When I was in my first year of college I had to have my wisdom teeth removed. While my friends spent winter break on ski holidays in Lake Tahoe, or went for a tropical beach vacation in Hawaii, I returned home to my parents house to have exciting oral surgery. I subsisted on a mainly liquid diet, punctuated by the occasional cup of translucent Jello. And the only high point of my break was that my parents had finally gotten cable television, and sucked in by the novelty, I watched quite a bit of TV that first swollen week.

I looked like a chipmunk, my face packed tightly with mouthfuls of crusty gauze, but my fingers worked just fine, and I became one with the remote control. Cable television was good then, Mary Tyler Moore and Rhoda aired each night on Nic’ at Nite, and there was a new channel called The Food Channel that played fabulous imports such as the Naked Chef and the rolly-polly Two Fat Ladies, as well as superb American chefs like The Too Hot Tamales, Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. (Aahh, the good ol’ days!)

I loved these ladies. Their show was both informative and entertaining, and their dishes always looked delectable. I have picked up their cookbooks through the years, and let me tell you, the recipes never disappoint. So when I stumbled upon the recipe for these Green Corn Tamales, trying them was a no brainer.

And yes, I know it is not summer, so therefore corn is not in season, but I still made these dense maize pillows. In their book, they give the option of using 3 cups, drained, canned corn pulverized in the food processor. So pulse away I did. Now, never having had the pleasure of a fresh corn tamale–which might be stupendous–let me just say that these “green” corn tamales were pretty darn good. Pleasantly sweet, with just enough body to make them interesting, these tamales were like a little taste of Mexico right here in New York. And there is something so delightful about unwrapping your meal before you eat.

I ate my tamales with roasted tomato salsa, and a dollop of sour cream and dreamed of summer. Three for three, Too Hot Tamales!