GRayson EL TINAJON A GUATAMALAN RESTAURANT Olga Pezzarossi, owner and hostess Not a!! of the jewels in Chicago are on the Christmas trees. Chicago has its hidden jewe!s. They are its many litt!e ethnic restaurants, in storefront bui!dings throughout the city neighborhoods. Lucky the Chicago resident or visitor who has a Latino friend who can find these !itt!e jewe!s for him, before they become Americanized. One such jewe! is E! Tinajon, a few mi!es north of Chicago's !oop. El Tinajon serves authentic Guatamalan as #we!l as Mexican cuisine 363 days of the year. On the other two days - Christmas Eve and Christmas Day - Olga Pezzarossi, the owner and hostess, c!oses the doors so that she can recreate ##e Guatama!an Chr!stmas ce!ebration for her fami!y and friends. "In Guatamala," Olga says, "the children use firecrackers ' ' ..#. ''. to celebrate Christmas. Parents will buy new c!othes for their children and fami!ies will get dressed up by 6.00 pm. The whole family goes to church and comes home by midnight to ce!ebrate. We give and receive presents. We eat our big mea! about 1.00 am. Then the neighbors will visit back and forth. We may on!y sleep from 4.00 am to 7#00 am. Then it is up again for a fu!! day of visiting and exchanging presents with everyone we know. Grayson . Page#. "We have Christmas trees which we usua!!y decorate with !itt!e hand.#ade Indian crafts. We decorate our homes with pine boughs and mansanil!a, a small red fruit similar to an appl# that adds co!or to our homes. We strip the pine need!es from additiona! #'boughs and scatter the need!es al! over our f!oors, to give the scent of Christmas." O!ga has adapted many of the fami!y recipes of her mother, Ave!ina Ve!asquez, who lives with her here in Chicago, for both her home and restaurant. However, the turkey recipe is her own variation. page CHRISTMAS DINNER MENU OF OLGA PEZZAROSSI, Owner and Hostess of E! Tinajon, Chicago's Guatama!an Restaurant TURKEY IN BEER SALTY TAMALES Green Sa!ad Potato sa!ad Sweet tamales Bread pudding Assorted fresh fruits and nuts Grayson . page _.TURKEY IN BEER - Treasured family recipe ## O!ga Pezzarossi, from Guatama!a City, who is now owner of El Tinajon, Restaurant, Chicago. Inqredients: 1 4-6 pound turkey 2 pounds of beef 2 pounds of pork 1 8 oz can of ? (alcaparrado?) 4 !arge tomatoes 2 !arge onions 3 cloves of garlic 2 12 pz. cans or bott!es of beer 2 shoots of fresh thyme or # teaspoon of ground thyme . 5 bay !eaves salt to taste oi! for frying Procedure: Bone turkey two days before serving. Soak it in beer with onion s!ices. Turn it every six hours. Keep refrigerated. The day that you are going to serve it, put the beef, pork, bay !eaves, thyme, and sa!t in a pan with a !itt!e wanter and cook unti! tender. Then chop the meat into fine pieces. In a frying pan, saute the tomatoes, onions and garlic which have b#en fine!y chopped. Then add the chopped meat and fry a!! together. #.=i=." Stuff the turkey with the fried meat mixture and c!ose it so that no stuffing fa!!s out. P!ace the stuffed turkey in a roasting pan with # the marinade. P!ace in 350 degree oven. Turn the turkey when it is ha!f baked. Cover until finished baking. Then uncover and !et turkey brown. When turkey is brown, remove from oven and serve with Red Tama!es. . Grayson page TAMALES COLORADOS - Recipe of O!ga Pezzarossi. Ingredients: 3 pounds of dough 12 large tomatoes 1 pound of ? (mi!tomate) 1 guaque red peper .#1 dried red pepper 1 can of peppers 1 pound olives 2 oz. capers 1 oz. sesame seed 1 oz. gib!ets 1 dash of b!ack pepper 2 who!e c!oves (or cinnamon 3 pounds of lard 5 pounds of pork cut into sma!! pieces sa!t to taste 3 packets of banana pee!s specia! paper for wrapping tama!es foil 1 !arge jar. #'#:##" page Procedure: Liquify dough with water to form a gruel and set aside. Put dough into jar with 4 pounds 12 oz of !ard. Add sa!t. Cook on a low flame stirring constantly unti! cooked. Do this a day ahead so that it can chi!!. Brown the tomato, mi!tomate, guaque red pepper, gib!ets, sesame seed, and c1oves. In a sma!l amount of water cook the dried red pepper, then add to browned ingredients. Add sa!t and peppers. When mixture is thinned, fry it in hot !ard. Then refrigerate. Chop canned peppers into strips and mix with capers and olives. P!ace foi! on a piece of specia! wrapping paper and p!ace on a banana pee!. Measure # the dough onto a banana pee! !eaving a sma!! ho!!ow in the center. Put fi!!ing into center with a piece of meat, a strip of canned pepper, 2 olives, and 3 teaspoons of caper mixture. Ro!l up paper and banana pee! making sure it is c!osed secur#l'. Those who want to do so may p!ace the tama1e in a jar with a !ittle water and sa!t and cook for four hours. Grayson #age PASTELES de NAVIDAD (Christmas Pastries) Prepared for Christmas celebration each year for the extended family of Dr. Jaime Estobar, honorary Bo!ivian consu! of Chicago by his nieces, Gabriela and Sylvia Uga!de, from a recipe of their mother. Their mother is Grace Uga!de, a sister of -#r. Estobar. Mrs. Uga!de !ives in Cochabamba, Bo!ivia. PastrY dou#h: 1 cup of warm water, with salt to taste (approximate!y 1 tsp). 1# teaspoons baking powder 1 egg 1 pound lard 3 cups sifted f!our 1/8 cup of sugar vegetab!e oi! for frying Mix dough. Knead unti! smooth. Let stand for 10 minutes. Ro!! out dough very thin. Cut into 4" circles. page FILLINGS FOR PASTELES de NAVIDAD Cheese fil!in#: 2# pounds of Cuban or Mexican White Monterrey Cheese, grated 2-3 beaten eggs, enough to moisten cheese and ho!d it together. Place filling on rounds as described . The cheese is sa!ty and the powdered sugar is sweet - nice contrast. ._ Meat fi!!in#: 2 pounds bone!ss round steak, or any bone!ess beef without fat 2# cups of white onions, fine!y chopped 1 cup of sugar , more or !ess, to taste 1 dash of cumin powder 1 teaspoon curry powder 1 cup raisens 2 hard-boi!ed eggs, chopped fine. Boi! meat in water until soft, then drain. In separate pan s!ight!y cook diced onion in water, stop before onion gets mushy. Drain onions. Trind meat in a meat grinder. Mix onions and meat in deep pan over low flame. Add sugar, spices, and raisens. Bring to boi! and stir a few minutes over !ow heat. Drain. Coo! before using to fi!! dough. May refrigerate meat fi!!ing before using. The.#pstires can be served warm or co!d. The Escobars prefer them served warm immediate!y after making them.