Holy Tomato Pie, Batman!

I know a lot of you out there have your own gardens, I see your pictures on Facebook!  Right about now you're probably staring at tomato plants heavy with fruit and feeling really proud and maybe just a touch nervous.  Just what are you going to do with ALL THOSE TOMATOES??  I'm a big fan of canning so I definitely recommend you put some of those garden-fresh beauties up for the winter months!  But for enjoying right now, you MUST make this Tomato, Cheddar and Bacon Pie from Southern Living Magazine.  I made this pie earlier in the summer (and am just now getting around to posting it, of course) and my friends and I were blown away by the cheesey, bacony, tomatoey goodness!

The bacon crust really makes this pie.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Bacon crust.  With sour cream.  Seriously.  And the addition of herbs, cheddar and Parmesan in the filling make this one a sure-fire hit!  Don't skip the step of salting and draining the tomatoes on paper towels, it will help keep your crust from getting soggy.  I made just a few slight modifications to the Southern Living recipe, only so that I could use ingredients I already had at home.  (The original recipe can be accessed through the link above.)  I think you could easily make your own variation by using different herbs and cheese - feta, gruyere or goat cheese would be lovely, and tarragon or oregano would do nicely for the herbs.  I used just red tomatoes, but if you have multiple colors and varieties, all the better!  Just don't skip the bacon crust please!!

The finished pie full of delicious tomatoes.  This would be perfect with a salad and glass of wine for a light dinner or lunch.

Tomato, Cheddar and Bacon Pie
Adapted from Southern Living Magazine
Makes one 9-inch pie

CRUST
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup sour cream
8 cooked bacon slices, chopped

FILLING
2 1/2 lbs. ripe, fresh tomatoes
2 tsp. kosher salt, divided
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 large egg, beaten
2 tsp. dried dill
2 Tb. chopped fresh basil (or substitute 1 Tb. dried basil)
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 Tb. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 Tb. plain yellow cornmeal

For the crust, place flour in bowl of a heavy-duty electric stand mixer; cut in cold butter with a pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles small peas. Chill 10 minutes.  Add bacon to the flour mixture; beat at low speed just until combined. Gradually add sour cream, 1/4 cup at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.  Spoon mixture onto a heavily floured surface; sprinkle lightly with flour, and knead 3 or 4 times, adding more flour as needed. Roll to a 13-inch round. Gently press the dough in a 9-inch fluted tart pan or pie pan and trim the edges.  Chill at least 30 minutes.

For the filling, slice the tomatoes 1/4-inch thick and spread out in a single layer onto paper towels. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt and let drain for 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  In a bowl combine the cheddar cheese, the next 9 ingredients and the remaining 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and stir well. Sprinkle the cornmeal onto the bottom of the pie crust and spread half of the cheese mixture on top.  Layer half of the tomatoes on top of the cheese in overlapping circles.  Spread the rest of the cheese over the top of this layer and then cover with the remaining tomatoes.  If desired, season the top of the pie with salt and freshly ground black pepper and a light sprinkling of the same herbs you used.

Bake the pie in the pre-heated oven about 40 to 45 minutes, shielding the edge of the crust with foil if needed to keep it from browning too much.  Let the pie rest at room temperature 1 to 2 hours before serving.  This pie is best served at room temperature, but still delicious when cold.

The bacon crust!  I actually had more dough then I needed, so I wrapped up the excess and put it in the freezer.  I have enough to make a mini pie, or to roll, cut and bake into delicious snacks!

The assembled pie ready for baking.  I sprinkled a little salt, pepper and basil over the top of mine.

A Fiesta of Tamale Pie!

Tamale pie??  OK, bear with me.  I don't always want to make sweet pies and I got this clever new Chicago Metallic pie bowl pan and I wanted to do something different.  Trust me!  One of my part time jobs is as a chef instructor at Sur La Table in Denver and recently our store manager asked me if I'd make some pies in this new pan so that the store could serve samples.  Turns out I really took a liking to this little pan.  It makes four cute individual pies with a little bowl-shaped indentation baked right in, perfect for filling with a scoop of ice cream.  It even comes with a cutter to stamp out circles for the top and bottom of the pies.  While I was making apple pies for the stores, I got to thinking that it would be great to make savory pies as well.  Think chicken pot pies with gravy in the bowl, or a puff pastry crust filled with beef and gravy and a scoop of mashed potatoes in the bowl (double carbs, heaven!!), or . . . tamale pie with guacamole in the bowl!!

