Shepherd's Pie

I had lunch with the Lunch Ladies this week!  Summertime provides space in the schedule to do those kinds of things, and the ladies who have worked at Royersford Elementary, (past, present, or substituted), occasionally get together just for fun.  As I’m now a “man of leisure,” I was invited along this time around, and had a blast!  I didn’t realize so many were reading the TADITK blog on a regular basis.  They felt my pain from last week’s post and had numerous remedies for my problem of the strawberry pie that wouldn’t set; everything from strawberry Jell-o to tapioca.  They not only gave me the courage to bear up under the “heat” and stay in the kitchen, but I now have a sure-fire pie crust recipe, along with tried and true tips for making it perfectly.  I can do it!  In the words of Stewart Smalley (Al Franken) on Saturday Night Live:  I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and dog-gone it, people like me!

I love the Lunch Ladies!

My face is red this week…as red as a strawberry, in fact.  I woke up one morning after making last week’s pie with the realization that although I doubled the recipe, I may not have doubled the cornstarch.  That probably was the cause of “The Pie from Malibu.”  So, as I’ve said several times before:  Stay tuned!

This week’s recipe is another pie...Shepherd’s Pie.  We’ve had sheep now for 16 years, so I’ll consider that enough of a mandate, qualifying me for making it.  (Not that this shepherd's pie has anything to do with sheep.)  I’ll start with a basic version and then give some options that are guaranteed to knock socks off.

Shepherd’s Pie has been around for quite sometime.  It probably all began when potatoes were being introduced to Europeans in the mid-1500’s.  Before it was known as Shepherd’s Pie, it was called Cottage Pie.  In essence, it’s a “pie” made using mashed potatoes as the crust, (either bottom and top, or just covering the top), and with a meat-based filling.  And yes, sometimes mutton was used.  By the way, shepherd’s pie is a specialty of the Lunch Ladies in the Royersford Elementary cafeteria.

BASIC SHEPHERD’S PIE

(click on any picture to enlarge it)

Ingredients:

Approx. 2 to 2.5 lbs. lean ground beef

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 or 4 fresh white (or other) mushrooms, thickly sliced

1 - 16 oz. package of frozen mixed vegetables (green beans, corn, carrots & peas)

3 to 5 medium potatoes, peeled (or instant mashed potatoes)

butter, milk, salt & pepper

Fresh parsley or dried parsley flakes

1 or 2 cans of beef gravy (Two if your family likes gravy on top of their shepherd’s pie)

Start by putting the peeled potatoes in water and on the stove to boil.  After boiling has started, reduce to medium or medium-high heat until a cake tester or fork easily pierces them.

While the potatoes are cooking, brown the ground beef.  I use an electric frying pan as it’s easy to control the heat, provides a large cooking surface, and is easily cleaned.

As the beef begins to brown, finely chop a medium onion and cut the mushrooms into slices about the width of a pencil.  Add both of these ingredients to the beef and sauté everything until the beef is brown, the onions turn translucent, and the mushrooms start to darken and shrink.

Drain as much of the fat from the beef as you can.  This is another reason to use the electric frying pan.  Turn the pan off and tilt it by placing a cutting board (or two) under one end.  Move the beef to the "high ground."  Fold several thicknesses of paper towel and place them in the lower end of the pan to catch the drippings.  Be careful.  This grease is hot!

After draining, add the mixed vegetables.  I only had an 8 ounce bag for mine, and you can see from the photographs that I could have used more veggies.  Plus, this is a great way to get your kids to eat vegetables.  Allow the vegetables to heat through and determine if more pan drippings need to be drained.  Add some salt and pepper to taste.

At this point, you can add a can of beef gravy to the meat mixture.  I didn’t have any canned gravy, so I made my own using beef broth.  I like doing that anyway, as I can control the thickness of the gravy.  If you buy broth in a waxed carton, you can freeze any portion that you don’t use.

