In case you don't know what Chorizo is...it's a spicy Mexican Sausage. Well at least the Mexican version that I'm used to is. I buy it in the store in the deli aisle and it looks something like this. . .
You can buy either the pork of the beef version. Both equally delicious if you ask me! You take this out of it's protective plastic packaging, throw it into a frying pan and treat it like it's ground beef, you just keep breaking it up and stirring it for a few minutes. Then you can use this crumbly, spicy meat to make wonderful dishes like. . .
Huevos Con Chorizo ......... Eggs and Chorizo. You just whip up some eggs with a fork in a bowl and then add them to the cooked chorizo in the frying pan and cook until the eggs are as set as you like them. You can then eat them with a spoon or even better, heat up a flour tortilla and wrap this spicy mixture up into a burrito. Yum! Nothing better for breakfast!
Another thing you can do with the crumbled up, fried up Chorizo is Papa's Con Chorizo, or Chorizo with Potatoes! To tell the truth, I love this little concoction better even than Huevos con Chorizo. With this dish you fry up the potatoes in strips or cubes, just like you're going to make country potatoes. Then in a seperate pan you fry the chorizo. When the potatoes are cooked to the consistency you like (I like mine slightly crunchy still) you mix the chorizo in. Serve this alongside eggs or french toast or anything else. It goes with anything! Oh...and again just wrap this stuff inside a flour tortilla...it makes an excellent burrito!
Another wonderful dish you can make with Chorizo is Nachos. Ohhhhhh I so love Nachos. My sister and I love to go to this wonderful Mexican restaurant in Bakersfield known as Mexicali. They serve the best Chorizo Nachos in the world! I know several people will say, "Oh no! The best nachos are Chile Verde Nacho's" But to them I say "Pshaw! You don't know Nacho's my friend."
You layer torillas chips, the cooked Chorizo, cheese, green onions, black olives, tomatoes and Jalapenos, then place them in the oven until the cheese is melted and gooey; then in the broiler for just a second to brown the top. Oh my Gosh...there is nothing better with a cold beer or an icy, lemony-limey margarita!!!
Great! Now I've made myself hungry! And probably you too right? But the Chorizo I'm talking about when I say what's up with Chorizo is my daughters little Shih-Poo puppy...Chorizo. Here's Chorizo now saying "Huh? What? You're talking about me and not the spicy sausage that smells soooooooo darn good when you cook it?"
Chorizo believe it or not is a girl puppy. I know, I know. With a name like Chorizo you would expect her to be a boy puppy. My daughter April just loved the name Chorizo and probably because she loves the spicy Mexican sausage Chorizo!
Chorizo is her own spicy Mexican Sausage...well maybe a spicy Shih-Poo Sausage. Oh now she's baring her teeth at me. I love when she does that!
Awwww! Isn't she precious. She honestly thinks my coffee table belongs to her. I think she likes it because when she's on the coffee table it's cool and she's in the center of everything that is going on and she loves being the center of attention!
G'Nite little Chorizo. We promise not to cover you with cheese and jalapenos and eat you all up and wash you down with an icy margarita...even if you are cute enough to eat!
Designs by Gollum - Foodie Friday!
To get the festivities started, lets make some 
April, the official taste tester. See my pretty Christmas goblets? One of them did not survive the festivities :-( The official story is that April didn't break it, but the investigation is still on-going.
April is the oldest grandchild, and she's an old pro at Christmas. She wastes no time in opening those presents!
And you can tell that I've had way too many 
A gift from my daughter, look at us two 
More presents for April.
which she put on right away. Yep 
And Fred is styling himself in this new black cowboy shirt from his mom and dad. 
Fred gets all romantic with his woman...
No 
Me and my namesake, Alicia. Doesn't she have beautiful eyes?
And the Fred 
The next youngest that really did help was Fred Jr and this year he was a trainee under Bebe's watchful eye in learning how to wash "hojas" (corn husks that are used to wrap the tamale in).
Then there's the "big guns", the seasoned veterans who "amasar" (knead the corn meal, chili powder, baking powder, salt, lard and meat drippings). For quite a few years now that job was left to my brothers. Here's a picture of them last year...
But unfortunately Jaime had to work this year, so I had to step into his shoes and help my brother Fred "amasar". (And let me tell you, it wasn't as fun as it looks. My arthritis, was really acting up that day, but two Advil's and a beer really helped me get through it.)
Here's my sad pathetic hurting little hands trying really hard not to work!
And so here we are ready to go...We have the Hoja's cleaned and ready to be used to wrap the tamales...
We have both pots of masa, Fred's is on the right and looks really nice and smooth. Mine is on the left and I didn't have the strength left to smooth and pat the top, but it worked just the same!
Here's the meat that my mom cooked up that morning. She uses beef and pork and then we shred it all up and she uses I believe dried California Chile's, but it could be New Mexico one's, I'm not really sure, to make the chili that is mixed with the meat and then she adds garlic and onion powder and salt and who knows what else. All I know is it's yummy, I can eat this just by itself in a flour tortilla.
Last, but not least...the black olives. We are an olive family! We're only supposed to put one in each tamale, but during the year as we eat the ones that are frozen and heated up later you may find one, two, three, even four olives! 
Here's another pro, my sister-in-law Norma. She can whip those tamales out like there's no tomorrow. She likes to spread the masa on the corn husks and she then hands them to her husband (my brother Fred) and he puts the meat and olives in and wraps them. Norma makes hundreds of dozens of tamales during the season leading up to Christmas and she sells them. Want to place an order for Christmas 2009, just hit me up! I'm the hook-up.
Here's the gang. My sister Lisa just arrived, she had to work half day and shows up right after work to get in on the fun. And my mom...she's the floor lady, the crew chief, the big kahuna, the boss! She's making sure Lisa doesn't dilly-dally too long, we have a schedule to keep!
And Lisa wastes no time shedding her sweater and putting up her hair and she's hard at it!
As the tamales are wrapped and completed, they are place in these plastic bins that my mom has out back in the "cuartito". Every Christmas she takes them out, washes them out and gets them ready for the big day. We try to make the tamales all a uniform size, so they'll cook evenly.
As the crew continues spreading and wrapping, Fred and my mom start the cooking process by placing them in a certain way into the "olla" (pot). Don't ask me how they do it, I have no clue but there is quite of bit of expertise involved in this process. And I want to give a shout out to my brother Fred who has really stepped up in helping my mom in the kitchen this year. At Thanksgiving he has always carved the turkey, but this year he even made the gravy and it was super delish! He also made the gravy for my mom's birthday, but that's coming up in a different post. But again Fred...thank you!
And Voilà! The finished product. These are a lot of trouble to make, especially since we usually make several dozens, but sooooooo worth it! 
Here's a naked one...unwrapped, mmmmmmm. See the black? That's the olives and the juice from the meat soaks into the masa and it's just heaven in a corn husk! Merry Christmas to us!
Once they are all done and we've eaten our fill and taken some over to share with neighbors and friends, my mom freezes them and you can come over on almost any random Sunday morning and there will be tamales in the oven. As the years go by and all the kids get older, they will always have this memory of what Christmas Eve is in our family. Sure we have ocassional fights and bickering while we make the tamales, but all in all it's a good time and we love being together and we look forward to it every year.
