Out of the oven and ready to enjoy
Finally, after you have
survived the 20 minute wait it is time to reward yourself! Open
the oven and smell the aroma... I am sure you'll enjoy it!
You will definitely need is a pair of hot pads and, if you are
putting it on the counter 
top, you will need
another hot pad or trivet to go under the casserole dish.
As you can see from the above picture, the cheese has melted across the top and become all gooey and bubbly. The longer the pie stays in the oven the more likely that the bubbles will start to turn brown and the edges covered with sauce will start to burn. So watch the clock! Burned cheese will make cleaning the casserole dish difficult and the crusty burnt edges do not taste great. Try not to leave the pie in any longer than the 20 minutes called for in the recipe or simply turn the oven down if dinner gets delayed.
Now it is time to get out a
spatula and to dig into the goodies!
On the first day that the pie is cooked the tomato sauce will be kind of thin and a little runny. The sauce will thicken up after refrigeration. See the son's notes on the front page if you want a thicker sauce. The note explains that a can of tomato paste can be added. If you do this, you will need to reduce the tomato sauce used by 1/2 can. This will make the sauce a little sweeter too.
Dig in and - enjoy!
Leftovers:
The Tamale Pie leftovers (if there are any) can be put in Tupperware and frozen. I normally thaw it out in the refrigerator and then heat it back up in the microwave. The tamale pie will heat better if the frozen piece has had the corn meal cut a little. If you don't cut the top you will get cold meat and olives in the center. Watch it though ever few minutes or less because the cheese will burn if left too long. Sometimes putting another plate or bowl upside down on top will help the heating process. The bowl/plate traps the moisture inside and helps the cheese stay soft. If you do this use a fork or spoon to separate the bowl/plates and keep your face and fingers back because the steam/ moisture that has built up inside can get very hot.
I hope your family will enjoy this recipe as much as ours has over the years.
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