Just got finished reading a great book called Fashionable Food. It is seven
decades of food fads (mainly USA food) up until the 1990's. It has lots of
recipes and pictures of how kitchens were over the years. This sort of
thing is right up my alley! Keep in mind that the recipes listed were fads.
And it did say that most of the recipes were really pretty inedible but the
end result could be pretty such as the composed salads made to resemble
flowers dotted with tinted cream cheese. And here I found the 1920's Humble
Tamale Pie recipe. Yes, there is an American savory pie but... Why it is
called a pie is beyond me because I think it's more of a casserole than pie
although it does have layers.

I have made tamale pies over the years using a cornbread top crust. They
were okay but did not taste like a tamale. And neither did this. This
actually didn't taste very good to me at all. More like creamed corn gone
bad. Didn't have the texture of creamed corn mind you. Just oddly enough
the taste. And I like creamed corn but something just wasn't right with
this.

And I did make a few mistakes. One being that I apparently can not judge
what half is. Put too much mush on the bottom and not enough on top.
Didn't seem to matter once it was slopped on the plate. Two being that I
didn't measure my tomatoes and may have put too many in. I used two 14.5 oz
cans. Probably should have gone with 1.5 cans or better still some other
form of tomato product because this wasn't so great in there. Then I put in
too much chili powder which my husband probably liked because there is no
amount of heat that is too much for him. It was just a wee bit more than I
liked but not so much that it left me screaming. I wound up tossing that
bottle of chili powder. It was a cheap brand and all clumped. And not much
left in it so I just tossed it. I have more and better stuff. Oh and I
used Bob's Red Mill corn meal. I had never tried it before and it seemed a
bit coarser than I am used to. Perhaps should have used Alber's instead?

The end result? Extremely filling! I only ate perhaps 12 bites of the
stuff and it sat in my stomach like lead. Served with plain pinto beans on
the side and some canned Spanish rice. Yeah the rice wasn't too good either
but it was cheap at Big Lots and I figured from the aroma that this thing
gave off while baking that I would be needing something additional. At
least the beans were good! Heh! But as I described this to my mom, she
said it sounded just like a dish that her mom made when she was a kid. It
is very economical and my mom came from a big family so I can see how this
would fit the bill there. Here is the recipe if you are so inclined.

3 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cornmeal
1 Tablespoon butter or mild vegetable oil
1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cups canned tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 teaspoons chili powder or to taste
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir 1 cup of the water and the salt into the
cornmeal in a large saucepan. Bring remaining 2 cups water to a boil and
stir into the cornmeal mixture. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly,
until thick. Line a buttered 9 inch square baking dish (I used my big blue
cornflower Pyrex) with half of the mush.

Melt butter in skillet. Fry beef and onion until meat is lightly browned
and onion is soft. Drain excess fat. Add tomatoes and seasonings and cook
for a few minutes. Note that I had to cook for more than a few. Even
though my tomatoes did not appear to have much juice, it sure did come out
of them as they cooked. I did buy pre-chopped so perhaps the whole would
have been better and I would chop them. That is most likely what they had
in those days. Taste and correct the seasoning. Pour meat mixture over the
mush and top with the rest of the mush. Bake until browned, 35 to 40
minutes. Mine actually took a bit less but most likely because I didn't
have enough mush on the top. And it gave off a lot of liquid despite being
cooked down after the tomatoes were added for close to 20 min.

I doubt that I will make this again. But if I do, I will likely add some
chilies or something to amp up the flavor. Perhaps add them to the mush.
And use another form of tomato product like sauce or salsa. Heck, I might
even forgo the mush and just use creamed corn. But then it will be even
less tamale-like and in no way will be a pie but... It might taste better.
I have used creamed corn in my enchilada casserole because it gives a bit of
a creamy texture that otherwise would be missing due to my not being able to
have cheese.

