Page 36 August 2014 Traditional dish feeds the soul as well as the stomach By Amanda Goossen Jessica Pethtel grew up with her hands wrist deep in bowls of masa de maíz. Tamale making isn’t just something Jessica is good at; it’s the foundation in which her life was built. Standing in her grandmother’s kitchen as a child, creating a platter of tamales required an assembly line of family members. Done the traditional way, making tamales is a minimum two-day process and Jessica’s entire family would turn out to get it done. “Everyone eventually ended up with their own version of my grandmother’s tamales,” said Jessica. “And each person is very proud of their recipe.” Jessica is a third generation Phoenician, explaining that her family lived here “even before Arizona was Arizona.” Her mother, Gloria M. Martinez, was the oldest of 10 children, making family gatherings a boisterous affair. The matriarch of the family, Jessica’s nana, ran a catering company and eventually a Mexican restaurant in downtown Phoenix. Sally Gano’s Mexican restaurant was once in the spot that Carly’s Bistro now calls home, on Roosevelt and Second Streets. Jessica worked for her grandmother jess t when she was just 11 years old, helping the rest of the family bring their classic dishes to the table. Her uncles ran the bar, her aunts worked in the kitchen and Jessica’s mom was focused on how everything looked. “It was so much fun,” said Jessica. “One of the best times of my life.” For this proud daughter and Tamale making is more than cooking, for Arcadia resident, Jessica Pethtel. It’s an art. granddaughter, the memories from 20 years in the family catering and restaurant business are mostly positive, but there was one drawback. “I hated wearing the Mexican dresses,” Jessica laughs. “It was the ‘80s and I wanted to be Cindy Lauper. Those dresses clashed with being cool.” In 1999 Jessica would make a drastic change in her life, moving away from her family to Costa Mesa. For three years, this Phoenician would find a new home in California. “I never thought I’d move back,” said Jessica. But family calls. When her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, the ties that bind called her home. “You could say I left California kicking and screaming,” said Jessica. “But nothing will ever replace that time I had with my mom. It means the world to me.” Jessica hadn’t made her tamales for a couple of years. But once reunited with her mom, tamale making became a connection that couldn’t be denied. “She was in early stages of her sickness and it brought back so many memories for her,” said Jessica. “We would listen to music and sing really loudly, off-key. I treasure those times and that relationship with my mom.” Tamales are personal for Jessica. “After my mom passed, I didn’t make them for a long time.” But now with two young daughters of her own, she understands the way to pass on her heritage to her girls. “My mom used to say all sorts of sayings. So many that my siblings and I numbered them and would make fun,” said Jessica. “She would look at me, a stubborn kid who thought I knew everything and say one of her quotes in Spanish, half the time they just seemed to make no sense.” As Jessica thinks about her mom and the life she now lives with her own husband and two girls, one quote rings so true. “My mom would look at me in my teenage toughness and just say, ‘Oh honey, where you’re going, I’m already coming back from.’” Continued on page 37

Page 37 August 2014 jessica’s awesome tamales By Jessica Pethtel Serves 12-16 ingredients Red Chili • 1 bag red chili pods • 4 pounds pork butt • 2 large onions (one whole, one finely diced) • 3 tablespoons oil • 4 tablespoons flour • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic • 1 teaspoon cumin • 1 teaspoon salt preparation • Fill a large pot with water (approximately 8 cups) and boil chili pods on medium heat for 3 hours, until soft. In another large pot over medium heat, boil pork butt with one whole onion, in water, for 5 to 6 hours. • Save the broth from both pots. • Cube your pork and set aside. • In a blender, add cooked chili pods and 1 1/2 cups of broth. Alternate broth when blending, first with chili pod broth, second with pork broth and so on, about 1/2 cup at a time. • Strain chili and set aside. • In a large pot over medium heat, add oil and flour to make a roux. Brown until it has a nutty smell and becomes gravy-like. Then add the strained chili sauce, cubed pork, finely diced onion, chopped garlic, cumin and salt. Cover the pot and cook again over medium-low heat for another 2 hours. Adjust the salt to taste after the first hour. • In a large mixing bowl add the packages of masa and lard. Add the baking powder and approximately 1 cup of pork broth. Add approximately 5 teaspoons chili sauce (after it’s been cooked as referenced above) with no meat. Mix by hand until completely smooth. There should not be any lumps. • Let the wrapping begin! Soak cornhusks in water until soft. Then spread each one with masa, 2 teaspoons of red chili and an olive. Wrap in another cornhusk and then in wax paper. • In a pot, steam the wrapped tamales. Stand them up in the pot with chili side face up and steam for approximately 1 1/2 hours. • Turn the stove off and let them sit for another half hour before eating. Let ’ s Brunch sat & sun 10am - 3pm • SCOTTSDALE WATERFRONT • 480.751.2200 • OLIVEANDIVYRESTAURANT.COM • ONI_ArcadiaNews_LetsBrunch_10.25x6.indd 1 7/9/14 11:46 AM Masa • 5-pound package of Mama Lola’s masa • 2 1/2-pound package of lard • 1 teaspoon baking powder • 1 to 1 1/2 cups pork broth • 1 package cornhusks • Two 14 1/2 ounce cans medium pitted olives • wax paper Continued from page 36