Here’s how to make your own gravy with beef broth:  Heat two cups of broth to a rolling boil.  

Dissolve about 2-3 teaspoons of cornstarch in some water.  While the broth is boiling strongly, add the cornstarch all at once and stir immediately with a spring whisk.  The broth should thicken into gravy instantly.  Reduce the heat.  If you desire thicker gravy try adding another teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in water after you start the gravy boiling again.  When it’s ready add one cup to the meat mixture, and save the remaining gravy for ladling on top of the shepherd’s pie when it’s served.

Whether you use canned gravy or make your own with beef broth, you probably will not have to add any additional salt; maybe a little pepper.

Preheat your oven to 350°.

Now it’s time to make the mashed potatoes.  You can use one of those wire hand mashers, if you like.  As for me, I have a gadget for that.  It’s called a Foley Food Mill.  

It’s great for making applesauce, but when used for mashed potatoes, there will not be a single lump.  If you like lumpy mashed, don’t use the Foley.  

Basically, the food mill forces the cooked potatoes through a sieve.  After processing the potatoes using the food mill, add butter (about 3-4 Tablespoons), heated milk (about ½ to ¾ cup), and salt and pepper to taste.  Heating the milk helps to keep the potatoes from cooling.  If you’re using instant mashed potatoes, make about 8 servings worth.

Don't turn up your nose to the idea of instant mashed.  They really aren't that bad in a pinch, and can easily be "doctored" with cream or sour cream.

You’re almost at the finish line!  Place the meat mixture in a large casserole or lasagna dish, smoothing it with a spatula.  

Next, layer the mashed potatoes on top for the “crust,” again smoothing them with a spatula.  Sprinkle some fresh chopped parsley or dried parsley flakes on top, and place the “pie” in the oven.  Allow it to bake for about 20-30 minutes.  Everything is already cooked, but it needs to be thoroughly heated.  Also, some like the top of the potatoes to start to brown.  It also helps to allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.  Serve using the reserved gravy on top.  Leftovers microwave well.

SHEPHERD’S PIE OPTIONS

Now the options for knocking off those socks!

1.  Instead of sautéing onions and mushrooms with the ground beef, consider adding a package of (Lipton’s) Onion Soup Mix.

2.  Instead of frozen mixed vegetables, used fresh carrots, beans, peas, etc., making sure the vegetables are tender before assembling the final pie.  You'll probably want to cook the fresh vegetables separately (especially carrots) before adding them to the browned meat.

3.  Make cheesy mashed potatoes by adding a packet of Knorr’s 4-Cheese Sauce mix and about a ½ cup of milk to your regular mashed potatoes.  The parsley can also be stirred into the mashed potatoes instead of sprinkling it on top.  Or, you can use chopped chives.
4.  Spread shredded cheddar cheese on top of the mashed potatoes 5-10 minutes before you take the "pie" out of the oven.

Grammy Renninger's Fresh Strawberry Pie

There is treasure in your own backyard!  I’m not suggesting that you get out a shovel and start to dig.  I’m referring to the hidden “gems” that are all around us.  For the most part we tend to ignore them.  Perhaps we’re too close, or perhaps we can’t see the forest for the trees.  Whatever it is, it’s as if we’re blind to them.  Consider the historic sites that abound in our area.  How many have actually visited Valley Forge National Park, Peter Wentz Farmstead, Pottsgrove Manor, Mill Grove, or Pennypacker Mills?  And yet, people travel thousands of miles just to see these places.

It’s the same with businesses in the area.  As we become more and more developed it becomes almost a knee-jerk response to frequent the chains or the “big stores.”  The little guy or the out-of-the-way establishment that is tucked across town gets ignored.  And yet what they have to offer is far better than what any impersonal mega-store can hope to provide.  Such is the case with fresh fruit and vegetables.

