Saturday, August 31, 2013

Do You Have A Labor Day Partay To Go To? Here's What To Take: Rosie's Corn Bean Tortilla Pie.

It's Labor Day Weekend and PartayTime
Today, the Hawthornes will be going to
the annual neighborhood pig pickin'
and it's good times all around.
I always make my Corn Bean Tortilla Pie.
It is expected every year.
If I didn't bring this dish,
I would not be invited next year.
So I'm warning you in advance.
If you take this to a picnic or party,
you will be required to bring it again.
Every time.

Here's what you need:
pack of large flour tortillas
1 package Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 package cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup dried black beans, cooked
1 can corn, drained
1 can black olives, sliced
1 small red onion, chopped
1 can Rotel tomatoes with chilies
2 TB butter, melted
cayenne powder
ground cumin
If you're a regular reader of my blog,
you know I don't like canned beans.
I prefer cooking dried beans.

All instructions for beans tell you to soak overnight.
I never soak beans.
When I want beans, I want them today, not tomorrow.
I rinse my beans well,
bring a pot of water to a boil,
then add in the beans and simmer for 20 minutes.
I do not salt the water
because Mr. Hawthorne told me 
salting makes the skins come off
and we wouldn't want nekkid beans in a dish.
After 20 minutes,
I rinse off the beans until the water runs clear,
refresh the water in the pan,
bring to a boil again,
add in the beans and cook another 20-25 minutes
until al dente.

I got that rinse and refresh idea
from Julia herself.
She says this procedure
aids in "reducing intestinal motility."

Rinse beans and let cool.

I grated this much of each cheese
and ended up grating the rest of the cheese.
One really can't have too much cheese.

Ready for assembly.
I've mixed my corn and black beans together.
My Rotel tomatoes and chilies are ready.
Sliced black olives are ready.

 Why not some chopped red onion?

Let's assemble.
Start layering.
The grated cheese is your glue.
Don't skimp.
I put a layer of cheese on the tortilla,
then add the corn, beans, and olives
and top with more cheese.



Keep layering until you almost run out of fillings and cheeses.
Save some for the top tortilla layer.

Rosie Tip #367:
Build up more around the edges.
When you layer the next tortilla,
press down in the middle.
This helps against "doming" when you bake the pie.



I ended up using all the cheese.
And I used 7 tortillas layers.
When almost all the ingredients are used up,
brush melted butter on top and sides.

Sprinkle cumin and cayenne on top and sides.
The easiest way to do this 
without clumping too much spice in one place
is to sprinkle small amounts 
of the cumin and cayenne in your palm,
then swish it over the top and along the sides.

Add remaining cheese, corn, beans, and olives on top.


Mr. Hawthorne was slow-cooking baby back ribs
in a 275° oven.
I shared his oven and cooked this for an hour.

Usually I'd go with a 350° oven for about 45 minutes.
Check near the end
and tent with foil if necessary.

Isn't this pretty?

 See what I mean about the doming?

Let it sit for a while before slicing.

Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Whenever I need a dish to take to a picnic,
a pig pickin', or whatever,
this is my go-to dish.
Everybody loves it.
And then ...  it's gone.

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