So here's the new years run down.
During New Year's Eve at the Aguirre household it's once again all about the special food.
Traditionally you have pesol (which is a soup with hominy and chicken with either red or green chili's, I love the green...YUM!). Then later that night after everyone has eaten together in shifts you have beunuellos (fried tortillas put in a soup of cinnamon and sugar) and encanelitos (which are fried tortillas with cinammon and sugar).
Again YUM!
Then we all stay up to the new year arrives and then everyone eats 12 grapes...I'm not really sure why but it has something to do with good luck.
This year however I really wanted pesol about three days before new year's and atole con arroz (which is this delicious rice drink with cinnamon once again). Elda (Rene's oldest sister) had not yet given presents out and she gets some for everyone which is like 45 gifts or something crazy like that so we did a second Christmas and had pesol and atole con arroz and it was great.
So on New Year's people didn't want pesol again so we had Mexican enchiladas instead, which I am not going to complain about because they are probably my favorite dish besides pesol and tacos. They are tortillas passed through red sauce and lightly fried and then filled with parmesaen and onions (if you like them) and then you put chicken soup (sort of) on top with some cabbage. Again YUM!
If it sounds like visiting Rene's family is all about the food, that's because it's all about the food and family and eating together and all that kind of fun stuff.
Jen
So people are always wondering what Christmas with Rene's family is like. So I thought I would give you a little run down.
The 23rd
We spend a good part of the day making tamales. This involves cooking the meat and preparing the corn husks and the masa (the dough for the tamales). Then comes the assembly line. The two sisters spread the masa and I am in charge of meat placement and rolling while Rene runs back and forth providing meat counting tamales and cleaning up. We usually make 50 dozen we went small this year and only did 21. We also got off to a late start and didn't get finished until 4 in the morning.
Christmas Eve
WE SLEEP IN :}. Really this is a pretty relaxing day. Traditionally the family would go to midnight mass and then come back home eat tamales and then open presents. Mass however has been moved back to 8 so we did 8:00 mass come back and eat tamales and wait until midnight to open presents. This is another late night usually until at least 2 or 3.
Christmas Day
WE SLEEP IN! Then we get up and start working on helping make the mole, a traditional mexican meal with turkey in a red sauce (sort of like gravy or marinara sauce or some crazy combo of the two). I have not graduated to helping to cook the mole although sometimes I am pressed into service to peel garlic (about 40 to 60 cloves). At some point the family comes over and we all eat in shifts. It's another day of talking and eating and playing games together.
So we eat and eat and eat some more. Because on top of mole there is usually rolls, a regular turkey, stuffing, and desserts.
It's actually a lot of fun although I swear every time I spend time at Rene's family's house I gain 5 lbs.
Jen