I’m a chump for strawberries anytime of the year.  Off-season, invariably I’m disappointed.  You think I’d learn.  Double the price for pithy, white-centered, hard nuggets of cardboard.  But this week I stopped at Renninger’s Farm on Second Avenue in Royersford and purchased 3 quarts of real strawberries.  I could tell they were real just by looking at them.  I could tell they were real when I picked them up and felt the heft of the solid, juice-laden berries.  And I could tell they were real when their aroma permeated the inside of my car on the ride home.  Even at this time of the year, “store-bought” strawberries can’t do that.  Why?  Because they were picked before they were ripe.  Not these beauties.  They stayed on the plant where God intended them to remain up until they were at the peak of readiness.

I couldn’t wait to get my new acquisitions home and make my first fresh strawberry pie.  To make things more exciting, I was armed with Grammy Renninger’s fresh strawberry pie recipe.  Farmer Jay’s daughter, Jennie, emailed it to me, indicating that it is her favorite.  It’s incredibly easy…so easy even a dad can do it..so give it a whirl, especially while the strawberries are in season.

Now I have to be totally up-front with you.  First, I have never made my own pie crust.  Never.  Yes, I know I grew up in a bakery, but the pie crusts were already made by my dad.  I just had to fill them.  Several friends have provided me with their sure-fire pie crust recipes.  I’ve just ever taken the time.  Plus, I wanted strawberry pie, and I wanted it ASAP!

My second confession is that my strawberry pie did not come out exactly the way it’s supposed to.  Oh it was delicious…totally delicious.  It just didn’t set up the way it’s supposed to.  So, I’m looking for some help here.  Let me know what you think.

GRAMMY RENNINGER’S FRESH STRAWBERRY PIE

I doubled the recipe and made two.  This is the whole berry pie.
The lead picture at the top of the blog was made with halved berries.

Ingredients:

1 baked pie shell (9”)

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 cup sugar

1¾ to 2 quarts of fresh, ripe strawberries

The first step is to bake the pie shell.  Use a frozen one, like I did, if you don’t want to make your own, and follow the baking directions on the shell.  I used a 9” deep pie shell.  Putting dry rice or beans in the shell while baking will keep it from bulging away from the pan while baking.  Don't forget to also pierce the bottom with a fork before baking.  Allow to cool.

Mash ¾ of a quart of ripe strawberries in a saucepan.  I used a wooden mallet and mashed the tar out of them.  Add the cornstarch (after dissolving it in about 3-4 Tablespoons of water), the lemon juice and sugar.  Cook on medium heat until thick and "clear."  Obviously, the mixture isn't going to be clear, because it's filled with strawberries.  But the liquid part with lose its milky appearance and become clear and shiny.

The “cloudiness” that is present when you first start to cook, will lesson as the mixture thickens.  At the same time the liquid will become clearer.  Allow this mixture to cool.  Add a heaping quart of halved berries, stir until all are coated and then spoon into the baked pie shell and refrigerate.  Delicious served with fresh whipped cream, (see below).

I doubled the recipe and make two pies.  One was with the halved strawberries, and I decided to make the other one with whole berries.  Everything looked fine.  The cooked mixture seemed to thicken nicely, but the pies never set.  They stayed fairly “oozy” and were impossible to serve as slices of pie.  My first attempt was just not as “easy as pie!”

I did a little research online and possible causes could have been the acidity of the berries, or that cornstarch, if over-cooked will begin to break down.  I don’t think that either was the case.  The cooked mixture thickened in a relatively short period of time, and I removed it from the stove as soon as it did.  Any suggestions you may have will be appreciated.

The photograph above is misleading.  In the interest in truth in advertising, I confess the following.  In order to obtain a “slice shot” I had to virtually freeze the pie.  This piece is from the whole berry pie.  If you look closely, or click on the picture and enlarge it, you can tell.  Within minutes, several of the berries “landslide-ed” onto the plate.  But make no mistake about it, the taste was absolutely out of this world.  It was, without exaggeration, the best strawberry pie I have ever tasted.  It just looked like a hillside in southern California.  And with the whipped cream on top?  That was the icing on the cake…if you know what I mean!

