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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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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