Shepherd's Pie

I can't remember when I started to like cooking. Growing up my mom made a few casseroles but she really did not like to cook. Once she even screwed up jello which was supposed to be part of dessert for her bridge group. She'll never live that one down. And a couple of years ago when I brought some friends into town before RAGBRAI, she proudly proclaimed that she made homemade bread for us. In reality, she had purchased frozen dough which she had to throw into the oven and bake. This qualified as homemade for her. I adore my mother but I did not learn anything in the kitchen from her.

When I had my first house and my first kitchen, at the age of 19, I had my share of mistakes in the kitchen too. I had to call home and ask how to hard boil an egg. I ruined barf dip (you know the one with Velveeta cheese, salsa and hamburger) because I didn't cut the cheese into cubes before I tried to melt it. I'm pretty sure I had to throw that pan out because of the burnt on mess I made. But every once in a while, I did something right and the result always produced a sense of pride in my accomplishment. When you're on your own you have to learn how to feed yourself. And when you can feed friends, and the food is good, it's pure joy.

During my first marriage, I was not allowed into the kitchen. My ex was an excellent cook, and I learned a lot by watching and my appreciation and enjoyment of food really developed. I had a lot of free time in my schedule and every once in a while I'd experiment, trying out new recipes. I even took a few cooking classes which I really enjoyed. When I divorced I couldn't wait to get into MY kitchen and get to work. I love food. And I hate boring food. I am always trying out new recipes. I would say we eat a new dish at least once a week, sometimes as many as three times a week. And the rest of the time, I'm modifying and expanding on old favorites. And I am my worst critic. It is very rare that I am disappointed with a dish. There was this one incident last week, with some french toast gone wrong... but we won't go into that.

My inspiration for dishes generally comes from a recipe I've seen in Cooking Light or on the Food Network. I'm proud to say that after 13 years of cooking for myself, I am finally able to throw dinner together without a recipe most of the time. This is not going to become a food blog, but as the 4th element of triathlon training (swim, bike, run, nutrition) food is a big part of my life. I had a request recently for recipes of the food that I mention on my Facebook page (I often quote my dinner menu in my update). So I thought that every once in a while I'd share a recipe.

Tonight I made a Shepherd's Pie, an Irish casserole.

1. Pour a glass of wine. (Or pop open a cold beer, whatever your fancy)
2. Quarter potatoes. I used small red potatoes, skin on. Place potatoes in a pot of salted water and bring to a boil. (With root vegetables, you want to add them to cold water and then boil, don't add them to already boiling water.) Boil until fork tender. Drain.
3. Saute 1 lb ground meat with diced onions and minced garlic. I used ground buffalo. Traditional is ground beef. Use whatever you like: pork, chicken, turkey. Season to your taste. Think about how you season your favorite lasagna. I used a bit of anise and fennel seed, oregano, parsley, and a dash of cayenne. Brown the meat and drain the juices.
4. Steam or saute vegetables. You can use whatever you have in your fridge or freezer. I happened to have some yellow squash, leeks, okra, and carrots in my freezer so that's what went into mine. I think traditionally it's a lot of carrots, peas, that sort of thing. But use what you have.
5. Mash the potatoes. I used a little dash of half and half, salt, pepper and some chopped fresh rosemary. Y-U-M.
6. Layer in a casserole dish. Meat goes on the bottom. I sprinkled the meat layer with some shredded fontina cheese. Veggie layer. I sprinkled that layer with salt and pepper. Potato layer. Bake for 30 minutes or so until the casserole is hot and the potatoes are starting to brown and provide a nice crust.
7. Enjoy!