FRESH WHIPPED CREAM

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy whipping cream (not ultra pasteurized*)

½ to 1 teaspoon vanilla

1-2 Tablespoons confectioners’ sugar (or sugar substitute)

Make sure everything is cold.  Use a metal bowl and chill cream and bowl in freezer for a few minutes before beating.  Even chill beaters from your mixer.

Begin whipping cream, slowly at first, then increase speed.  When it begins to thicken, add the vanilla and sugar.  Whip vigorously until soft peaks begin to form.  Do not overbeat, or mixture will become lumpy because you’ve started to make butter.

Refrigerate any leftovers.  Whipped cream will keep for several days, but may need to be re-whipped as it may lose the air content you have beat into it.

*Ultra pasteurized cream does not whip as easily.

Veggie Night

I don’t know about you, but this is my favorite time of the year.  It’s the start of fresh local produce being available.  Asparagus and spinach have been available in the area for quite some time, and strawberries are in season right now.  As the summer progresses we have a lot to look forward to.  I know that a majority of us can’t wait to sink our teeth into a still warm, vine-ripened tomato that was raised in their own (or someone else's) backyard. 

Whenever I think “fresh tomatoes,” I remember a summer day more almost fifty years ago.  We were sitting in the sun on Aunt Rose Ella’s front porch on Halteman Road in East Coventry Township.  The tomatoes in Uncle Bob's garden were plentiful, and we made sandwiches using Stone Ground Whole Wheat Bread.  I can still remember the yellow and black label on the bread package.  Slathering on the mayonnaise, we added several slices of tomato, onion, and American cheese.  A little salt, some pepper and…heaven!

I can't wait!

I don’t know what it was that day, but those sandwiches were the best I had ever tasted in my short life...and since.  I ate at least four of them, and I could eat one right now!

This is the time when strawberries stop tasting like cardboard and you can count on the price coming down on almost everything.  Even if the fruit or vegetable you crave isn’t currently ripening within a ten-mile radius, this is the time of the year it has to travel much less to get to you.  The flavor testifies to that fact.

All of this inspired me to have a “Veggie Night.”  I dispensed with meat protein and made three different types of vegetables.  My decisions were governed mostly by what I had on hand.  The first two recipes are my own creation and the third was found in a fellow blogger’s post.  The menu included:  Green & Yellow Squash in Tomatoes, Baked Cauliflower, and Grilled Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus.

Green & Yellow Squash in Tomatoes

Ingredients:

1 medium onion halved and sliced

2-3 Tablespoons olive or grape seed oil

1 teaspoon basil

½ each, green and red bell pepper, chopped

1 can diced tomatoes

¼ cup honey

1 each, medium zucchini and medium yellow squash, cut into ½” slices

sea salt

ground black pepper

Directions:

Sauté one medium onion that has been halved and then cut into slices.  Olive oil is perfect for sautéing this, but lately I’ve been using grape seed oil.

Grape seed oil is made from…(are you sitting down?)...grape seeds.  It is a light oil and has a slightly sweet and nutty flavor.  It holds up well under high heat and is rich in vitamins E and C.  It has been shown to lower harmful LDL cholesterol and, important to me, raise good HDL cholesterol.  Use about 2-3 Tablespoons of oil and add dried basil leaves as you sauté.

Add the chopped red and green bell peppers as they are readied.  

When the vegetables are beginning to get tender, add the can of diced tomatoes and honey, reduce the heat and continue to simmer gently.

While the tomatoes and vegetables are cooking, slice two medium squash; one yellow and one zucchini.  Cut them into ½” slices and lightly coat them by tossing in a couple of Tablespoons of oil.  Sparingly sprinkle them with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and place them on a cookie sheet in a 350° oven for about ten minutes.  

After ten minutes, turn on the broiler element and allow the tops to brown slightly.  While the squash still has some crunch, add them to the tomatoes and sautéed vegetables.  Keep warm until ready to serve.