That should say 1 cup of cornmeal.
"Julie Bove" > wrote in message
...
> Just got finished reading a great book called Fashionable Food. It is
> seven decades of food fads (mainly USA food) up until the 1990's. It has
> lots of recipes and pictures of how kitchens were over the years. This
> sort of thing is right up my alley! Keep in mind that the recipes listed
> were fads. And it did say that most of the recipes were really pretty
> inedible but the end result could be pretty such as the composed salads
> made to resemble flowers dotted with tinted cream cheese. And here I
> found the 1920's Humble Tamale Pie recipe. Yes, there is an American
> savory pie but... Why it is called a pie is beyond me because I think
> it's more of a casserole than pie although it does have layers.
>
> I have made tamale pies over the years using a cornbread top crust. They
> were okay but did not taste like a tamale. And neither did this. This
> actually didn't taste very good to me at all. More like creamed corn gone
> bad. Didn't have the texture of creamed corn mind you. Just oddly enough
> the taste. And I like creamed corn but something just wasn't right with
> this.
>
> And I did make a few mistakes. One being that I apparently can not judge
> what half is. Put too much mush on the bottom and not enough on top.
> Didn't seem to matter once it was slopped on the plate. Two being that I
> didn't measure my tomatoes and may have put too many in. I used two 14.5
> oz cans. Probably should have gone with 1.5 cans or better still some
> other form of tomato product because this wasn't so great in there. Then
> I put in too much chili powder which my husband probably liked because
> there is no amount of heat that is too much for him. It was just a wee
> bit more than I liked but not so much that it left me screaming. I wound
> up tossing that bottle of chili powder. It was a cheap brand and all
> clumped. And not much left in it so I just tossed it. I have more and
> better stuff. Oh and I used Bob's Red Mill corn meal. I had never tried
> it before and it seemed a bit coarser than I am used to. Perhaps should
> have used Alber's instead?
>
> The end result? Extremely filling! I only ate perhaps 12 bites of the
> stuff and it sat in my stomach like lead. Served with plain pinto beans
> on the side and some canned Spanish rice. Yeah the rice wasn't too good
> either but it was cheap at Big Lots and I figured from the aroma that this
> thing gave off while baking that I would be needing something additional.
> At least the beans were good! Heh! But as I described this to my mom,
> she said it sounded just like a dish that her mom made when she was a kid.
> It is very economical and my mom came from a big family so I can see how
> this would fit the bill there. Here is the recipe if you are so inclined.
>
> 3 cups water
> 1 teaspoon salt
> 1 cornmeal
> 1 Tablespoon butter or mild vegetable oil
> 1 pound ground beef
> 1 large onion, finely chopped
> 2 cups canned tomatoes, drained and chopped
> 2 teaspoons chili powder or to taste
> Salt and pepper
>
> Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir 1 cup of the water and the salt into
> the cornmeal in a large saucepan. Bring remaining 2 cups water to a boil
> and stir into the cornmeal mixture. Cook over low heat, stirring
> constantly, until thick. Line a buttered 9 inch square baking dish (I
> used my big blue cornflower Pyrex) with half of the mush.
>
> Melt butter in skillet. Fry beef and onion until meat is lightly browned
> and onion is soft. Drain excess fat. Add tomatoes and seasonings and
> cook for a few minutes. Note that I had to cook for more than a few.
> Even though my tomatoes did not appear to have much juice, it sure did
> come out of them as they cooked. I did buy pre-chopped so perhaps the
> whole would have been better and I would chop them. That is most likely
> what they had in those days. Taste and correct the seasoning. Pour meat
> mixture over the mush and top with the rest of the mush. Bake until
> browned, 35 to 40 minutes. Mine actually took a bit less but most likely
> because I didn't have enough mush on the top. And it gave off a lot of
> liquid despite being cooked down after the tomatoes were added for close
> to 20 min.
>
> I doubt that I will make this again. But if I do, I will likely add some
> chilies or something to amp up the flavor. Perhaps add them to the mush.
> And use another form of tomato product like sauce or salsa. Heck, I might
> even forgo the mush and just use creamed corn. But then it will be even
> less tamale-like and in no way will be a pie but... It might taste
> better. I have used creamed corn in my enchilada casserole because it
> gives a bit of a creamy texture that otherwise would be missing due to my
> not being able to have cheese.
>

