What to serve with tamales for Christmas Eve?

[mr99203]

I'm getting tamales from a super, little hole-in-the-wall place here in Spokane for my family's Christmas Eve. What else would you serve with them?

[Caroline1]

When I hear tamales and Christmas Eve in the same sentence, it means only one thing: SWEET tamales with cinnamoned hot chocolate! Viva Mexico! It's traditional. So if you're having savory tamales for dinner, serve the sweet tamales and hot chocolate later in the Evening. They are great together and go well with Christmas carols.

EDIT: OMG, I hadn't read everything before responding. I just scrolled up and found Sam!!! This is a year old. Well, Merry Christmas all. My recommendation stands.

[JerryMe]

Caroline - I did the same thing. Wonderful to see / read Sam again.

With tamales I always like chips and beans.

[CocoaNut]

I had empanadas with mango habenero sauce yesterday. They were served with a refreshing variation on pico de gallo. As memory serves, it consisted of diced tomato, chopped red onion, diced cucumber, minimal amount of chopped cilantro and I think that's about it although there may have been a bit of hot pepper intermixed. A matchstick of jicama would have been a nice texture addition although the onion was large enough to provide a small amount of crunch.

About an ice-cream scoop amount was mounded on a small amount of shredded lettuce and dressed very lightly, probably with a squeeze of lime (or lemon) juice.

[elegantwino]

At our house we serve hearty borscht! This what a blending of culture will get you. Our kids are grown up enough so that they now look forward to the tradition.

[cimui]

The jicama salad sounds really good to me, too. I might also start with a chayote soup and/or serve a creamy chayote side dish. (Haven't made it, before, but the second recipe down looks like it would result in one of my favorite restaurant preparations: http://www.nikibone.com/recipe/chayote.html

)

Similar thread with some additional ideas: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/385413

[tcamp]

Big pot of beans--pintos would work--with chopped chili peppers, green onions, queso fresco, etc. for topping.

[mrbigshotno.1]

Just keep the tamales coming, the heck with side dish!

[Sam Fujisaka]

Depends. What style tamales?

[mr99203]

I don't know what to call the style. They aren't the tiny ones, but not huge. A fairly substantial masa layer and a pork filling. The family making them is from Northern Mexico.

The jicama/orange salad sounds perfect, thanks JEN10.

[Sam Fujisaka]

Ahhh ... Northern Mexican. I agree fully with the jicama orange salad and some Mexican rice.

[JEN10]

Jicamma salad with orange segments and a dash of chili powder, what the others said, and what time should I be there?

[jmullen1251]

i'd also recommend a salad - maybe a nopalitos salad with jalapenos and tomatoes?

[rainey]

This sounds interesting! How do you dress the jicama and orange?

[JEN10]

IIRC, just a little chili powder. I am out of town right now and have not made this in a while. The juice of the oranges with the chili powder is delicious.

[rainey]

Good deal! And thanks for the speedy reply.

I'm in Maui but I've got my daughter in Los Angeles working on the tamales so I can do the last minute shopping for Christmas dinner when I get in on the 23rd.

Tamales with a nice crisp salad on Christmas eve sounds like bliss!

[paulj]

salt, chile powder, lime and/or orange juice. Mexican groceries sell a mix of salt, chile and citric acid that can be sprinkled on fruit or veggies like this. Cilantro is a nice addition.

[Perilagu Khan]

I'd recommend Mexican rice.

In case you've never made this, what you do is saute one cup of long-grain rice in a bit of hot olive or vegetable oil until the rice begins to brown slightly.

Add a cup of chicken stock, a half can of tomato sauce, a couple of cloves of minced garlic, a couple of tablespoons of chili powder, a bit of oregano and cumin, a chopped onion, and diced bell pepper. Stir well.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook until liquid is fully absorbed.

That's a rough estimate of how to make the stuff, anyway. Mui bueno.

[ChiliDude]

Tequila along with the music by the same name. Also, get a 10 ounce can of Ro-Tel and a pound of Velveeta along with tortilla chips. Melt the Velveeta mixed with the Ro-Tel in the nuker. Stir the melted ingredients and serve with the chips.