Summer Lifesaver: Grilled Tamale Pie

I guess we've been kind of spoiled this year. The weather in Wisconsin has been pretty temperate this summer. So, we've had very few hot muggy days.

That makes me pretty happy, as I'm simply not a fan of hot, humid weather -- which tends to render me limp, listless and headachey.

Yes -- I'm afraid I'm a wimp when it comes to the dog days of summer.

However, I'll confess that I don't believe summer has TRULY happened unless we have a few of those scorching hot days when the idea of cooking makes my stomach turn.

This week -- and into the weekend -- looks like it's going to bring some of that weather.

Fortunately, I've got a plan.

When the kitchen is too hot for cooking, adapting recipes for the grill is a life-saver. Such is the case with this delicious tamale pie, which can be prepared completely on your backyard grill.

It all starts with fresh summer vegetables like zucchini, peppers, tomatoes and fresh sweet corn which are cooked with fresh chorizo and black beans in a cast iron skillet and topped with a cornmeal crust.

But, look twice. Because this isn't the tamale pie you might be used to.

While some recipes for tamale pie call for cornbread as a topping, we opted to keep things more traditional by using a mixture of masa harina (the flour used for tortillas and tamales), butter and chicken broth.

It's easy to throw together and it creates a delicious tamale-like topping that cooks quickly and lends an authentic flavor to this great hot weather dish.

Get the Recipe: Grilled Tamale Pie

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Better Stuffed Peppers: Filled with Quinoa & Chorizo

 Have I ever told you my feelings about stuffed peppers?

For many, stuffed peppers are the ultimate comfort food. For me... well, they're not comforting at all. They're bitter. And often soggy. And honestly, if I wanted meatloaf, I'd just make meatloaf.

I recall an episode of one of Michael Chiarello's cooking shows where he talks about green peppers, and how no one should have to abide them. "They're not ripe," he said. And that resonated with me.

I have no love for the green pepper, and ever since I saw that show I have used their "unripeness" as my excuse for not eating them (I make one exception -- and that is chicken cacciatore, which I believe is never quite right without at least one green pepper added).

But, anyhow -- getting back to stuffed peppers -- Obviously, I've overcome my aversion, right?

Well, not exactly. However, since I'm not a big fan, I almost always buck tradition when I stuff a pepper. First, I almost always use red peppers. Or orange or yellow ones.

I also sometimes put eggs in them (they make fun little souffles). And always cheese. I might even fill them up to the brim with vegetables. But, you'll almost never see me making the classic stuffed green peppers with the meatloaf-y insides. Bleh. 

It's an effort to overcome what I feel might be a simple psychological aversion to a perfectly delicious food. And sometimes it works.

For instance, these Mexican inspired stuffed peppers may have taken me over to the other side. Seriously.

They're fresh and delicious,  filled with protein-packed whole grain quinoa, easy to make and perfect for company, since they can be made ahead.

Pre-roasting the red pepper halves with a bit of butter gives them lots of flavor and prevents the filling from being overcooked during a long oven time. So, they're not soggy or slimey!  Hurrah!

Quinoa & Chorizo Stuffed Peppers

There are more great recipes where this one came from! We created this dish as part of our work with the Go Bold with Butter blog, where you'll find an amazing collection of delicious recipes using real butter.

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Give Thanks: Corn Bread Dressing with Chorizo and Roasted Red Peppers

Traditional Thanksgiving fare is delicious, but sometimes it’s fun to change things up a bit.

I'll admit we sometimes go a little bit crazy with our Thanksgiving escapades. Whether it's serving our turkey with deep dark mole, or trading it in for duck or rabbit, we like to change the game every now and again.

But, that doesn't mean we don't love some of the traditions that come with the Thanksgiving meal -- including a nice big both of tender dressing.

This southwestern style dressing is the perfect way to liven things up without heading too far off course.

Buttery homemade cornbread acts as the base for this make-ahead recipe, which uses chipotle peppers, chorizo, and roasted red peppers to enliven a family favorite. As written, this recipe is more smoky than spicy, but you can kick up the heat by adding more minced chipotles.

It makes the perfect side dish for your Thanksgiving feast, but it's also great served as a main dish with a nice crunchy side salad, or a mound of tender cooked kale or spinach.

Corn Bread Dressing with Chorizo and Red Peppers

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Spring Comfort Food: Mexican Bean Pot with Spinach & Chorizo

Spring in Wisconsin is always an interesting proposition. While the weather improves overall, there's no telling what any given day might hold -- rain, flurries, sun, or clouds.  It's also difficult to tell from day to day what the temperature is going to be like.    As the saying goes, Wisconsin is one of the only states where you can experience all four seasons in the span of a week (or less)!

This recipe is for the damp, cool days of spring.  The ones that still leave you longing for a bit of warm comfort food.  And it's the perfect recipe for someone who wants to try out cooking beans from scratch.  If you've never done so, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the texture of home cooked beans -- which are a bit more firm than canned beans, and (IMHO) infinitely more flavorful. There's also a chance that the beans are infinitely more nutritious -- but, I'll leave that to the discernment of the experts who can actually measure such things.  The fact is, I cook my beans from scratch because they taste good.

Of course, my technique (as with many other things) for cooking beans, is still a work in progress. For example, the jury is still out for me on whether or not to soak beans.  Soaking definitely cuts down on the cooking time, but I'm not certain that it bears much other benefit. Lately, I've been ignoring the pre-soaking -- particularly for black beans, which seem to lose a great deal of color when soaked. As a result, I tend to cook my beans on the weekend, when I have plenty of time to wait for them to cook.  I've also been adding a strip or two of kombu (seaweed) to my beans as they cook. Like other seaweeds, kombu contains trace minerals -- which give a nutritional boost to the beans.  It also contains enzymes that reportedly help to break down the raffinose sugars in beans (the cause of excessive gas and bloating), increasing digestability.   The added nutritional benefit is enough for me -- but if it happens to also reduce some of the unpleasant side effects associated with beans, all the better.

This particular bean pot was inspired by a lazy afternoon when the rain was coming down in torrents outside the window.  Fresh Mexican-style chorizo was on sale at the Outpost, and I had almost two pounds of spinach languishing in the refrigerator.  I wasn't in the mood for soup -- but I was seriously craving a pot of beans.

I cooked the beans simply -- in plenty of water with a large red onion and some garlic cloves. I let them cook gently in my dutch oven for most of the afternoon -- pausing to test every 15-20 minutes during the last stages of cooking. Black beans are done when the skin easily gives way when pressed between two fingers, and the creamy flesh oozes out in a fantastic display of nutty deliciousness.

When the beans were nearly cooked, I sauteed a bit of chorizo and a large red pepper.  I also pulled out a 15 oz can of chopped fire roasted tomatoes and a couple of chipotle peppers, which I chopped finely.  I added everything to the cooked beans with a bit of salt, and allowed them to simmer for about 20 minutes -- just to let the flavors meld. Then, I added the chopped spinach.

Once the spinach was wilted, I removed the pot from the flame, and spooned the beans into bowls, topping them liberally with cilantro and a nice squeeze of fresh lime.

We scooped up our beans into warm tortillas, slurping up the flavorful sauces as they dripped.

The sheer simplicity of this dish made it an immediate favorite.  Seasoned with little more than the spices from the chorizo, a hint of sweetness from the red bell pepper, and a bit of smoky heat from the chipotles, this was one of the best pots of beans I'd ever eaten.   And it was even better the next day for lunch, alongside a cheese and jalapeno quesadilla.

Excellent paired with a well-mixed margarita with plenty of lime. 

Mexican Bean Pot with Spinach & Chorizo


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