This morning, my younger brother, Bryan, sent me the photo in the visual with the caption: "2 pounds of nixtamalized corn ready for grinding." Nixtamalized corn is dried corn kernels that have been treated through a process of soaking, cooking with an alkaline solution, and washing. This creates a product that is said to be "more workable, tasty, and nutritious than it would be otherwise." Bryan had grown the corn himself and used just three cobs to make two pounds of nixtamal.

A few weeks ago, Bryan suggested that we make a bunch of corn tortillas and invite the family. I liked the idea and immediately sent a calendar invite to our mom and siblings. Everyone contributed to the meal. In addition to the corn tortillas, we had homemade flour tortillas, three types of filling (beef, chicken and fish), a street corn salad, and numerous toppings for the tortillas (rice, black beans, cabbage slaw, sautéed peppers and onions, lettuce, cheese, guacamole and cilantro-garlic sauce). We also had homemade sangria and horchata (a rice-based drink with milk, cinnamon and vanilla), both of which were delicious and a fitting accompaniment to the meal.

To make the corn tortillas, Bryan ground the nixtamalized corn. We then added water and salt to make a dough that was neither too dry nor too sticky. My sister-in-law turned balls of dough about the size of a ping pong ball into tortillas using a tortilla press. Our first few attempts were challenging: the dough was too fragile or the pan was too hot. After a few attempts, we decided to pause the cooking process and allow the dough to rest and hydrate. Twenty minutes later, we resumed our shaping, pressing and cooking. Success! The dough was still soft, and our tortillas were both thin and durable. We figured out a temperature for the cast iron frying pan that worked consistently. And our production of tortillas continued apace. I'm not sure how many corn tortillas we produced in total, but it was at least 30.

The best thing about our Mexican feast was how customizable it was. Guests could choose the ingredients they liked and pass over those they didn't. It was a very satisfying meal and an easy way to feed a crowd.