Julie Bove wrote:
> ...At least the beans were good! Heh! But as I described
> this to my mom, she said it sounded just like a dish that her mom made
> when she was a kid. It is very economical and my mom came from a big
> family so I can see how this would fit the bill there. Here is the
> recipe if you are so inclined.
>
> 3 cups water
> 1 teaspoon salt
> 1 [cup] cornmeal
> 1 Tablespoon butter or mild vegetable oil
> 1 pound ground beef
> 1 large onion, finely chopped
> 2 cups canned tomatoes, drained and chopped
> 2 teaspoons chili powder or to taste
> Salt and pepper
> [snipped the directions]
>
> I doubt that I will make this again. But if I do, I will likely add
> some chilies or something to amp up the flavor. Perhaps add them to the
> mush. And use another form of tomato product like sauce or salsa. Heck,
> I might even forgo the mush and just use creamed corn. But then it will
> be even less tamale-like and in no way will be a pie but... It might
> taste better. I have used creamed corn in my enchilada casserole because
> it gives a bit of a creamy texture that otherwise would be missing due
> to my not being able to have cheese.
>

Maybe try using canned enchilada sauce (green or red) instead of
tomatoes. I think I would start with a can of red sauce and a diced
fresh tomato.

Bob

"zxcvbob" > wrote in message
...
> Julie Bove wrote:
>> ...At least the beans were good! Heh! But as I described this to my
>> mom, she said it sounded just like a dish that her mom made when she was
>> a kid. It is very economical and my mom came from a big family so I can
>> see how this would fit the bill there. Here is the recipe if you are so
>> inclined.
>>
>> 3 cups water
>> 1 teaspoon salt
>> 1 [cup] cornmeal
>> 1 Tablespoon butter or mild vegetable oil
>> 1 pound ground beef
>> 1 large onion, finely chopped
>> 2 cups canned tomatoes, drained and chopped
>> 2 teaspoons chili powder or to taste
>> Salt and pepper
>> [snipped the directions]
>>
>> I doubt that I will make this again. But if I do, I will likely add some
>> chilies or something to amp up the flavor. Perhaps add them to the mush.
>> And use another form of tomato product like sauce or salsa. Heck, I
>> might even forgo the mush and just use creamed corn. But then it will be
>> even less tamale-like and in no way will be a pie but... It might taste
>> better. I have used creamed corn in my enchilada casserole because it
>> gives a bit of a creamy texture that otherwise would be missing due to my
>> not being able to have cheese.
>>
>
> Maybe try using canned enchilada sauce (green or red) instead of tomatoes.
> I think I would start with a can of red sauce and a diced

Sometimes I like canned enchilada sauce and sometimes not. But my husband
did like it! Last night I served him a huge portion to which he protested,
"I couldn't possibly eat that much!" And guess whose plate I found
practically licked clean? Hehehe.

On 2013-12-13, zxcvbob > wrote:

> Maybe try using canned enchilada sauce (green or red) instead of
> tomatoes.

Ain't gonna be worth a damn till a can of corn and some sliced black
olives get worked in there. Also needs some cheese.

nb

On 14 Dec 2013 03:26:27 GMT, notbob > wrote:

> On 2013-12-13, zxcvbob > wrote:
>
> > Maybe try using canned enchilada sauce (green or red) instead of
> > tomatoes.
>
> Ain't gonna be worth a damn till a can of corn and some sliced black
> olives get worked in there. Also needs some cheese.
>
Corn, okay. Olives, no... but black beans could work.


--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

"notbob" > wrote in message
...
> On 2013-12-13, zxcvbob > wrote:
>
>> Maybe try using canned enchilada sauce (green or red) instead of
>> tomatoes.
>
> Ain't gonna be worth a damn till a can of corn and some sliced black
> olives get worked in there. Also needs some cheese.

There is a recipe in the book like that but... I have found that I don't
like olives cooked in things and I can't have cheese. I did put cheese on
his portion last night because I had a little Mexican cheese left to use up.

"sf" > wrote in message
...
> On 14 Dec 2013 03:26:27 GMT, notbob > wrote:
>
>> On 2013-12-13, zxcvbob > wrote:
>>
>> > Maybe try using canned enchilada sauce (green or red) instead of
>> > tomatoes.
>>
>> Ain't gonna be worth a damn till a can of corn and some sliced black
>> olives get worked in there. Also needs some cheese.
>>
> Corn, okay. Olives, no... but black beans could work.

I would put beans in everything if I had it my way. But I am trying not to
give him too many beans in a week because of the gout. I did give him beans
the day before and he has been eating a lot of hummus.