Many Texas families enjoy special foods on Christmas Eve–foods that reflect their heritage or their region. My South Texas family always ate tamales on Christmas Eve, and my husband’s mother was kind enough to add my tamales to their family’s traditional menu.
Tamales take a LOT of time to make, so in Texas they’re a “special occasion” food–perfect for Christmas! Typically the meat is seasoned and cooked in preparation, then the whole family or a group of women get together for a tamale-making party. You may be familiar with the kind that’s stuffed with pork or seasoned chicken, but sweet tamales are an extra-special treat. Here are two “How-To” videos. The first will give you a quick overview. The second one is longer and more in depth, in case you want to try making this Christmas Eve meal for yourself.
If you’d like to try making sweet tamales, I found a lovely recipe here.
Honestly, I’ve only been to one tamale party–a fun experience, but one I filed under “This Activity Is For Experts. Don’t Try It On Your Own!” 😉 Fortunately you can usually find tamales at your grocery or from a local vendor at holiday time. They can be a bit pricey, though, so I’ll include this simple idea for stretching them to feed a family.
Mexican Lasagna
- 1 dozen tamales, unwrapped
- 1 can chili with beans
- 1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese
Crumble six tamales in a 9″x 9″ casserole dish. Top with half the chili. Repeat, and top with cheese. Heat and eat!
About 350 miles of Texas lies along the Gulf of Mexico where seafood is fresh and plentiful! My husband’s family lived in the coastal region for many years, so one of our family’s Christmas traditions is a Christmas Eve seafood boil.
There’s no recipe, really. Just toss in what you like. We use shrimp, crab legs, sweet corn, new potatoes, lemon halves and bay seasoning. Some families like to add celery, carrots, and/or onions into their mix.
Put your potatoes in the boiling spiced water first, since they take longer to get tender. Add the corn about 2 minutes later, then the crab legs, and the shrimp last. It won’t be long before the shrimp turn pink. Then we just dump everything into big foil pans and put it in the center of the table with plenty of butter and bowls of cocktail sauce. Mmmm!
