Cowboy Stew Redux: Stellar Tamale Pie

Some people aren't really into leftovers.  But, I can hardly imagine a life without them.  Even though there are only two of us, I always cook for at least 4 people. Most of the time, we take the leftovers to work for lunch. On the rare occasion when I've cooked up more than four servings (or we don't need lunch the next day), I often throw the remainders into the freezer.

Even for those of us who take great joy from cooking, there are nights when we just don't feel like going through the effort.  These are the nights when most people order take-out (and trust me, we do that too).  But, it's such a joy to know that a delicious dinner is only a few steps away when you've got some leftovers on hand.

In this case, it was a tub of Pork Cheek and Black Eyed Pea Chili.  This stew-like concoction has big chunks of pork shoulder (or pork cheeks, if you can find them) and black-eyed peas that have been cooked in a combination of chicken broth and porter, and seasoned with plenty of Spanish smoked paprika.  This is the sort of chili that takes some time, but is well worth the effort -- especially since it makes plenty!  Its flavor also improves over time, like many other well-seasoned stews.

Since this particular chili is pretty meaty, and we tend toward the Veg-Head side of things, I decided to saute some kale & onions to add to the chili.  I cooked them right in my cast iron skillet so that I only had to dirty one pan.  When the onions were cooked and the kale was barely tender, I stirred in the chili and allowed it to reheat.

While the chili was reheating, I stirred together a quick cornbread topping -- whole wheat flour, cornmeal, some ancho chile powder, cumin...  I grabbed some shredded cheese to stir into the cornbread & scatter over the chili.  And then I spooned the topping onto the warm chili mixture.

Just 45 minutes in a 400 degree oven, and dinner was served! 

The pork was tender, the sauce rich and smoky. And the cornbread topping helped to sop up some of the juice from the stew and greens.

Even better than that, Peef declared it "one of the best dinners ever!"  Makes me wonder why we don't cook with leftovers more often.

Easy Tamale Pie


What are your favorite leftovers for repurposing?


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A Happy Thing: Locally Milled Grains

**1/14/10 Update: Great River Organic Milling products now available at Amazon.com  (Keyword Great River Organic Milling) **

I have to admit, I entered the month-long local eating challenge with a bit of trepidation. Sure, we'd done great during the Milwaukee challenge... but, that challenge was only two weeks long. And there was at least one product that I was a bit concerned about -- flour. I didn't include flour (or cornmeal) among our exclusions for the challenge -- mainly because I was determined to find local sources for both products. But, I wasn't altogether certain that I'd meet with success. I cannot tell you how incredibly excited I was to happen upon two fantastic products from Great River Organic Milling in Fountain City, Wisconsin. Our local co-op carries both their whole wheat pastry flour as well as their stone-ground corn meal -- both items that I was running low on, and that I hoped to find a local source for. The first thing I noted about the flour when I opened the bag was the incredible smell that wafted out. Never before have I smelled flour that gave off such an essence of wheat. The same experience greeted me as I opened the bag of corn meal. This stone-ground meal was soft and fine -- which a distinctive corn aroma. The down side of the Great River products is that they cost at LEAST double the price that I'm used to shelling out for flour and cornmeal. But, it feels good to know that (right now at least) I have the money to put toward supporting a local milling company that seems to produce a great product. As I was packing the grains up into jars for storage in the fridge, I found myself getting oddly giddy over the idea of baking. And seriously encouraged about our local eating prospects.

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