Traditional Shepherd's Pie

Once a month at our amazing preschool, which I could rave and rave about, each class "hosts" a luncheon for the teachers as their monthly staff meeting.  What that entails is that all the parents from each class plan a short lunch party (food, dessert, decor, drinks and a little gift) for the entire staff to enjoy at the end of the school day.  Last week, it was the Young Two's turn to host the luncheon and we decided to go with a St. Patrick's Day theme.  It seriously turned out SO cute and the teachers had a ball.  I think the group of moms in this class are some of the most talented women - I got these pictures from one of the moms, Amy, who did the GORGEOUS flowers and adorable balloons.  Another mom brought the theme-perfect cake, another purchased on-point table settings, and class mom, Kyndall, put together the adorable teacher gifts on each plate. 

In any case, I got asked to make the entree and I was more than happy to oblige, but at first we were stumped with what would make a good, Irish-themed entree for 15 people.  Of course, the second I mentioned it to Aaron, he said, make Shepherd's Pie.  I don't know how traditionally Irish it is to be honest, I haven't researched the food-etymology of it, but it worked perfectly!  Since I made it in such a huge quantity - think six pounds beef! - I wasn't initially going to write up the recipe for the blog and make it another time, but I got asked a whole bunch of times how I made it today and so I thought I would go ahead and write it out. 

The photos show a small, square dish of pie, because that day I made two large casseroles and one small one for us, the recipe below will yield enough for one rectangular casserole.

Traditional Shepherd's Pie

Serves 6

For the Filling:

• 1/2 medium white onion, diced
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1-2 cups chopped carrots, to your liking
• 2 tbs. butter
• 2 lbs. ground beef (I used a 75% lean for this recipe, it will have more flavor)
• Salt and Pepper
• Ground sage
• Dried Basil
• Dried Thyme
• 1-2 cups frozen or fresh peas, to your liking
• 1 Knorr beef stock base or 2 beef bullion cubes
• Flour

For the Potato Topping:

• 4-5 medium russet potatoes (3-4 lbs)
• 2 tbs. butter
• Salt, pepper
• Freeze dried or fresh chives, minced
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• Heavy cream or half-and-half

In a large dutch oven, over medium-high heat, melt the butter.  Add the onion and minced garlic. Saute for a few minutes, until fragrant.  Add the carrots and saute for a few minutes more, until carrots are just tender, but not smushy.

Using a spatula, push your veggies to the side and add the ground beef.  Brown the beef, breaking it up with your spatula.  As you go, season the meat liberally with salt and pepper, and then season with sage, thyme and basil to taste (I just give each a good shake over the mix, probably 1 tsp or so). Then mix the beef into the veggies and continue to cook until all the beef is broken up and cooked through.

Add the beef base to the pot and stir until its dissolved.  Turn the heat down to medium and add the peas. Mix evenly until the peas have heated through.  One spoonful at a time, sprinkle flour over the beef and mix until the flour has absorbed the loose liquid in the pot.  How much flour you use will depend on how much "gravy" you will like in your beef.  I prefer the base to be rather thick so it doesn't bubble through the potatoes on top, so I continue to add flour until the juice has turned to a thin paste or thick gravy and is no longer runny. 

Remove from heat and spoon the beef mixture into a rectangular baking dish.  Set aside to cool while you make the topping.

Peel and quarter the potatoes and boil in a pot of salted water. When the potatoes are tender enough to easily pierce with fork, turn off the heat.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes to the bowl of a stand mixer.

Add the butter to the potatoes and mix with a paddle attachment on low.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add 1 tbs. of chives.  Stir in a small handful of cheese, reserving the rest.  Slowly add cream, just a little at a time, beating until smooth.  You want the potatoes to be THICK, not watery, so go slow with the cream, really whipping them up on high between additions. You want them to be the consistency of a thick buttercream icing, but smooth.  Taste and re-season to preference.

Top the cooled beef mixture with the remaining shredded cheese.  Then top with the potatoes, spreading evenly.  I like to add texture to the potatoes, swirling them up with a fork, so they brown attractively in the oven.  You can get really fancy, and apply the potatoes with a pastry bag and a large cupcake tip - extra points for presentation on that one!

If making ahead, you can cover the casserole and refrigerate until you want to use it, up two two days or freeze it even!  If doing either of those, when you are ready to bake it, set the casserole out on the counter while the oven pre-heats so its not super cold going into the oven.

You can kick it up one more notch and brush the top of the potatoes with just a tiny bit of melted butter before it goes in the oven.  It will brown and form almost a butter crust on top and is kind of amazing.

If making right away, bake in the top third of your oven at 400° for 15 minutes, then turn the casserole and cook for 10-15 minutes more until bubbly and browned on top.  Serve immediately.

