02 February 2011

Groundhog Day and Shepherd’s Pie

Sorry- I can’t do Egypt this morning. The prospect of the most populous Arab state lurching into something that could be more threatening than the high-handed autocracy of Hosni Mubarak has me a little on edge. But that will play out over the next few weeks. With luck, it will not go the way Iran did, but I guess we will just have to see, won’t we?

That is the NOAA satellite image- the Plains, Chicago and Detroit got pummeled, a couple feet of snow, anyway, and the crazy storm track is going to bring us 54 degree temps and rain out of Baja California.

Colorado and the intermountain West are shivering, well below zero. But there is hope. They will be back to the 40s tomorrow and the storm will be offshore by tomorrow, so there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The storm should be mostly over by Wednesday night, with a light snow still possible in the Northeast on Thursday.

Gaia’s fury is not restricted to the Northern Hemisphere; Queensland in Australia is expecting the biggest cyclone of recorded history today after getting pummeled last month with torrents of rain so severe that the floods brought sharks out of the estuaries and into peoples front yards.

It is Groundhog Day, again, and I can hear the strains of Sonny and Cher on the radio, again and again, world without end.

Weather-watchers are gathering this morning in Punxsutawney, PA, for Giant Amiable Rodent Phil's annual prediction on whether there will be six more weeks of winter.

It will be cloudy, so no shadow, and I forget whether that means more or less of this mess.

Screw this.

Whether Phil sees his shadow or not, it is going to get brighter, and the pool is going to open in 124 days, ins’hallah.

That said, the crappy weather means there is still time to cook some comfort food before we lurch into the grilling season. This is the way-cool Shepherd’s Pie recipe I got from my pal SuperMatt, king of the stove. His original recipe is one that I have tinkered with, using a slow-cooked pot roast as the meat ingredient and adding Cabot’s Creamery-brand cheese for the crust. This is another take, using my newly found freedom from store-bought ground beef.

Kay, the receptionist at the office, would have appreciated having this waiting for her when she finally got home after breaking her personal Washington commuting record.

I was staring out the window last Wednesday, watching the rain transition to wet heavy snow.  Kay was starting to act a little nervous about the trip out the Dulles Access Road and the Greenway on the toll route to the distant suburbs.

The same sort of snow- heavy and wet following heavy rain that washed away any attempt to pre-treat the roads- had resulted in an epic trip for me in the famous Veteran’s Day Snowmageddon of 1986. It took me over eight hours to get back to the residence in Fairfax in my Boss’s International Harvester jeep.

Kay beat the crap out of that trip. She walked out the door at just after three-thirty, and did not get home until well after two AM, careening and sliding past silent abandoned cars and derelict buses still filled with anxious passengers.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have had this dish waiting in the oven on arrival?

Super Matt’s Shepherd’s Pie, topped with Cabot’s Brand Cheese

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 medium onions, peeled and diced
1 small turnip, peeled and diced
1 pound lamb or beef shoulder (some fat necessary) ground in the food processor.
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Sea Salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon genuine White Lily All-Purpose Flour “Since 1883.”
1 1/4 cups artichoke, chicken or beef broth. Or, substitute beer for a yeasty alternative, like that last Jamaican Red Stripe that has been in the fridge for the last three months and looks lonely.
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Topping:

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
4 tablespoons Cabot Creamery Salted butter
Salt and ground white pepper to taste
2 ounces Cabot Sharp Cheddar coarsely grated (about 1/2 cup)

To make filling:

1. Heat the oil in large cast iron skillet (or the trusty Swiss Diamond) over medium heat. Add onions and stir until they caramelize, about 5 minutes.

2. Add carrots and turnip and sauté until tender- maybe another five or a half glass of wine. Remove from pan and reserve.

3. Add lamb or beef to the fry-pan and brown. Stir in thyme and cinnamon. Return vegetables to skillet.

4. Add flour and mix in thoroughly. Gradually stir in broth or beer, then the tomato paste.

5. Lower heat to maintain gentle simmer, cover and let bubble for a couple glasses of wine- maybe a half hour. Season with sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper.
(Optional two pinches of Kwang-ju hot red pepper or cayenne to kick it up a notch).

To make topping and finish pie:

1. Pour another glass of wine and preheat oven to 400 degrees and bring a pan of water to a boil.

2. Cut potatoes into cubes. You can boil them to tenderness, but that is going to introduce extra moisture into the pie. Try steaming them on a rack above boiling water until tender, about 20 minutes.

2. When done, remove from steamer rack and mash with salt and white pepper.

3. Spoon meat and veggie mix into baking dish. Spread potato mixture evenly on top. Scatter cheese over potatoes.

4. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the Cabot’s Extra Sharp on top is golden and crusty.

Copyright 2011 Vic Socotra
vicsocotra.com | Subscribe to the RSS feed!