Pasteles

Every Thanksgiving, Maddie's family looked forward to her mom’s pasteles.

Maddie's Puerto Rican family pulls out all the stops for Thanksgiving. In addition to the typical fare, their Thanksgiving table is laden with Puerto Rican favorites, including pasteles, a Puerto Rican version of tamales. For Maddie, those familiar Puerto Rican dishes bring to mind her parents: "My mom was an excellent cook. Everyone always wanted to go to her house for the holidays. She passed away this year from Alzheimer's (and my dad two years ago). The one thing we have missed for a long time is her cooking (with Alzheimer's she didn't remember how for about the last eight years)... The entire family from aunts, uncles, cousins, and neighbors looked forward to my mom’s pasteles every Thanksgiving."

PASTELES

~Makes 2 dozen~

For the Masa (Dough)

• 8 pounds green bananas, peeled
• 2 green plantains
• 2 pounds yautias (taro root)