Tamale Pie

Matt and Elisabeth's other contribution (on the flip side of Matt's Spicy Tuna Pasta) is Elisabeth's Tamale Pie, which, as near as I can tell, is like a baked version of chili with the cornbread included. Of course it is. Why would you guys give me a recipe that isn't chili? I mean, that would be silly.

All chili jokes aside, Elisabeth's recipe is a monumental one. That is because it is the last of the official Main Dishes. There is only one more section (aside from the ubiquitous desserts) left - the Barbecue section. As I have been nearing the end of the Recipe Book, I think I have been making fewer and fewer recipes per week, perhaps in a subconscious effort to stretch it out. Or because the pressure of a zillion recipes waiting to be done wasn't there. Or because of the holidays. Anyhow.

The fact is I have been jealously combing the remaining recipes, staring at each precious little one that I have left. Which at this point totals six--no, wait, seven--Tilzer, in some sort of fit of ESP just IMed me and announced he wanted to give me a challah recipe, so I guess that one's on the slate now, too.

I'm not certain what I'm going to do when I'm done with this. Am I going to open the bidding to recipes from all readers? Am I going to give the Recipe Book treatment to another (normal) cook book? I don't know that I'm in the mood to go through another appetizers and breakfasts for dinner section again so soon. Well, I've got some time yet to work it out.

In the meantime: Tamale Pie, which as I said is basically chili pie with cornbread in. I'm not sure why it is called 'Tamale Pie' per se, as I think tamales are those things wrapped in corn husks (which, it must be said, also mystify me: why wrap your food in something you can't eat it in? All very confusing). But I don't have to name it, I just have to eat it. So.

I made the Tamale Pie last night, at the end of one of my very favorite types of days. I did a few solid hours of script writing work in the morning, so I got to spend the afternoon getting some chores sorted - namely putting a coat of primer on the ceiling in Josh's forever under-construction office. I got into this pattern for a time last winter/spring - writing (and finishing my writing) in the morning, and then getting to do some house-demo work in the afternoon. It suits me marvelously.

By 5, I was changing out of my painting clothes into my pajamas. I'm a messy painter at the best of times (as my friend Karen and I say, our painting company would be called Fast 'N Sloppy), and painting the ceiling exacerbates things, so my face, hands, and hair were thoroughly coated in little dots of white. At least I got the giant glob that dropped right on my nose ring off. That was a moment of unfair panic.

There's not much to be said about the Tamale Pie-making process. It's about medium effort - enough ingredients to feel like you're doing something, but not enough to make it a huge hassle. Which, as we know, I think is mostly anything that involves repeatedly cutting pastry.

But anyhow, some beans, some cumin and chili powder, onions, garlic and green peppers. The usual chili routine. But this time you dump it into the baking dish (which, I admit, I found amusing) and cover it with the spiced up cornbread mix and bake for a bit while you drink wine and make salad and forbid Josh from playing Little Big Planet until you can join him.

As for the pie, it tasted as it should - like chili with cornbread. Josh first proclaimed his standard, 'It's good,' but then a minute later upped the ante with, 'It's really good,' and started eating with greater verve. I will say that I found myself much more excited about the cornbread part of this, if only because I think we can safely say at this point I have had more than enough chili to last a lifetime. For it's part, the cornbread was actually pretty spectacular. I just used the usual jiffy cornbread mix, which in general I have found underwhelming on the cornbread front. But the cheese and the cilantro mixed in somehow made it much sweeter than usual, I think. So that was fun.

Anyhow, ding dong, Main Dishes are done. To BBQ and victory!

I think we can all agree that the orange silicone baking square
wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing option for this dish

Elisabeth's Tamale AKA Chili+Cornbread Pie

1 cup chopped green pepper (aka 1 green pepper)
1/2 cup chopped onion (aka 1 medium red onion)*
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp cooking oil (canola)
1 15 oz can kidney beans, rinsed, drained, slightly mashed
1 15 oz can pinto beans, rinsed, drained, slightly mashed
1 6 oz (2/3 cup) vegetable juice
1 4 oz can diced green chile peppers, undrained
1 tsp chili powder and 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 8 1/2 oz package corn muffin mix (Jiffy, if you must know)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (2 oz)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro

Grease a 2 qt square baking dish. Set aside. Wonder if your orange silicone baking dish is 2 qts. Well, it is the only really square one you have, so there's that.

Anally measure out chopped onion and green pepper, swiftly realizing that it was basically one green pepper and one onion. Okay, don't measure it anally--that's bad grammar usage. But measure it out because you are being anal-retentive. Or with your butt. Okay, I measured it with my butt. Surprise!

In medium skillet cook sweet pepper, onion, and garlic in hot oil until tender. Realize you are going to let this happen while you measure out the rest of the stuff, which would make Josh insane if he were in the kitchen seeing these things not being tended every second. Put out lid in case you decide to set another fire, and also because it will be one less thing Josh will ask you about when he inevitably comes in and sees said vegetables on the stove and not being watched constantly.

Suck it up and actually rinse, drain, and mash the beans this time. Which is odd. I mean, first of all, you have to drain them before you can rinse them, so you are going to have to go out of order on Elisabeth's instructions. Also, they don't so much mash up very well, especially the kidney beans. It's more like you are breaking off the outside on a couple of them. Is this what you are supposed to do? And is the potato masher really the tool for this? God only knows.

Stir in now slightly mangled kidney and pinto beans, vegetable juice, chile peppers, chili powder and cumin, heat through. Wonder who on earth likes vegetable juice, and more to the point, why did you even have any lying around in your fridge in the first place? Remember being five and informing your dad it was gross that he drank tomato/vegetable juice back then. Suspect now it was actually a Bloody Mary in disguise. That disguise being, 'I am drinking tomato juice. Go play in traffic.'

Side note: Did anyone else's father tell them to go play in traffic? And then giggle maniacally? This is clearly why I can tolerate my writing partner signing onto IM, telling me everyone in Australia hates me, and then signing off. And by tolerate I mean find extremely amusing. Thank you Dad.

Spoon bean mixture into baking dish.

Prepare corn muffin mix according to package (which, FYI, involves and egg and some milk, which it turns out we once again only have Lactaid left, and it worked very well Thank You Very Much); add cheese and cilantro, which it turns out is a very good idea Thank You Very Much. Stir until combined.

Spoon cornbread mix evenly over top of bean mixture. Or just dump it in the center and then spread it out with a spatula, desperately trying to stretch it so it reaches the corners.

Bake, uncovered, at 400 for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with salsa (who else loves TJ's peach salsa? YUM.) and sour cream. Congratulate Elisabeth on being the first known person to get me to ingest vegetable juice in any permutation. And probably do it again when I have the leftovers for lunch.

*Onion vapor containment method: Mike Milch + squeakykitty, i.e., weird cutting + lemons = survival