Wednesday, October 13, 2010

My Grandfaters Famous Tamales.

        My grandfather’s tamales are the best around. All others pale in comparison. But the tamales are not just great tasting they are an experience. When my grandfather decides to make his famous tamales he gets family and friends involved in the process. This makes it truly a special because it is now something you helped make. While everyone is assigned a job he watches over everyone like a hawk giving guidance when needed. The tamales start with the soaking of the corn husks. Once all the husks have been given a soaking and are dry, it is time to make the heart of the tamale the masa. The masa is a mixture of mashed up corn and flower but then we add secrete spices and water. This is where my grandfathers recipe differs from most other tamale recipes, where most call for lard my grandfather uses butter. This is all mixed into a bowl when the right consistency is met the masa is thinly spread on the corn husks (this is the hardest job). After the masa is spread on the corn husks we fill them. There are many fillings that can be used such as pork, chicken, cheese, and beef (my favorite is pork).  Then they are rolled into the nice little packages that people know as a tamale. Then they are steam cooked for a few hours, then served for everyone to enjoy their labors. The tamale is unwrapped and falls to your plate steaming. The first bite is full of flavors you have all the butter and spices of the masa and then the juicy meat that is so tender. Then there are endless possibilities you have to enhance the tamale experience. You have the classic rout of salsa, or creamy guacamole, and then there is my favorite chalula hot sauce. No matter whether you add a topping or not you can’t go wrong with my grandfather’s tamales.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

5-Hour Energy


The five hour energy ad in the link below promises that there will be no “2:30” feeling when you consume their product. This “2:30” feeling they are referring to is that of being sleepy or groggy because at 2:30 in the afternoon it’s fair to say a typical person’s day is half over. Their target audience in this ad is the work force, the average citizen in America or anywhere in the world this ad my air, that works a nine to five job Monday through Friday. The commercial not only claims to get rid of that 2:30 feeling but to do it better than other common products that people already use to combat the 2:30 feeling like coffee and soda. They claim that because their product contains no sugar, unlike coffee and soda, so there is no crash later just five solid hours of energy. The ad makes the assumption that anyone and everyone who has ever worked an office job knows that in the afternoon you start to feel tired, groggy, and in need of a nap. This is seen in the first half of the commercial from 0:00 to 0:17 all of the office employees are skulking around as if they are about to collapse due to sleep deprivation. But after the spokesperson in the commercial introduces five hour energy and all the employees have used it they are happy and ready to finish their days work.

Link to the Commercial.

Link to my Comment.