Shepherds Pie

Shepherds Pie
Originally uploaded by kel h

So, chicken pot pie and shepherds pie are fairly similar, except swap white wine and chicken broth for red wine and beef broth and use potatoes instead of puff pastry.

I used the rest of the veggies I didn't use monday, and tossed some ground beef left over from the stuffed cabbage I made a while back for the roommate.

This recipe is loosely based on one from Food Network

Also, Cider and Bourbon is the new Gin and Tonic

Ingredients:
2 lbs potatoes washed and cubes
1 clove garlic grated
1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup grated cheddar
1 onion chopped
3 celery stalks finely chopped
3 cloves garlic grated
2 carrots peeled and diced small
2 parsnips peeled and diced small
1/2 small butternut squash peeled and diced small
1/2 celery root peeled and diced small
1/2 fennel bulb core and tips removed diced small
1 pkg crimini mushrooms chopped
1 oz dried porchini mushrooms
1 cup red wine
2 cups beef broth (I used not beef broth from better than boulion)
2/3 cup flour
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp herbs de provance
2 bay leaves
butter

Directions
Boil potatoes in salted water for 20-30 min til fork tender. Mash with garlic, cheese, cream, salt and pepper and set aside
In a bowl combine 1 cup broth, wine and tomato paste and dried mushrooms. Microwave for 30 sec and let mushrooms sit to reconsitute
melt 2 tbsp butter in a dutch oven
sautee crimini mushrooms a few at a time and set aside. Melt another tbsp of butter and sautee onion, bay leaves and celery for 2 minutes. Add flour and cook for 2 minutes
add diced veggies and cook for 5-10 minutes til beginning to brown
Remove reconstituted musrhooms and set aside with crimini mushrooms.
Add liquid to veggies and simmer or 8 minutes
then add mushrooms and simmer for a few more minutes until sauce thickens
Ladle filling into ramekins and dot top with mashed potatoes. Put in the oven for 15-20 min until potatoes are crispy
(I layered the veggies with ground beef left over from something else for the roommate)

Fall Veggie (and sometimes Chicken) Pot Pie

I've taken to making dinner for friends (and not just the roommate G) more and more often, and this week has been no exception. Some friends and I go to trivia on Mondays (this week we took 3rd place). I made Pot Pie for me, G and Tom. It was easy to cook for all of us because I made a vegetarian pot pie filling with a bunch of fall veggies from the CSA share, and then roasted some chicken to toss into the boys pot pies. (I used my awesome soup cups, but I forgot to take a picture. I did the same puff pastry lattice for mine as Paula Deen did, so I used her picture). The recipe is VERY loosely adapted from Ina Garten's and was inspired by a veggie pot pie I had at Highland Kitchen (theirs had brussel sprouts, which I would have added if I had them)

Ingredients

2-3 breasts chicken

2 onions chopped

2 leeks, split and sliced into 1/2 inch slices

3 cloves garlic grated

3/4 cups flour

1 cup white wine

4 cups water

2 tbsp better than boulion (I did one each of mushroom and veggies)

1 cup crimini mushrooms chopped

1 small butternut squash peeled and diced 1/2 inch

1/2 small head of fennel (tops and core removed) diced

1 small celery root diced

2 parsnips peeled and diced

2 heads of broccoli chopped

1 large carrot peeled and grated

1 tsp herbs de provance

2-3 tbsp cognac

butter and oil

puff pastry

coat chicken with olive oil, season and roast at 350 for 35-40 min. Set aside

set the oven for 400 and toss veggies in olive oil. Season and roast for 20-30 min until tender

melt 2 tbsp butter and add a tbsp or two of olive oil

sautee onion, garlic and leeks until translucent

add flour and seasonings. cook for 2-3 min

Add wine to deglaze pan and then add water and better than boullion and cognac

when veggies are done roasting add them to the pot and simmer until sauce is thickened

Fill individual ramekins (add diced chicken to those you want to have meat in)

cut your puff pastry (which should have been dethawing) into strips. Weave a lattice pattern across the top of the ramekin (Mine used six pieces per ramekin)

bake at 400 for around 20 min until puff pastry is done ( you can do an egg wash if you want it shiny on top)

Parsnip Currant Muffins

Parsnip Currant Muffins
Originally uploaded by kel h

I got some currants in my CSA share this week, and had some leftover parsnips I hadn't used used yet. Alton Brown did a show with different parsnip recipes, and I thought parsnip muffins would be a good place to try some currants.

taken from Alton Brown's Recipe

Ingredients
Nonstick spray
1 3/4c all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 whole eggs
3/4 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
4 meduim grated parsnips
1/2 c currants

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 and spray a standard 12-cup muffin tin with the nonstick spray and set aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt in the bowl of a food processor, and process for 5 seconds.

Whisk the eggs, yogurt, vegetable oil, and sugar in a large mixing bowl until combined. Add the flour mixture, currants and parsnips, and fold with a spatula until all of the flour is moistened, there will be some lumps. Divide the mixture evenly among the muffin cups using a level 2 1/2-ounce disher or 1/3 cup measure. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the muffins reach an internal temperature of 210 degrees F and are golden brown, rotating halfway through baking. If needed, use a small knife or offset spatula to loosen the muffins and immediately remove them from the tin to a cooling rack, and cool for 15 minutes. Serve warm. Store completely cooled muffins in an airtight container for up to 3 days.