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.

Chicken Lo-Mein: NY Chinese Take-Out

I spend a lot of time extolling the virtue of NY Italian food and the impact it had on my culinary development.  However, there is a dish that I grew up with, that was not homemade, but an important thread in my culinary history: Chicken Lo-Mein.  When I was growing up we only had a couple of places we ordered take-out from (far less than my family does now) - there was Joe's Pizza and Imperial Wok.  We had pizza at Joe's once a week on Thursdays after tennis lessons with our friends and about twice a month my dad decided we would order Chinese. 

I had two staples that I liked to order; chicken fried rice and chicken lo-mein.  I don't think my tastes were wild and crazy at the age of eleven so I kept it simple and easy.  And since then, I have lived in San Francisco and been exposed to the insanely wide variety of Asian cuisines, fell in love with Thai fried rice with tofu and Pad Kee Mao and so on and so on.  But my basic, simple, chicken lo-mein could never be replaced in my heart.

Unfortunately however, there weren't that many great Chinese places in San Francisco (lots of Vietnamese, Thai, Cambodian, Japanese, etc.), Chinese take-out seemed to almost be unique to New York.  When I moved to Austin, the situation only got more dire.  We have even less Asian take-out and just about one decent Chinese place.  No offense to some of the staples here like Mama Fu's and Madam Mam's, but its just not the same.  Thank goodness for Titaya's Thai Cuisine that absolutely hits the mark for Thai fried rice and Pad Kee Mao, but I am sorely out of luck on Chicken Lo-Mein.  It just constantly blows my mind that I just can't get it here - you can walk in to almost any Chinese place in New York and get a solid serving of Chicken Lo-Mein that tastes the same.

Anyway, I am getting too deep on my feelings for Chinese take-out.  The point is, I only get to eat lo-mein when I go home to see my mom, which is just not enough.  This was the first year we didn't go to New York for Christmas in my entire life (which was wonderful for some reasons and sad for others, but that's another story for another day) and so I didn't get an opportunity to feed my craving.  I've been thinking about it for weeks and finally decided to give it a go making it at home.

Y'all it was so worth it.  SO WORTH IT.  This was an insanely easy concept once I didn't some reading and comparing of recipes and decided on a game plan.  I wanted chicken in mine, so I chopped up the chicken into bite sized pieces and tossed it in the crock-pot and let it ride all day until I was ready to make dinner.  Then it was as simple as boiling the noodles and then sauteeing the veggies and tossing it all together.

Chicken Lo-Mein

Serves 8

For the Chicken:

• 4 skinless chicken breasts (or breasts and thighs) sliced thin into bite sized pieces
• 1 cup Teriyaki sauce
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sesame oil, divded
• 1 tbs. ground ginger, divided
• 2 tbs. sugar

For the Sauce:

• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 3 tbs. sugar
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 2 tbs. ground ginger
• 2 tbs. Sriracha mayo

For the Lo-mein:

• 16 oz. Lo-Mein egg noodles
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup chopped green cabbage
• 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (I used baby bellas)
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 2 tbs. minced garlic
• 1 cup snow peas (optional)

Whisk together the ingredients for the sauce in the bowl of a crock-pot.  Add the chopped chicken and stir to coat.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours until cooked tender.  Remove from crock pot with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Bring a large stock pot of water to a boil and cook the lo-mein noodles according the directions on the package.  Drain cooked noodles into a colander and rinse well with cold water.  Set aside.

Whisk together the ingredients for the sauce together in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large saute pan or braiser over medium-high heat.  Add a few tablespoons of sesame oil and the garlic.  Saute until fragrant, just a minute or two.  Add the onion, carrots, mushrooms and snow peas.  Saute until onions are translucent.  Add the chicken to the pan and cook for a few minutes.  Add the cabbage and saute until wilted.  Pour 1/3 of the sauce over the veggies and chicken and saute until evenly mixed.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the lo-mein noodles, using tongs to toss the noddles with the veggies and chicken.  Add the remaining sauce as you go, tossing to distribute the sauce evenly and cook for a few minutes more until the flavors are blended. 

Serve immediately, or refrigerate and consume in the morning after a rough night out.

Savory Sweet Potato Gratin

I think I am going to make this again for Thanksgiving on Thursday so I should have more pictures soon, but seriously this got gobbled up so fast and everyone loved it I never had a chance to get pictures!

Chanel had mentioned a few weeks before Friendsgiving this year that she wanted to do a sweet potato dish, but was tired of it always being so sweet and didn't want to do anything with marshmallows or brown sugar everywhere - I got what she was saying.  We both love sweet potatoes and they are sweet as they are and I can't turn down savory.