Broccoli and Cheese Pasta

This pasta dish is a straight indulgence.  I'm not even going to try to pretend otherwise just because there is something green in here, this is thick, dreamy, cheesy indulgence.  If you grew up a fan of Velveeta shells and cheese, this is right up your alley.

I was having a craving the other day for something cheesy and filling and comforting.  It was cold and I was the kind of exhausted that makes you want to get in bed and stay there until spring.  All I could think of was bacon cheeseburgers and Velveeta shells and cheese. So I started thinking maybe I should make the kids broccoli, cheese and rice soup, but I couldn't quite convince myself of it because I wanted something richer, more decadent.  So I decided to make my version of Velveeta, but with some broccoli and chicken thrown in there, all over pasta instead of rice.

This cheese sauce is stick-to-your-ribs thick, but you can thin it out a little more if you want, and the cheese level is easy to adjust to your taste as well.  Once you master a sauce like this, the possibilities are endless. Next up, I am going to make a homemade version of the Annie's White Cheddar sauce.  Stay tuned for that!

Broccoli and Cheese Pasta

Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients:

• 8 - 16 oz of pasta, cooked and rinsed (I made the whole box and then added until it was my desired cheese-pasta ratio)
• 6 chicken tenders
• 1 white onion, minced
• 3 tbs. butter
• 1 tbs. minced garlic
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup of flour
• 2-3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup whole milk
• 8 - 12 oz of sharp orange cheddar cheese, freshly shredded
• 4 oz. (half a block) cream cheese
• 2 cups frozen broccoli florets

In a dutch oven, over medium-high heat, melt 1 tbs. of butter.  Season one side of your chicken tenders with salt and pepper, then place seasoned-side down into the dutch oven and brown, about 3-5 minutes.  Season the uncooked side of the chicken and then turn it over, browning the other side.  After the outsides are browned, add enough chicken broth to cover half the depth of the chicken.  Flip the chicken and cover the pot, turn the heat to medium, and let the chicken simmer and steam in the broth until cooked through and tender.  Once the chicken is cooked, remove the chicken from the pot and set aside on a plate. 

Add the minced onion and garlic to the broth, saute and simmer in the broth until onions are soft.  Add the remaining 2 tbs. of butter and let it melt.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup of flour over the broth mix and whisk together.  There should be enough flour to absorb all the liquid, if you need to add more flour, do so a little at a time until all the broth is absorbed. 

Slowly add the milk, whisking until smooth. Turn heat down to medium-low. Add the shredded cheese, a handful at a time, and stir after each addition until cheese had completely melted and incorporated.  Add your desired amount of cheese, I recommend at least 8 oz, but go for more to your taste.  Stir in the cream cheese until incorporated. 

If the cheese sauce is too thick for your liking, slowly add chicken broth until it has thinned to your preference.

Add the pasta, a handful at a time, mixing to coat in the cheese sauce.  Add the broccoli florets and stir to incorporate.  While the broccoli heats through, chop the chicken tenders into bite sized pieces and add to the pot.  Season with salt and pepper, serve immediately.

Easy Chicken Carbonara

When I was pregnant with my second baby, my homecooking took a nosedive.  I was so tired or nauseous that most of the time standing in the kitchen for 20 minutes seemed impossible.  So we ate a fair amount of take out which didn't make me super happy.  The one shining star in our food arsenal though was the Whole Foods and Central Market prepared food departments. 

We relied a lot on picking up dinners from Central Market.  Often times, Whole Foods was just too busy and overwhelming for me with my exhaustion and my toddler, so off to Central Market we went and Thank Goodness! They make the most amazing casseroles that you can just take home and pop in the oven: the cowboy casserole, the king ranch chicken and the chicken carbonara.

They are all delicious, but the chicken carbonara really takes the cake.  Its creamy, small enough to be eaten without having to cut anything up for a toddler, it has veggies, proteins and some pasta.  It was a life saver when I was pregnant - but now almost two years later, that is not the case and I always love a challenge.

I prefer to make anything myself because I know what is going into it and I can have more creativity with ingredients and flavor so this week I decided to take on the Chicken Carbonara casserole.

Now a traditional carbonara uses proscuitto, but you could easily substitute bacon for a kicked up flavor and I would absolutely recommend it that way too.  And the stand out factor in a carbonara is that the rich sauce is made rich with egg yolks rather than all cream.  Don't be intimidated by this, its really easy and really is tasty.

Lastly, the way I make the chicken for this pasta is a great tool to hang on to for lots of other recipes - it produces really soft, juicy chicken, with a nice crisp outside, without the time of a slow cooker. 

