The Yum Yum Factor

Tamales are a weird thing, for me. Over the years, I have eaten tamales that have made my heart sing and I have eaten tamales that have sunk like a lead ball to the bottom of my stomach.They can be dry as dust requiring an ample dousing of salsa to make them go down so I have gotten to the point where I just don't order them anymore because I never know what I am going to get. You know, just like there are real, live Italian grandmothers out there who use ragu and the green container of "parmesan", there are bad Mexican cooks too. I also realize that there are different styles of tamale, according to the region out there. In some areas of mexico, they are giant blobs of masa dough with a tiny dot of filling and even though they might be authentic,  that is not my jam at all. Traversing the  sea of tamales feels like a minefield sometimes people. Then there is the fact that some tamales are wrapped in banana leaves or plaintain leaves but I like those that are steam...