Ruth's Tamale Pie
I hope you SE'ers will know what my friend, in her 90's, means when she asks me to bring a recipe for "Ruth's Tamale Pie." I think it might be from a book by Ruth Glick--but somehow I missed the Tamale Pie craze in whatever decade it occurred! Alternatively, I'm sure she would be happy with a more contemporary recipe that one of you has tried and liked. Thanks for your help!
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
4 Comments:
well, i can give you a rough-recipe, i make this all of the time and people seem to like it.... it's not ruth's recipe but one i dug up a while back from the 1940's....
you take your best chili (it could be vegetarian) and then:
ratio of cornmeal to water: 1 cup cornmeal to 3 cups water
(of course it depends on how much chili you're going to use - i like my
cornmeal crust pretty thick so i make extra - so it's up to you)
pour 1 cup of cold water over the cornmeal to moisten, boil the remaining 2 cups and pour over the cornmeal.
you're going to cook this over a double boiler. stirring a lot at first to get any lumps out. then you can stir once in awhile.... (20-30 minutes)
once the cornmeal has become a little thick (not too thick - maybe the consistency of porridge) you can season with salt, pepper, butter (or olive oil), shredded cheese of your choice, chopped scallions, cilantro.... whatever you like....
now you're going to put your chili (warm) into a nice heat proof casserole and spoon the cornmeal mixture on top and bake it off at about 375 until it's nice and set and a little golden brown.
that's my version, of course, i'm not the best at recipe directions, but you can get the idea....
pooch at 10:33PM on 07/27/09
Okay, I'm showing my age again. . .I learned how to make tamale pie from a segment on the Dinah Shore show in the early 70s. I had never heard of it before that, and now I make it a day or two after I make chili, which is about once a month.
Make your best chili, with or without meat, but it's gotta have beans and it has to be thick, not soupy, or use 4-6 cups of leftover chili.
Make cornmeal mush with 2-1/2 cups yellow cornmeal mixed with 1 tsp. salt and 2 cups cold water, which is then stirred into 4 cups of boiling water in a large saucepan and cooked until thick over low heat. Stir in 2 Tbsp. butter.
Pat not quite half of the cornmeal mush onto the bottom of a buttered 13"x9" glass or ceramic casserole dish.
Whisk another half cup of water into the mush remaining in the saucepan and set aside.
Spoon the chili over the layer of cornmeal mush in the casserole. Top with a cup or two of cooked fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels. If desired, add a layer of shredded leftover cooked chicken. Sprinkle on a nice layer of shredded cheddar, colby-jack or Monterey jack. Spread the remaining mush over the top of the cheese, kind of like frosting a cake.
Bake at 375 degrees on the middle rack of the oven for about half an hour or until the pie is bubbling and the center of the mush is fairly well set. Sprinkle a little extra cheese on top and wait 10 to 15 minutes before cutting. Garnish with sliced black olives, jalapenos, green onions, and/or cilantro.
betteirene at 12:20AM on 07/28/09
Thanks for your recipes. I think they both sound yummy. I will attempt to make them shortly.
Teachertalk at 4:04PM on 07/28/09
I'd never heard of tamale pie before this thread, and I just want to thank Teachertalk for starting it and pooch and betteirene for providing recipes. This sounds great. Am bookmarking for cooler weather!
Adam Kuban at 10:42AM on 07/31/09