Joe Soucheray's Savory Tomato Pie
Joe Soucheray, resident talk show host and curmudgeon on KSTP AM-1500 in Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota mentioned his enjoyment of a savory tomato and onion pie the other day on his show. As usual, he gave no clue as to the recipe, so I dug around, found several recipes, then experimented until I came up with this delicious version of a tomato pie. It's a terrific side dish for a hearty Autumn meal.
Prep Time: 45 minutes (can be prepared and refrigerated an hour or two before cooking) Cooking Time: 60 minutes (includes 15 minute cooling time)
Ingredients
1 package refrigerated pie crust (Two 9" crusts). Keep
refrigerated until needed.
12-14 Medium-sized roma tomatoes
1/2 White onion
2 Cups shredded cheese (Cheddar and Jack)
4 Slices bacon
4 TBSP mayonnaise
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp Salt Pepper
Directions
Follow the order of steps here pretty closely or you'll get discombobulated, for sure.
Put 4 quarts of water in large stockpot and bring to boil. While waiting, make a shallow, x-shaped cut in the pointy ends of the roma tomatoes. Romas are used in this recipe to keep the pie from being too juicy. When water is boiling, put whole tomatoes into boiling water for 30-60 seconds. Remove and cool in cold running water or in a bowl of ice water.
Peel the skins from the tomatoes, starting from the pointy end. The blanching process will let the peels slip off fairly easy. Slice the tomatoes into 1/4" thick round slices. You should end up with three or four slices from each tomato. Put sliced tomatoes in colander. Sprinkle with the salt and add pepper and dried Italian seasoning. Toss gently, then place colander on towel to drain.
While tomatoes drain, cook and crumble or chop the bacon, then put in small container. Slice the onion half very thinly across the layers and put in a container. If you didn't buy pre-shredded cheese, grate it now and place in mixing bowl.
Mix shredded cheese, bacon, and mayonnaise until cheese is coated. Mixture will be lumpy and sticky. Never mind.
Unroll one round of pastry crust and gently press it into a 9" pie pan. Line the bottom completely with slices of tomato. Cover the tomato with a layer of the thinly-sliced onion. Add another layer of tomatoes and onions. Add the cheese, bacon and mayonnaise mix to the top of the pie, distributing evenly. Unroll the top crust and lay on top of pie. Crimp the crust edges together to seal the outside of the pie. Finally, use a paring knife to pierce the top crust in a nice pattern. This allows steam to escape during baking. If you wish, you can refrigerate the assembled pie for an hour or two before baking.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place pie on center rack. Bake for 30 minutes, then check crust for doneness. If it's getting too browned, cover the pie with foil. Bake for 15 more minutes. Remove pie from oven and place on cooling rack for 15 minutes before serving. Slice and serve.
George's World-Famous Chili -- Minnesota Style
Many Minnesotans seem to have tender palates, for the most part. Offer them something very spicy or with a lot of heat, and they head for the milder fare. So, I came up with this recipe. It has all the flavor, but not so much of the bite of typical chili. I served it up at a family gathering made up mostly of lutefisk-eating folks. They looked skeptical, but tried it, since they were being "nice" to me, a recent arrival. It got raves. Regular folks like this recipe, too, and you can add hot sauce to your own bowl if you need to "feel the heat." Try it!
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 4 hours
Ingredients:
1.5 lb. Fresh bulk pork sausage
1.5 lb. Bulk Chorizo sausage (available at most grocery stores)
2 lb. Low-fat ground beef
3 Large yellow onions
6 Cloves of garlic (or equivalent)
3 Large green bell peppers
3 Large cans (28 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 Can (15-16 oz.) enchilada sauce (mild)
2 Cans Black beans
2 Cans Red Kidney Beans
2 Cans Chili Beans
2 Cans Pinto Beans
1 Tablespoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon coarse ground pepper
1 Teaspoon chili powder
1 Teaspoon Chipotle chili powder
(Note: If Chipotle chili powder not available, double regular chili powder.)
1 Tablespoon ground Cumin (comino) (Look for bags of this in Mexican food section...it's cheaper)
Other Ingredients at serving time:
2 Medium white onions
1 lb. grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1 Bottle hot sauce (Tabasco™ or other)
Salt
Pepper
Directions:
You'll need a very large pot or an electric roaster oven (recommended) for this. It makes about 3 gallons, so plan ahead. Begin cooking at least 4 hours before you plan to serve the chili. You can't do it too early. Allow about an hour for chopping ingredients and cooking the meat.
Start by coarsely chopping the yellow onions and the bell peppers (1/2" pieces). Crush and finely chop the garlic. In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
Sauté the onions, garlic and peppers until the onions are transparent.
While cooking the onions, pour all the canned ingredients into your pot or roaster oven. Be sure to add any fluids in the cans as well. Turn on burner or roaster oven
(350 degrees). Add the salt, pepper, chili powders, and cumin and stir well to distribute seasonings.
In the same pan used to sauté the onions, etc. start cooking the meat, one variety at a time. Use a spatula or other utensil to break up the ground ingredients into chunks about 1/2" in size. Take your time with this, and don't be tempted to reduce the meat to smaller sizes. Brown the meat on all sides, but don't worry about cooking them through. Dump the contents of the pan into the pot or roaster oven, then repeat with the other meats.
Stir the meat in the pot to thoroughly distribute it, then put a lid on the pot and continue cooking at a low to medium heat for at least 4 hours. If you use a roaster oven,
reduce the temperature to 300 degrees after an hour or so. On the stove, adjust the heat after half an hour to keep the chili simmering. That's it. Go and enjoy your company, if they've arrived. Come back about half an hour before serving, stir and taste, adjusting seasonings as needed. Also, a half an hour before serving, finely chop the white onions and put in a bowl and cover. Grate the sharp Cheddar cheese and place in a covered bowl.
At serving time, stir the finished chili thoroughly and use a ladle to dish it into bowls. Stir as needed to keep the chili ingredients well-distributed. Allow guests to spoon the white onions and cheddar onto the chili as desired. For more heat, the extra hot sauce will serve. Guests can also add their own salt and pepper.