Quick Chicken

To cook 1 package of chicken breast tenders, season one side of the tenders with salt and pepper.  Melt 2 tbs of butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the chicken tenders, seasoned side down and turn the heat up to give the skin a good brown, just a couple of minutes.  Season the other side of the chicken, and turn over to brown the other side. Add enough chicken broth to cover the bottom half of the chicken and bring the broth to a simmer.  Turn the chicken over and cover the skillet.  Let the chicken simmer for 3-5 minutes, then turn the chicken one more time and recover. Simmer until the chicken is soft and cooked through, another 3-5 minutes.

This method will work with whole chicken breasts as well, but you will need to simmer them for longer to ensure they are cooked through.  Covering the skillet traps the moisture of the broth inside and acts like a rapid slow cooker which keeps the chicken tender and soft - browning the chicken first produces more flavor and helps avoid that yucky boiled chicken look.

Easy Chicken Carbonara

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. (about 8) chicken tenders, cooked and chopped
  
• 1/2 lb of bacon or 1/4 lb of proscuitto, diced
  
• 1 lb. orrichette pasta, cooked and drained
  
• 1 1/2 cups frozen broccoli florets
  
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
  
• 1 tbs. minced garlic
  
• 1/4 white onion, minced or 2 shallots, minced
  
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
  
• 1 cup heavy cream
  
• 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk
  
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
  

In a large pan or braiser, heat 1 tbs. of oil over medium high heat.  Add the bacon or proscuitto and cook until just crispy.  Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside on a paper-towel lined plate. Drain the excess fat from the pan, but do not wipe clean.

Add another tablespoon of oil or butter to the pan, add the garlic and onion or shallots and saute for a few minutes until tender.  Add back in the bacon and the chicken.  Stir and cook for a few minutes more.  Add the broccoli and peas, stir to combine.

Add the chicken broth, season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.  Cover, turn the heat down to low and allow to cook while you prepare the sauce.  In bowl, combine the eggs, egg yolk, cream and Parmesan.  Whisk together until smooth and season lightly with salt and pepper.

Turn the heat down to low, it is important not to let the cream mixture boil or you will have scrambled eggs, then add the pasta to the pan and stir to combine.  Add the cream mixture, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened and coating the pasta.  If you want a creamier sauce you can add more cream and Parmesan, or if you prefer a thinner sauce, you can add a bit more chicken broth. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Make it a casserole!

You can easily make this dish into a bubbly casserole with just a few extra steps.

Preheat your oven to 350° and butter or grease an oval baking dish or 9 x 12 rectangle.

Pour the prepared pasta into the dish.  In a separate bowl, toss together 1 cup panko bread crumbs, 1/2 stick melted butter, 1 tbs. grated parmesean, 2 tsp. dried basil.  Set aside.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of shredded Italian cheese on the top of the pasta (any Italian will be fine, mozzarella, provolone, an Italian blend).  Top with the bread crumb mixture.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until bubbly. 

Crunchy Baked Shrimp with Grits

It's been a while since we have had seafood around here - well, not that long I suppose, I made a whole fish dinner for Christmas Eve - but not since then.  See, I grew up on the New England Coast and we ate seafood all the time, but since living in Texas I have spent more time focusing on what is local here.  So beef (duh) and pork are more constant staples on our dining room table, since I can get really good quality, organic and local meats.

However, I have been having a hankering for some light seafood dinners and going back through my cookbooks and magazines today during the boys nap, I came across a ton of Shrimp and Grits suggestions (thanks, Southern Living) and a few different variations on Baked Shrimp.  I'll be honest, I have never baked shrimp before, but I liked the idea because I could pop it in the oven and make the grits in the mean time.

The timing worked out just like I thought and this meal came together beautifully.  I added veggies to the plate with some Lemon-Basil Broccolini, added a hearty spoonful of Jalapeno Cheddar Jack Grits, and then put that crunchy, delicious baked shrimp right on top.

Crunchy Baked Shrimp

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. raw jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 3 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried parsley

Preheat your oven to 425°.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the garlic and wine.  Add the shrimp and toss to coat.  Pour the contents of the bowl into a large rectangle or oval baking dish (or a rimmed baking sheet would be fine, too).

In a small bowl, melt the butter.  Add the panko, basil and parsley.  Mix together with a fork and then crumble with your fingers.  Sprinkle the mixture over the shrimp, distributing evenly.  Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Bake until shrimp are cooked and pink and the topping is golden brown, about 12-15 minutes (or less depending on the size of your shrimp).

Serve over Cheddar Jalapeno Grits with Lemon-Basil Broccolini.

