Recipe - Tamale Sauce

One time I decided to make tamales from scratch.  It was an all-day thing, but oh man was it so worth the effort.  Since I didn't have a big tamale steamer pot I had to rig a steam situation in my stock pot and work in smaller batches.  That was hard.  It worked though!  I haven't made tamales from scratch since that first time but I'm ready to do so now, having bought a bona fide tamale steamer pot.  Also I found this recipe that I used for the sauce.

Note:  The tamale recipe I followed is "Chili Con Carne Tamales" from our well-used The Complete New Mexico Cookbook by Jim Douglas, which was a gift from my parents in 1987.  Very soon I will try a similar recipe - it's almost identical - from a newer cookbook my mother-in-law gave me recently called The Best From New Mexico Kitchens.  That recipe is simply titled, "Tamales."

Tamale Sauce

Ingredients

1 can (10 ounces) green chilies enchilada sauce

1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Procedure

Combine all ingredients in small saucepan and simmer 5 minutes to blend flavors.