Baked Cauliflower

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower, cut into pieces

2 Tablespoons olive or grape seed oil

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon celery salt

2 Tablespoons freshly chopped parsley (or 1 T. of dried parsley flakes)

3 heaping Tablespoons seasoned bread crumbs

3 heaping Tablespoons grated cheese

Directions:

Toss pieces of cauliflower in oil, coating them lightly.  Place cauliflower in a casserole dish, add remaining ingredients and toss.  Bake at 350° for 30-45 minutes, or until tender and beginning to brown.  Toss once half-way through cooking.

Grilled Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus

(from Celeste’s Cooking Creation blog)

Ingredients:

Asparagus, trimmed

Olive or grape seed oil

Sea salt

Ground black pepper

Prosciutto, thinly sliced

Directions:

I modified Celeste’s directions slightly.  For the original directions, click on the link in the heading above.

Place about 2-3 cups of water in a casserole dish and heat to boiling in the microwave.  Blanch the asparagus by placing it in the hot water and setting a timer for three minutes.  During the three minutes, return it to the microwave and zap it on high for one minute.  Allow the asparagus to stay in the hot water until the timer goes off.  Immediately remove it from the hot water and place the asparagus in a bath of ice water.  Allow the asparagus to chill for about five minutes.  Remove and pat dry with paper towels.

Lightly drizzle the asparagus with oil and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Divide the asparagus into bundles of 4, wrapping each with two slices of prosciutto.  You can grill the asparagus, seam side down over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the asparagus is tender.  Since I already had the oven hot, I placed the bundles on a cookie sheet in a 350° oven.  Turn the bundles half-way through cooking whether you grill them or bake them.

I served the vegetables with cornbread, and they were not only delicious, but I felt really healthy while eating them.  Remember to visit local farmers and farm markets like:

Renninger’s Farm

The Farmer’s Daughter

The Collegeville Farmer’s Market

Make it a point to enjoy our local bounty!  

Jewish Apple Cake

They say that you can tell the good recipes in a used cookbook by the amount of “schmutz” on the page.  If that’s true, then my recipe for Jewish Apple Cake must be amazing.  I can make out cooking oil stains, vanilla drips, batter spatter, and other unidentifiable schmutz.  You know, “schmutz,” as when your mother would say, “Come here and let me get that schmutz off your face.”

Schmutz is apparently a yiddish word, although I think that its origin can also be traced to Germanic roots.  Schmutzig is the German word for dirty, and I believe that I’ve heard some Pennsylvania Dutch reference schmutz. 

When I responded with “Jewish Apple Cake” after a friend asked about future blog recipes, he suggested I should just call it “Apple Cake.”  He was concerned that someone might be offended by using “Jewish” in the title.  After thinking about it for about ten seconds, I realized that calling a cake “Jewish” wouldn’t be any more offensive than calling cheese “Swiss,” or rice “Spanish,” chocolate cake “German,” pastry “Danish,” bread “Italian,” toast “French,” or waffles “Belgian.”  And how about Turkey and Chili (Chile)?

I tried to research the origins of Jewish Apple Cake, and found little.  However, it is definitely a traditional Jewish dessert.  Kosher laws prevent milk and meat from being eaten at the same meal, so most Jewish desserts have neither and thus can be eaten with either meal.  Interesting.  I eat it because it’s good!

Any post of a recipe using apples will most likely include a discussion of the types of apples best for…whatever the recipe is making.  I decided to check online and discovered that the Old Farmer’s Almanac recommends three types of apples for baking:  Fuji, Granny Smith, and Rome.  I used Gala.  Why?  Because they were the best size and shape for one of the tools I planned to use.

