With about 40 wineries and several world famous restaurants, St. Helena is the ideal destination for both wine and food lovers. But, did you know it’s also the perfect place to learn how to cook? At the Napa Valley Cooking School in St. Helena visitors can become chefs for a day and for those people with more experience it’s a chance to sharpen their skills. With expert advice from chef instructor Eric Lee, students gain hands-on experience cooking up creative cuisine from around the world. During our visit, we learned how to make Smokey Pork Tamales! Here’s the delicious recipe that you can try at home. Following the recipe, you’ll find more information about how to contact the Napa Valley Cooking School.

Boil 16 dried cornhusks and let stand for 1 hour submerged
Mix: 1 1/4 cup Masa Harina and 9-oz. hot water
(OR use 1 pound of Fresh Masa dough already made)
Add: 4-5 oz. lard, butter, or shortening
1 tsp. baking powder
2-3 oz. chicken stock

1 1/2 lbs. Pork butt, cut into 2-inch cubes
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 quarts water
Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Shred when cool.

Chipotle Sauce
3 chipotles canned
7 plum tomatoes roasted
3 cloves garlic roasted
1 oz. oil
salt to taste
Puree the first three ingredients. Heat oil. Add puree to the oil and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt.

1 oz. Oil
Cooked pork meat
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. ground cloves

Sauté the pork and onion until browned and crispy. Add the spices and the chipotle sauce. Simmer until almost dry.

Spread about a tablespoon of the Masa dough onto each cornhusk. Add about 3 tablespoons of the pork mixture to each husk as well. Roll the cornhusk up as you would a burrito. Place all of the tamales in a steamer and steam for at least one hour.

Enjoy!!!

For more information about the Napa Valley Cooking School, visit their web site at www.napacomed.org/cookingschool.

Or call: (707) 967-2930.