Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm thinking about making a shepherd's pie for dinner, Irish soda bread, pick up some Killian's Red. That all sounds great! At least to me...we'll see what John thinks, ha. He'll be flexible, I think, because we had a version of chicken & rice last night. A will be here for dinner, and of course there's no way she (or most any other kid) is going to eat shepherd's pie for dinner, so it may be a pasta or soup night for her. Usually she and John go out for dinner on their Fridays together, but a Friday/St. Patty's combo is probably not a good night to take a child out for dinner. Do you think the restaurants and bars will be hopping with people (most of them decidedly un-Irish) drinking green beer (and martinis, and god knows what else) by 3 p.m.?? Hell yes! By dinner time - eek, not even a leprechaun should venture out into that crowd. So tonight, we eat-in. Cheers!
I had a GREAT day, visiting Stacey, Bowen, and Baby Cooper, and Stacey's neighbor and angel-friend Caroline, who made Stacey the most beautiful scrap book of her pregnancy. Unbelievable. And Cooper! So adorable,
slept the whole time, until it was time to eat. But hey, that's what brand-new babies do, of course - sleep and eat. And poop, he pooped too. He's right on track and settling into his new, sunny home, full of Stacey's beautiful paintings.
I pulled off the shepherd's pie for dinner (recipe posted in comments, below), delicious (with tons of leftovers for the freezer), and soda bread, and Killian's Red. Mmmm...and filling. Not very moderate I guess, kinda heavy, I am stuffed. No dessert needed after that dinner, not even a cup of coffee. I should go for a long walk, whew. Hope you're having a good St. Patty's Day! I know little Cooper is, and even though he's not Irish, he could almost pass for Irish with that amazing, adorable red hair. He's a little doll. G'night Coop!
posted by Stephanie @ 11:30 AM
1 Comments:
Shepherd’s Pie
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking
Serves 4
2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 Tbsp. butter
½ c. half-n-half
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 lb. raw ground lamb or beef (or chopped leftover lamb or beef)
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried rosemary
pinch of nutmeg
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
¾ c. beef broth
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Place potatoes in a large pot of cold water over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain. Put potatoes through a potato ricer or mash with a masher, returning to the warm pot. Stir in butter, half-n-half, and salt until fluffy. Set aside. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 15 minutes. Increase heat to medium and add the lamb or beef. Cook raw lamb or beef for 10 minutes, stirring to brown evenly (cook leftover lamb or beef for 5 minutes). Stir in thyme, rosemary, and nutmeg and sauté until fragrant, 1 minute. Stir in flour, then beef broth. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon into a 9-inch pie plate or baking dish. Spread the mashed potatoes over the top, making irregular peaks with the tines of a fork. Bake until potatoes are browned and the dish is heated all the way through, 30-35 minutes. Let cool slightly, then serve directly from the baking dish.
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