What’s the worst part about making Jewish Apple Cake?  Obviously, it’s paring, slicing, and coring four cups apples.  I’ve made many more Jewish Apple Cakes than I would have under "normal" circumstances as a result of a kitchen tool I purchased about 15 years ago.  It’s…you may have already guessed…an apple parer, slicer, corer, made by Bandwagon, Inc. in Wilmington, Massachusetts.  I love it.  It’s actually a reproduction of an old design, which makes it more appealing to me…no pun intended.  Really.

Imagine how long it would take you to pare, core and slice four cups of apples.  With this tool/toy you accomplish it in about five minutes, and the slices are more uniform that you could ever make them by hand.  Here’s how it works:

First, you should only use apples that are about 2½” in diameter.  I’ve tried larger ones and it's just an exercise in futility.  As a result, the gadget remained unused for a number of years…until I read the directions.

As soon as you begin cranking, the blade on the peeler begins to remove the apple skin in a thin ribbon.  Another uniquely-shaped blade does the double-duty of coring and slicing the apple.

If you’re careful, you’ll still have an apple shape, spiral sliced, with the core and almost all of the peel removed.

At that point, it simply a matter of slicing the whole thing in half.  Instant (almost) apple slices!

It really is a thing of beauty to operate.  Watch this video:

Now that you have four cups of apple slices, you’re ready to begin.  (The sheep enjoyed the “leftovers!”)

JEWISH APPLE CAKE

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

4 eggs

1 cup oil

½ cup orange juice

2½ teaspoons vanilla

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 cups pared, cored & sliced apples

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Put the first seven ingredients listed in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Make sure that you use baking powder and not baking soda.  Beat on low speed for ten minutes.  Set a timer when you begin mixing while you prepare the other ingredients.

Mix together 2 Tablespoons of sugar with 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and set aside.  Prepare 4 cups of peeled, cored and sliced apples.  If you don’t have an apple parer, slicer & corer, the slices should not be any thicker than about 1/8”.

Using a round tubular cake pan, (the kind that comes in two pieces), grease or spray the sides, bottom and center tube with non-stick cooking spray.  (You can find a type that is expressly for baking and incorporates flour with the non-stick spray.)  Evenly distribute approximately one-half of the cake batter in the pan and layer about half of the apples slices on top.  Sprinkle about half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top of the apples.  Repeat with the rest of the cake batter, the remaining apples, and the rest of the cinnamon-sugar.

Place cake pan in the middle of your oven and bake at 350° for 90 minutes.  Yes, that is the correct amount of time.  Mine actually took 95 minutes.  When the cake is done, a cake tester will come out clean, and the top of the cake will spring back when gently pressed.

Remove the cake from the oven and allow to it cool on a rack for about 30 minutes.  While still warm, remove it from the tubular pan as follows.  If it looks like the sides have adhered to the pan, carefully run a sharp knife around the circumference of the cake.  Then, gently push the insert of the pan up and out of the outer pan.  Look at the bottom of the cake.  If it looks like the cake is stuck to the bottom, use the same sharp knife to run around the radius of the cake bottom, angling the knife toward the pan bottom so it doesn’t “eat away” at the cake.  Now comes the tricky part.  Ready the plate that will serve at the “final resting place” of the cake.  Quickly and in one motion, invert the tubular insert, supporting the top of the cake with your spread fingers.  Gently pull the tubular insert off of the bottom of the cake.  Still holding the cake upside down, position the inverted plate on top of the cake bottom and re-invert the plate and cake together.  If the cake is not centered on the plate, carefully “hop” the cake across the plate.  Don’t try to push the cake across the plate.  This cake is dense, and doing so will most likely cause the cake to “smush.”

You’re going to love this cake.  It’s very moist, and keeps well.  It also will keep longer if refrigerated, however this isn’t necessary, unless it will be around for more than several days.  It also freezes well.  I took mine to a Memorial Day picnic hosted by my son and daughter-in-law.  It was a great party, and I couldn't have been prouder of both of them.  And, it did my heart good to see a future "Dad in the Kitchen" in the making!

More power!...readying the grill for cooking the burgers.  Gotta love it!

Enjoy!