So I went on the hunt and starting turning options over in my head and we ended up with this slightly adapted recipe from the kitchn. I loved the addition of a mild and nutty cheese that wasn't Parmesan, the Jarlsberg was both those things and tangy - perfect!  A great tip when using a softer cheese like Jarlsberg, but don't want it to melt into gooeyness but rather be grated like a hard cheese, you can just freeze it first!  Toss it in the freezer at least a few hours before using and then grate it and it should come apart into tiny crumbs pretty well.

Savory Sweet Potato Gratin

Serves 8 - 12

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter
• 1 large yellow onion (or two small), halved and sliced
• 3 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into thin discs (as thin as you can, less than 1/4 of an inch)
• 1 tbs. ground sage
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. whole grain mustard
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 1 cup grated Jarlsberg, Gruyere or White Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat your oven to 350° and butter an oval gratin dish (or 9 x 13 rectangle). Melt 2 tbs. butter in a skilled over medium heat and add the onions.  Season them with salt and pepper and caramelize them, stirring frequent for 20-30 minutes, until browned and sweetly fragrant, not burned.

While your onions cook, layer half the sweet potato slices in your gratin dish. You may need to make more than one layer to use half the sweet potato slices.  Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

After the onions have caramelized, add the sage, thyme, mustard, paprika, chipotle powder, garlic and cream.  Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.  Stir until the cream is thickened, just a few minutes.  Remove from heat.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the onions from the cream sauce and spread the onions evenly over the sweet potato layer.  Once all the onions are in your dish, layer the remaining half of sweet potatoes on top.  Season with salt and pepper and pour the cream sauce evenly over the whole gratin.  The cream will not fill the dish, just spread it around as much as you can - don't worry.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes.  Remove the foil and return to the oven for another 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, assemble the topping.  Melt 2 tbs. of butter, set aside.  In another bowl, combine the Panko, grated cheeses and salt and pepper.  Pour the butter over the bread crumbs and cheese and toss to combine.

Remove the gratin from the oven and sprinkle the topping evenly over the top.  Return the gratin to the oven, uncovered, for another 15 minutes, until topping is golden brown and crispy.

Not Your Momma's Meatloaf

My mom never made meatloaf growing up.  Not once, certainly not that I can remember.  It was something I saw on TV as a "family meal" that everyone ate (except us apparently).  So I guess without realizing it, I had formed an idea in my head of what I thought meatloaf tasted like, without ever having tasted it. 

So one day, as an adult, I went to a restaurant and they had meatloaf on the menu and I thought, what the heck, I'm gonna try it.  Well, it wasn't exactly what I expected.  It was different that I imagined - much less texture than I though, a bit of a blander flavor, and served with a spicy ketchup.  In my mind, I had imagined it more like a big, savory meatball and with a dark, flavorful gravy. 

Since I couldn't find that, I started to just make it my way.  I messed with some recipes and this was the end result.  I seasoned it more towards an Italian meatball, added tiny diced veggies for some texture, and some cheese...because, you know, cheese.  I made a gravy to go with it and serve it with super delicious goat cheese mashed potatoes.

Nadia's Modern Meatloaf

Serves 6

FOR THE MEATLOAF:

• 2 tbs. butter
• 1 tbs. minced garlic
• 3 large carrots, minced
• 3 celery stalks, minced
• 1 medium white onion, minced
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
• 1 tsp. ground sage
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 lb. ground pork
• 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 lb. ground Italian sausage
• 8 oz. fresh, soft mozzarella, cubed

For the Gravy:

• 4 tbs. butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3-4 cups of beef broth
• Sage, thyme, basil
• Salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 400°F.  Lightly butter the bottom of a ceramic baking dish (either a long oval or rectangle).

In a large mixing bowl, add the bread crumbs and pour the beef broth over the top, set aside to allow to breadcrumbs to soak. Remove the eggs and meat from the fridge and set on the counter to warm slightly.  I do this because when I use my hands to mix the meat together my fingers turn to ice from the cold eggs and meat - I've found that letting them rest out of the fridge a little can take the edge off.

In a saute pan, over medium-high heat, melt the 3 tbs. butter.  Add the garlic and saute for a minute until bubbly and fragrant.  Add the carrots, celery and onion.  Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of sage, thyme and basil. Saute until vegetables are soft.  Remove the veggies from the heat and set aside to cool.

In mixing bowl with the soaked breadcrumbs, add the three meats, two eggs, and the sage, basil, thyme, and salt and pepper. Using your hands, combine the meats and mix with the eggs and breadcrumbs. Try to make sure all the ingredients are distributed pretty evenly.

Next, add the veggie mixture to the meat and combine with your hands until the veggies are evenly distributed throughout the mixture. You do not want to add the veggies earlier because if they are not cool enough, they may cook the raw egg if pour directly on top of them.

