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On occasion, I enjoy a good hunk of chicken or lamb made right. And potatoes? Well, they’re a favorite too. So when there’s a recipe that combines both meat and potatoes, I am a happy girl. I googled shepherd’s pie months ago and found many variations of the recipe. I tweaked those recipes to fit my own taste.
A little background on this English favorite; shepherd’s pie is traditionally made with minced lamb or goat meat, hence the name shepherd’s pie. Since I absolutely adore lamb and goat meat, you would think I’d make shepherd’s pie when I get my hands on the ground meat, right? Wrong. That isn’t the case at all; I actually have never made shepherd’s pie with ground lamb or goat. Coincidentally, I never remember to make it when I have those meats in the house. I’ve always made it with an old favorite, ground turkey.
For the meat filling
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large carrot, diced
1 1/2 lbs ground Turkey
2 tsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp Thyme
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup frozen peas
Salt & Pepper to taste
Mashed potatoes
(Note: Leftover mashed potatoes can be used for this recipe. It is actually recommended)
2 lbs (baking) potatoes, large cubes
1 cup milk- heavy cream can be replaced and is really good but the fat content isn’t for my waist. unfortunately.
3 tbsp butter
Salt & Pepper to taste
For potatoes, bring a pot of water and potatoes to boil.
Preheat oven to 375F degrees.
Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Generally garlic is not a component for this dish but my love for garlic is illimitable and thus my secret ingredient. Turn heat down to medium, add carrots and ground meat, break up the meat evenly with a wooden spoon and cook until meat is browned. While cooking, you’ll notice the liquid fat separating from the meat mixture; I like the flavor it adds to my pie so I leave it in however if you so wish, you can drain the fat.
When water and potatoes come to boil, add salt, turn heat down to simmer and cook for 10 minutes. While the potatoes are cooking, bring a saucepan with milk and butter up to a rolling simmer. If you overheat the milk; it will curdle and scald. Bad bad. Potatoes are done when they can be scored with a knife. Drain in a colander and place the potatoes back in the pot, add the warm milk mixture, salt and pepper and mash.
After the meat has browned, add tomato paste, thyme and Worcestershire sauce and cook for another 5-8 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Stir frozen peas into the mixture and remove the pan from heat. Peas are delicate and excess heat can result in a green mush. To prevent a green much, remove the pan from heat after adding peas and let the mixture cool.
Spread the cooled meat mixture in a casserole dish and top it with mashed potatoes. Bake for 15- 20 minutes. If the potatoes aren’t browned, turn oven temperature to broil, and bake on top rack, 4-6 inches away from the heat, for 8 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown.
After tweaking, testing and trying the recipe many times I declare my pie to be very tasty and probably the best in town, especially for those non-red-meat eaters! Go head, try it sometime…
Did you know it’s the year of the potato? Makes two of us, I didn’t either. And since it is THE year of the potato, I’ll have to make sure to consume it as much as possible to raise awareness. Don’t mind my weight, I’ll be fine. It’s the awareness that’s more important! Anyway, in spirit of celebrating the potato, Sia over at Monsoon Spice is hosting an “Ode to Potato” event. And for that, I am submitting my fabulous shepherd’s pie.
Until now, scones were a far attempt in my house. Generally if it includes baking, I put it off for as long as I can; unless it's biscotti and then it’s a different story. My parents highly favor my homemade almond biscotti so every few months I make a batch and send them in mail to my parents.
This past weekend was interesting with the weather and all. On Friday the snow started early in the morning and didn't let up until Saturday afternoon. To everyone's surprise we received 8-12 inches of snow. It was the biggest storm of the season. On snowy Saturday, a close friend mentioned making biscuits and gravy for breakfast. As there wasn't a lot to do around the house, I started looking for biscuit recipes using buttermilk. (I had to finish the last of it). I came across many recipes but most required shortening or lard for a good flaky texture. Since I don’t keep either of those ingredients in my house, ever, (I know, I know- sue me), I started browsing for other foods that used buttermilk. Another dish that yielded multiple results was (Southern) Fried Chicken. Though it sounded really good, I wasn't interested in dipping, egging, redipping and frying chicken. Let's be real, it was a lazy snowed in Saturday, and I wasn't going to let anything, even cooking, get in the way of it. As you can see, when the weather turns, my mood to cook a fabulous meal also turns south.
Finally I came across a fabulous buttermilk scones recipe on FoodTV that required very few ingredients and would be a great breakfast accompaniment to our chai. Chai or Cha is Indian tea boiled with milk, sugar and variety of spices like cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, cloves. I prefer mine with just the cardamom.
After reading the reviews, I knew I had to try it. I didn’t have heavy cream for brushing but one reviewer indicates that the scones taste fine without it. Currants are optional therefore I did not add those. As previously mentioned, I am not much of a baker but this one is a fool proof recipe that I can even make. The husband enjoyed them as well and he’s not a fan of semi-sweet biscuits/scones.