I sold tamales over the holidays and still have some fresh corn masa in the freezer, so naturally I used that for the pies.  If you aren't familiar with masa, it is basically fresh corn that has been soaked and treated with lime and ground into a moist dough.  I was lucky enough to get freshly ground masa on the cheap at a local tortilla factory, but it is also often stocked in large Hispanic markets, especially in December when tamales are traditionally made.  Fresh masa is superior for making homemade tamales and tortillas, you can't beat the wonderful corn flavor and aroma.  You could easily make this recipe using masa harina, which comes dry in a bag, and is more readily available.  You simply mix it with water until you get the right consistency.

I melted cheese on my finished pies and filled the bowls with fresh guacamole.  Add a little pico de gallo and sour cream to garnish and you are in for a delicious treat.  If you decide to pick up one of these pie bowl pans, do yourself and favor and buy two so it won't take so long to fill and bake several batches.  Look for these adorable little devils again on the blog, I have a lot of sweet and savory ideas to try out!

My new favorite kitchen toy!

Tamale Pies
Makes 10

Tamale Dough
2 1/2 pounds fresh corn masa (available at large Hispanic markets or directly from a tortilla factory)
1 tsp. salt
water, as needed

Place the fresh corn masa in the bowl of a stand mixer and add the salt.  Mix on low speed until well combined, about one to two minutes.  If the masa is dry and crumbly add a little water, about a teaspoon at a time, until the dough is firm and holds together.  It should feel a bit like Play-Doh - a solid mass, not too dry, and not sticky but leaves a light residue on your hands.

Divide the masa in half and roll it out between two sheets of plastic wrap to 1/4 inch thick.  The plastic wrap should peel off the dough easily.  Use the red circle template to cut out tops and bottoms in the masa and gently peel them off the plastic, set aside on a sheet tray lined with plastic.  Add the scraps to the second half of the masa and repeat the rolling and cutting process.  Re-roll the masa scraps as many times as you can to cut more tops and bottoms.

Filling
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2 Tb. chile powder
1 Tb. ground cumin
1 Tb. smoked paprika
1 small onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tb. tomato paste
1/2 cup water

In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the ground beef and crumble with a spoon.   When cooked, drain off the excess fat and add the spices, onion and garlic and mix well.  Cook until the onion is starting to soften, about 5 minutes, and then stir in the tomato paste and water.  Put a lid on the skillet and reduce the heat to low.   Cook about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a little more water if  the pan is getting too dry.  Spread out the filling on a sheet tray or large dish and let cool.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.  To assemble to tamale pies, melt 4 tablespoons of butter.  Brush the butter on one side of four of the cut out masa dough bottoms and fit them into the pan, buttered side down.  Be sure the press the dough firmly into place so there are no air bubbles.  Fill each pie with about 1/2 cup of the beef filling.  Take 4 cut out tops of the dough and press them onto each pie.  Press the edges together very well to make sure they are sealed.  Brush the tops with more melted butter.  Bake on a sheet tray in the pre-heated oven until the masa is firm and set, about 20 minutes.  Turn the pies onto a cooling rack.  Repeat the process of filling and baking the pies until the masa dough and beef is used.  Serve hot with cheese, salsa, guacamole and sour cream.

The proper consistency for the fresh masa.

Roll the dough out between plastic wrap and use the enclosed cutter to stamp out the tops and bottoms.

Fit the bottoms into the pan, buttered side down.

Fill with the seasoned ground beef.

Add the tops and press the edges together to make sure the pies are sealed.  Brush the top with butter.

The finished tamale pie, filled with with cheese and guacamole.  I squirted the sour cream out of a piping bag, I'm fancy like that.

Delicioso!!