps rising the bar! This time with Delirio De Oaxaca Mezcal Añejo. 

It is aged for 12 months in new American white oak barrels. Produced with a combination of  Espadín and Madre Cuishe agave varieties in a 100% artisan way using traditional stone ovens and natural fermentation.

You can find out more about this fine mezcal añejo in Delirio De Oaxaca and Mezcal Reviews websites.

Salud!