Buttermilk Scones (I cut the recipe in half for the two of us. It yielded 5 medium scones.)
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup (3/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 400F degrees. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add butter and mix with your fingertips to a coarse meal. Add buttermilk and mix just until combined. Be sure to not over work the dough. Transfer dough to a floured counter top and roll into 3/4 inch thick round. Cut into 5 wedges and place slightly separated on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve warm. And dunk in chai, as we always do with biscuits, scones, cookies or anything dunkable.
Speaking of the weather, after it snowed all day Friday and half of Saturday, the husband cleared the driveway and I cleared the walkway and the steps. On Sunday, the temperatures were high enough to melt most of the snow. Damn the unpredictable weather! Fortunately the higher temperatures are an indication of what’s about to come, SPRING!
I am a lover of most cheeses. Can't say that I've tried all the ones out there but I've had the opportunity to try a great variety, thanks to Uncle Jim. Whenever I stop in there or Uncle Joe's, I always come away with new types of cheese. Last time I went, I bought a Raschera and small thing of Blue cheese. Raschera is a semi soft cow's milk cheese, tastes great with a bottle of a Riesling or Sauternes. It's a salty table cheese that accompanies sweet wine for appetizer or apéritif. Even though some recipes use it in risotto, I prefer to serve it by itself.
Back to the blue. That was really good too. I can't remember it's origins or details but I tried a piece after returning from shopping. As soon as I finished that piece, I knew I wanted to make a dish using that cheese. I made a blue cheese sauce for ground turkey meatballs. For me, this sauce is a go-to sauce for dipping or a main feature in an entree. Some dishes that accompany well with it are ground meatballs, buffalo wings, chicken breast, fettuccine pasta, steamed/cooked and raw vegetables.
Blue Cheese Sauce with colorful specks
1 garlic clove mashed
1/4 cup blue cheese, crumbled
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
pinch of Nutmeg
Melt butter in a saucepan on medium heat, add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add flour and whisk in with butter and garlic. If lumps form, that's okay. Turn down heat to medium low, allow flour to cook for couple minutes, until it starts to smell nutty. Slowly whisk in milk and cook until the mixture forms into a thick saucy consistency. Stir every so often so the sauce doesn't get lumpy. Add blue cheese, black pepper and nutmeg, stir and cook for couple more minutes. Turn off heat and remove saucepan from the stove. (If the pan stays on the burner, the sauce may thicken more than needed because the burner continues to release heat, even when turned off.)
Serve with meatballs, drizzle over cooked chicken breast or any food of your liking. It's a favorite at my house, I hope it attains that honor at yours.
If there is a barbeque joint that surpasses all others in the area, it’s Pit to Plate. The husband and I didn’t make plans for Valentine’s Day because we assumed the other person would reservations at a fabulous restaurant like Barresi, Golden Lamb or Primavista. Clearly that wasn’t the case. We called couple restaurants the night before to try to get reservations and by the 3rd call I knew it wasn’t worth the effort. We were in mood for barbeque and knew it after the 1st call. We agreed on Pit to Plate. It was a place where we would eat with our hands, have sauce dripping down to our elbows while watching TV on the big screens. And I kind of liked the thought of that... sometimes it's good to go casual, even if it's on the most romantic day of the year.
When we first walked in, I noticed it was nearly empty; probably because everyone was busy fancying their loved ones at a romantic restaurant. Some of the food was set up near the front (or the back, depending on how you look at it) in closed glass counters that held many ready-to-serve sides. Baked beans, corn on the cob, macaroni and cheese, cornbread; it all looked good. A good look at the place and it’s obvious the owners have done a hell of a job to make this little space feel like a relaxed Texas-style barbeque joint. Along the walls, there are framed pictures of cowboys, cowboy boots or rodeos. Furthermore, there are blinking lights all around the restaurant. If you weren't distracted enough by the pictures and the big screens.... The only thing missing is a mechanical bull. Something else I noticed when we sat down was the aroma of hickory smoked meats. They have a huge outdoor pit and with the doors opening and shutting so often the smell is embeded in the restaurant.
Our server promptly brought our water and asked about appetizers. Since we both showed signs of hunger pangs, she recommended half chicken “because it was slow cooked to perfection in the pit”. Instead of appetizer, I quickly ordered a half a chicken with corn on the cobb, macaroni & cheese, and Cajun rice as main dish. (Side note: the restaurant offers two sides with the main dish but I really wanted to try their Cajun rice.) He ordered a Chicken a la Cowboy, their version of Chicken a la King. When my food arrived 25 minutes after ordering, his main takes longer time to prepare, I scarfed down the corn in minutes. The smoked chicken was moist, smoky and tender; it was perfect. On each table, they have variety of barbeque sauces to accompany the meat of your choice. The sauces vary in tastes: North Carolina, Wrangler, Mild Bbq, Hot Bbq to name a few. Though the chicken tastes great by itself, I enjoyed dipping my chicken in couple of the sauces just as much.
