Tamales con Queso v Rajas

I had the extreme pleasure of taking another cooking class with my friend Kumud. But this time instead of her native Indian cuisine she has a friend from Mexico, Laura Lopez, who showed us her stuff! It's feels so authentic watching someone make food from the country they were born and raised in. It's one thing to watch someone on HGTV make a tamale, but watching Laura put them together you could feel the hundreds of times she's done it before.
The whole menu was amazing. I've been so inspired I'm finding reasons to go by hispanic markets all over town to peruse their shelves.
Here are the prepped ingredients for the class.

She started with sauteing the filling for the tamales.

Kumud and Laura at their demonstration table. Even Laura's daughter helped out.

Laura's experienced hand pressing the masa into the corn husk.

The tamales all go in the pot to be steamed for about an hour.

A few steps to make them, but not nearly as complicated as I imagined. Can't wait to try them. Their entire menu was vegetarian but I can't help thinking how amazing some spicy pulled pork would be in the tamales.(sorry Kumud :) )
I've already tried the Frijoles Refritos con Epazote, refried beans, and they are soooo much better than the canned. Maybe it's the epazote seasoning. I haven't found a tortilla press yet but I rolled some out and they were delicious if a bit misshapen.
More to come on my Mexican binge....