Homemade Hot Pockets

For those of you who don't know, my husband, Aaron, is a professional chef.  Ironic that I am the one with a food blog, isn't it?  In any case, after we had kids he got out of the kitchen and into the other side of the restaurant and bar business - but I digress - the point is, in the last five years, I do the majority of the cooking.

This hasn't come as much of a surprise though to those who worked and cooked with Aaron for the last fifteen or twenty years because he was notorious for putting out the most gorgeous, sophisticated plates and then sitting out back and having a frozen corn dog or hot pockets for dinner.  It would drive executive chefs crazy that they had all this wonderful food in their walk-ins, stacked next to frozen corn dogs.

So as much as I can impress Aaron with some of the dishes that I produce in our kitchen here, there is also always a family-size box of Hot Pockets in our freezer.  And, don't get me wrong, I can totally understand their appeal - I have the occasional need for a Hot Pocket or Taco Cabana burrito myself, but as a mom, I don't love the idea of feeding it to my kids.

When I cook at home I use as much organic produce and ingredients as are available, and try to make things as scratch as possible.  It feels really good to know exactly what's going in my kids - there isn't a lot we can control as parents so this feels like a nice attempt at it for me.  So over Christmas break I decided to jump in a tackle the ever-present Hot Pocket.

Not only were these insanely delicious but they were completely organic! I even managed to finagle some vegetables into one version (though Aaron condemned this variety as blasphemy).  On top of all of that, they were hand-held, un-messy, kid-pleasing, and easy to make!  The dough came together well and then you just fill it with whatever you want - we made the regular pepperoni, sausage and cheese variety for Aaron, and a second one with sausage, bell pepper, mushroom, and spinach.  But get creative - anything you would put on pizza would be perfect!

Homemade Hot Pockets

Serves 6-8

For the Dough:

• 1 cup warm water (100°+)
• 1 pkg. active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 tbs. vegetable oil
• 2-3 cups bread flour
• Egg Wash (1 egg whisked with a bit of water, dried basil and dried oregano)

For the Filling:

You can use whatever you want - but we used these two variations:

Italian Medley:

• 1 lb. ground Italian sausage
• 1 small red bell pepper, diced small
• 6 oz. baby bella mushrooms, diced
• 2 cups spinach, chopped
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• Shredded mozzarella cheese (2-4 cups, depending on your cheese addiction)
• Prepared pizza sauce (1-2 cups)

Pepperoni and Sausage:

• 1 lb. ground Italian sausage
• 8 oz. pepperoni, chopped
• Shredded mozzarella cheese (2-4 cups, depending on your cheese addiction)
• Prepared pizza sauce (1-2 cups)

Prepare the Filling

For the Italian Medley version: In a large skillet, warm some olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the garlic and saute for a minute or two until fragrant.  Add the vegetables and saute until spinach has wilted.  Push the vegetables to the side and add the sausage.  Breaking up the sausage with your spoon as it cooks, cook the meat through before mixing it into the vegetables.  Once mixed, then cook for just a minute or two more, season with salt and pepper and then remove from heat and set aside.

For the "traditional" version:

Saute the sausage in a skillet until cooked through, breaking up the meat with a spoon as your go.  Remove from heat and toss with the chopped pepperoni.  Set aside.

Make the Dough

Preheat your oven to 400° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the yeast and the sugar.  Add the warm water and let stand for five minutes until foamy, so you know the yeast is live.  If it doesn't foam, toss it and start over with new yeast.

Add half a cup of the bread flour and mix well with a spatula or with a mixer fitted with a dough hook.  Add another 1/2 cup of flour and the salt and mix well. Continue to add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough is no longer sticky.  If using a dough hook, it will have formed a ball around the hook.  If mixing by hand, it should be elastic enough to knead easily with your hands without sticking to your hands and coming apart.

Take it out of the bowl and knead it by hand on a floured work surface for just a few minutes.  Roll the dough into a ball and then pat it gently into a 1 inch thick disc.  You may want to use a floured rolling pin, but careful not to roll it too flat.

Then using a biscuit cutter or drinking glass, cut out 6-8 circles of dough. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a circle 1/4 inch thick. 

In the middle of the circle, layer cheese, filling, then drizzle sauce over top.  Go lighter with the sauce, it gets super hot inside (as any Hot Pocket aficionado knows) and you want the filling to stay in there, not spew out if there is too much liquid.

Fold the dough in half and then seal the seam by folding over a 1/2 inch segment at a time, overlapping over the previous section just a bit (see the photo).

Place on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining circles of dough.  Once all pockets are made, brush the tops with the egg wash and then bake until golden brown, 12-14 minutes.

Dough Recipe adapted from Lovely Little Kitchen