Unfortunately I was slightly disappointed in the macaroni and cheese and Cajun rice. Though edible, the macaroni and cheese was not the southern, homemade, laden-with-butter I was craving. It was run of the mill macaroni and cheese made with elbow pasta and cheese sauce. The Cajun rice fell short of my expectations as well; it wasn’t as flavorful as it could have been. Our server warned me of its spiciness, which it was, but other spices were missing. I understand not everyone can make a good pot of Cajun rice so I don't hold Pit to Plate responsible for their failed attempt at making this dish. The husband was served a big plate of creamy chicken and veggies over jalapeño cornbread, with a topping of onion rings and cheese. I am happy to announce, he thoroughly enjoyed his dinner, so much so that he didn’t leave anything to throw away or wash off. The back end washers probably thought he licked his plate clean.
One of the most important things I consider when reviewing a restaurant is their service; Pit to Plate passed with flying colors. Our server was very sweet, and helpful in finding foods we could eat. Soon after finding out about our beef and pork restriction, she quickly listed some of the dishes that didn’t have either. After serving our meal, she was attentive and inquired about the food multiple times.
Overall we had a great experience at Pit to Plate on a day like Valentine’s. We were both very happy with our main entree choices. Though mac & cheese and cajun rice weren't up to par, I plan to go back when I have my next craving for barbeque.
There’s a reason this little joint’s been in the local papers and reviewed multiple times; it’s worth the hike out to Mt. Healthy for a taste of Texas-style smoked barbeque. I hear their pulled chicken sandwiches are very good so be sure to try that if you end up at Pit to Plate.
With the crazy schedule I've created for myself, these days dinners that take the least amount of time to cook are high on my list. The other night I made a Salmon dinner with Watercress salad and Saffron risotto. It was scrumptious and one that's a sure addition to my repertoire.
Salmon’s one of those fishes that I know how to cook, and trust myself on cooking it well. Swordfish, marlin and other varieties that aren’t readily available, not so much. I am still learning techniques and fish personalities from Helen and other fish pros! Fortunately for me and others short on time and creative juices at 8pm, this Salmon recipe was very easy and simple. Sprinkling salt and pepper on the fish, and letting the oven do the work was all it took to cook this one!
Saffron risotto on the other hand required research however it was well worth it. Here’s a recipe you can use time and again. Thanks to Whole Foods, I followed their recipe for Saffron risotto with minor changes. The recipe and process are straightforward but require close attention, as is the case for risottos.
Enjoy these recipes as much as I did!
Salmon
2 Salmon filets with skin
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil
Preheat oven to 300F degrees. While the oven heats up, gently rub meatier portion of fish with salt and pepper. Drizzle small or medium baking dish with olive oil, lay seasoned Salmon on the dish, skin side down. Drizzling the fish with olive oil is optional. Bake in the oven for 15- 20 minutes. Oven temperatures and cooking times vary based on individual ovens; keep an eye on the fish, through the oven window, after 12 minutes. Helen gives a great pointer on cooking Salmon, don’t overcook the fish by letting it get flaky; that makes the fish dry.
Saffron Risotto
4 cups shrimp stock, homemade- this is completely optional, I just happened to have shrimp stock from previous weekend
1 cup cream
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
1 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 cup Arborio rice
Salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated
In a medium saucepan, bring shrimp stock to simmer on medium heat. When the stock starts to simmer, add cream and saffron threads to the pan. In another saucepan, heat butter and olive oil on medium low heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent. Add Arborio rice and stir thoroughly to coat with onion and butter mixture. Add 1/4 cup simmered stock and stir with a wooden spoon; make sure rice is scraped from the sides and is cooking in liquid. Stir every 30 seconds or so to ensure the liquid hasn’t evaporated and rice isn’t sticking to the pan. Add another 1/4 cup stock and repeat process when the liquid is absorbed. Stirring often is crucial as this gives the rice opportunity to absorb the liquid and keeps from sticking. Add salt and pepper to taste. Repeat the ‘liquid addition’ method until most of the stock is used, approximately 20- 25 minutes. Taste, if the rice has a hard bite, continue to cook adding liquid when necessary. It is done when rice has a soft bite with creamy consistency. Add freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano before serving. Serve warm with salad and fish.
Watercress Salad
1 bunch watercress leaves
1/3 cup walnuts, halved and toasted
Salt & Pepper to taste
Vinaigrette
1/4 red onion, small diced
Lemon juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive Oil
Tear watercress leaves from stems, add to a serving bowl along with toasted walnuts and salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, mix lemon juice with diced red onion, salt and pepper. Slowly add olive oil to the lemon juice mix while whisking, to make vinaigrette. Drizzle over watercress and walnuts and serve.
