Friday is Pie day.

Featuring a hybrid, left over pie made from Saturday night`s, Texas Red Chili & a fresh Picadillo filling, topped with a cheesy cornbread crust.

The fillings.

Gina had previously made a Texas Red Chili for Saturday night`s dinner. Chili, in its most simplistic form is nothing more than diced chuck steak, gently simmered along with Ancho, and New Mexico Red chilies. (There may well be a little cumin, some crushed garlic, a little white pepper and possibly some masa harina to `tighten` the finished dish, but that`s about it!)*

*There are, in fact, loads of other possible special/secret ingredients and techniques involved in creating the perfect `Bowl of Red.` however if I listed them all here then they would not be quite so secret! (And what would be the fun in that?)

There was not quite enough Chili to fill a pie dish, however, there was some minced beef and ground pork in the fridge and so a basic Picadillo was created.

Picadillo;

half a pound of beef and half a pound of minced pork are sauteed along with chopped onions peppers jalapenos and chipotle powder. As the mixture slowly simmers, a diced cooked potato is added with a handful of chopped coriander and 3 tablespoons of tomato puree. Black beans & corn kernals (150 grams of each.) are then stirred in.

Building the pie:

Once the Picadillo is cooked and suitably reduced, it is combined with the Texas Red and placed in a pie dish.

Texas Red, Black beans, corn and roasted red peppers.

Texas chili & Picadillo form the basis of a Tamale Pie.

The Pie Crust!

The Tamale pie`s topping is a cheesy cornbread. 150 grams of cornmeal, 120 grams of plain white flour, 2 tsps of light brown sugar, 1 tbl spoon of pickled jalapenos, 150 ml of buttermilk, 45 grams of melted butter, 2 eggs, 100 grams of sweetcorn and 120 grams of manchego.

Cheesy Cornbread.

Cornbread stuffing.

The finished dough is gently formed into a pie crust and placed on top of the pie dish. Bake at 200 degrees for 65-70 minutes. Serve warm with cold beer.

Tamale Pie.

We served the pie with soured cream and cool slices of avocado and Sierra Nevada`s Ruthless Rye IPA.

If Picadillo is to be used as a filling for empanadas or tacos, then stuffed olives, flaked almonds & toasted raisins can all be added.

Cheers Amigos!

FREE BEER FRIDAY;

Q: How many pints are there in a barrel of beer?

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Good-Luck Chums!