Here in the South, the tamale is the beloved street food. Not necessarily the traditional Mexican tamale...that versatile packaging method somehow got transported back to the Arkansas Delta, where it became convenient lunch fare for sharecroppers to take to the fields, thus you have the inimical tamales from Doe's Eat Place in Greenville, MS., beloved of the former President and my good friend, Bill Clinton, which bear about as much resemblance to Mexican tamales as chateaubriand does to burgers. However, it's a jumping-off point for lots of tamale riffs; at our local farmers' market, there's a "gourmet tamale" vendor, whose offerings last fall included pumpkin and ricotta tamales. I had to try one. Surprisingly, they were pretty good. Now. I don't make tamales; they're too damn much work, and I'd rather buy 'em. But you can take an egg roll wrapper, and the innards, and make up about the same thing, frying it in an inch or so of vegetable oil. I highly recommend it.

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