Finally, gently mix in the mozzarella cheese.  Transfer the meat mixture to the prepared pan and shape into a loaf in the middle of the pan with your hands.  If you like, sprinkle some bread crumbs on the top of the loaf (or even a bit of Parmesan cheese).  Bake for 50-60 minutes, until it has reached an internal temp of 165°F.

Remove from oven and allow to rest (while you make the gravy), before cutting and serving.

To make the gravy:

In a large sauce pan, over medium heat, melt the 4 tbs. butter.  Just as it has melted, whisk in the flour so it forms a paste.  Cook the paste for just a minute or two, whisking constantly. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the beef broth and season with the spices to taste. 

A bit at a time, add in the remaining beef broth, whisking until smooth after each addition, no lumps! Add enough broth until the gravy is the desired consistency.  Taste, re-season as needed, then allow to simmer gently, while stirring for just a few minutes. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Matzo Ball Soup

The majority of my best friends growing up were Jewish (and are still some of my best friends) and I was so lucky to be exposed to so many wonderful traditions, foods, and families.  One of my best memories is having holiday dinners at my friends and having brisket and my favorite, matzo ball soup at Passover!

Matzo ball soup is something I miss terribly living in Texas.  You can't find it anywhere.  I mean ANYWHERE in Austin.  Its not like bagels, where they are just not very good, but you can get them.  I seriously can not find a place to get Matzo Ball Soup here, but I have been pretty intimidated to make my own.  I never made it at home, my friend's moms always made it and they set the bar really high.

But Chanel was sick this week, allergies just giving her sinus problems and a sore throat, but she wanted soup and she had never had Matzo Ball Soup and it had been on my list of things to tackle for a while - so we did it!

I reached out to my friends and their moms before diving in to make sure I did the right things and used the right seasoning and correct process.  Boy, am I glad I did!  These were the best!  So light, so fluffy, the right size, and so flavorful!

I have to admit, I didn't make chicken soup.  I made a broth with vegetables and seasoning and chicken broth, but no chicken.  As I say about chicken and dumplings, "I eat the dumplings because I want to, I eat the chicken because I have to."  That rule applies even more to Matzo Ball Soup.  I only want the Matzo balls, who needs chicken?  None of my Jewish mamas put chicken in the finished product.  They made a broth from scratch with chicken feet and vegetables, but served a matzo ball with the just broth (no veggies or chicken) poured over it and garnished with dill.  We went that route more or less, but kept the veggies because they are so tasty too!

However, the Matzo balls are not cooked in the soup, they are boiled separately and then you pour the soup over them.  So you can use whatever chicken soup recipe makes you the happiest!  I will include how we made our broth, which I think was perfection, but there are lots of wonderful chicken soup variations, so go with what you love.

Matzo ball soup

Makes 6-8 Matzo Balls

For the Matzo balls:

• 5 oz (2, 2.5 oz packets) of Matzo Ball Mix (we used Manischewitz)
• 4 eggs
• 4 tbs. olive oil
• 1 tbs. dill
• 1 tbs. parsley
• 1 tsp. salt
• Fresh cracked black pepper

for the broth:

• 4 cups chicken broth (we used Swanson's)
• 1 tbs. olive oil
• 4 carrots, sliced or diced
• 1 small/medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 1/2 purple top turnip (optional), diced into bite sized cubes
• 1 tsp. dill
• 1 tsp. basil
• Salt and Pepper

Prepare the Matzo Balls: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and the oil together.  Mix in the seasonings. Using a fork or a spatula, mix in the Matzo Ball mix, until just combined, but do not over-mix.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes, or until ready to boil. They taste best fresh, so don't boil them until before you are ready to serve the soup.

Make the broth: Over medium high heat, saute your vegetables in the olive oil in a large dutch oven or stock pot.  Sprinkle with the seasoning, add the broth and bring to a boil.  Boil until the vegetables are tender and cooked through.

Boil the Matzo Balls: Fill a medium or large pot with water and bring to a boil.  When the water is boiling, remove the dough from the fridge and form the balls.  Using a large spoon, scoop out a heaping tablespoon of dough and roll into a smooth ball with your hands. 

I recommend a ball about the size of a golf ball (they will expand as they cook, nearly double in size).  This will yield balls about the size of a tennis ball; we served two in a bowl and it was plenty.  You can go larger or smaller depending on your preference.

Drop the formed balls into the boiling water.  We did four at a time, you don't want them to be too crowded since they will expand quite a bit.  We did two batches.

Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a low boil (not a simmer, but you don't want the water boiling over).  Boil for 30 minutes and do not remove the cover until they are done.  Thankfully we have clear pot tops and I could peek with excitement without taking the lid off.

Remove the balls with a slotted spoon directly into soup bowls.  Pour broth over the balls and serve immediately.