Pass the tamales, please: A Mexican Christmas Eve

Gustavo Arellano might be most familiar for his oft-controversial Ask a Mexican column.

So you might be surprised to read his story in this week's Food section about the cooking and eating marathon that marks his family's Christmas Eve celebration in the O.C. It is, in Arellano's words, "a banquet of Roman proportions."

Read more here.

Photo credit: Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times