As part of an ongoing series that celebrates Latin American cooking, the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) will host a cooking class this Saturday, November 6th, that will teach participants how to put together the perfect tamale.

And what does a perfect tamale look like to Jonathan Gold? We asked him:

“There are nearly as many kinds of tamales as there are people to eat them, I think, not just the broth-steamed, cornhusk-wrapped tamales most of us are familiar with, but flat Oaxacan tamales stuffed with mole, red-hot Mississippi tamales cooked in coffee cans, Yucatecan banana-leaf tamales, delicate Acapulco tamales, sweet dessert tamales and the beagle-sized things called nacatamal that John Rivera once called Nicaraguan TV dinners. My personal favorite at the moment may be the grilled tamales that La Casita Mexicana sometimes runs as a special. But I've got to say: I've never met a tamale I didn't like – even the plastic-wrapped XLNT tamales in the Vons deli case will do in a pinch.”

If you're inspired to get creative with your tamales, MOLAA's class kicks off at 11 a.m. on Sat., Nov. 6th, and runs for two hours. It's $25 for members and $35 for nonmembers and includes ingredients. Register here.

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