Soup. Soup. Soup.

What happens when you make some soup and open up your home to friends and family?

That's what we were aiming to find out when we hosted our first Soup Night in the winter of 2007.  Interestingly enough, the concept was a raging success.  So, we're here to share our secrets.

The concept is simple. Take 3 parts soup, invite friends and family over and ask that they bring something to pass if they are so inclined. Add a cold Sunday evening. Open a bottle or two of wine. Stir in some conversation and laughter. Allow to simmer until everyone is deeply satisfied.

Once the event is over, it's time to do a little cleaning, finish the last few sips of wine and reflect on how blessed you are for having such good people in your life. Believe us. Any work involved is completely worth a couple of hours spent in the company of great friends.

We hosted our first soup night of 2011 this past Sunday. And boy, oh boy was it a good time.

The regulars came back with a vengeance -- colleagues from Peef's old workplace, a dear high school friend who we haven't seen in years, and even a few fantastic new-comers. Chris, from Milwaukee Brunch Reviews, joined in on the fun. We were privileged to host former farm intern/blogger, Neil, from stream of consciousness. He brought his girlfriend Sarah, another locavore, and we had a great time chatting about food like old friends. Now, it's possible that the threat of getting buried under 2 feet of snow in two days is enough to motivate people to get out while they can. But we would like to think that the idea of sharing some soup and warm conversation would be enough motivation for anyone even on the best of days.

The three soups this month consisted of an Italian Bean soup (chock full of vegetables & good stuff),

Tuna Chowder (separate post and recipe to come),

and the ever-popular Smoky Sweet Potato Chowder.

If soup night is nothing else, it's the perfect ending to a weekend -- or better yet-- the perfect way to start a long snowy week.

Twenty-four inches of snow in 48 hours? Bring it on!


©BURP! Where Food Happens
Want more? Read Lo's latest ruminations at FOODCrush, her Milwaukee Magazine blog.

Lamb Burgers with Figs, Caramelized Onions & Blue Cheese

Once upon a time... probably in late September... I spied a luscious looking pint of fresh Turkish figs at the market. And I was smitten.

For some (and maybe I should include myself here), figs are a nearly religious experience.  And it's no wonder. Succulent, sweet, and amazingly beautiful, the fig has a long history of adoration.  The fig tree was a common theme in the Bible, and the Egyptians considered figs to be sacred, often burying the dead with baskets of figs. Even the tale of how the infamous Mission figs made it to the U.S. has everything to do with the Franciscan monks from Spain who filled their pockets with figs and journeyed to San Diego, California to plant them.

Although considered a fruit, the fig is actually a flower that is inverted into itself. California fig season runs from Mid-May right into December -- though the peak of the season generally hits between July & September when all four varieties of figs (Brown Turkey, Black Mission, Kadota, & Calimyrna) are available.  Although they're widely available throughout the United States (thanks to the advances in food transportation -- both good and bad), we consider figs a special treat.  And because we can't grow figs ourselves here in Wisconsin, they have a particularly irresistible mystique.

I have a number of "favorite" ways to enjoy seasonal fresh figs -- wrapped with crispy bacon, chopped and added to cakes, or served simply with a dollop of Greek yogurt and honey. But, I also look forward to the opportunity to make these delicious burgers.

The burger itself is crazy simple -- a combination of freshly ground lamb, chopped fresh figs, a splash of balsamic vinegar, a dash of cumin, salt, pepper, and a bit of garlic. But, when the burger is topped with with caramelized onions and a bit of crumbled blue cheese -- wow. Reminiscent of a Mediterranean lamb stew with figs & red wine, these sandwiches were a treat that made us redefine what we think about weeknight burgers.

The sweetness of the figs & caramelized onions plays off of the rustic, assertive flavor of the lamb. And the saltiness of crumbled blue cheese makes every bite really snap.

Perfect with a side of crispy oven baked zucchini fries.

Lamb Burgers with Figs, Caramelized Onions & Blue Cheese
Baked Zucchini Fries


©BURP! Where Food Happens

Greens, They're What's for Dinner: Saag Tofu

Gosh, where do I begin in telling you of my love for Indian cuisine?

It seems almost an injustice to put it into words.  I love the the aromas, the textures, the spices, and widely varied ingredients.  There's an incredible diversity in the food culture of India -- and so much fascinating history behind the cuisine, which has benefited from the influences of numerous peoples and traditions.

On top of everything, Indian food is easily adaptable for strict vegetarians, for the gluten-free crowd, and it is extremely budget-friendly (for all you frugal gourmets out there).  It's also one of the best ways I know to use those couple of pounds of stray greens you have lying around. You know, the ones you bought (even though you didn't know what you were going to do with them) because they looked SO AMAZING at the farmer's market.

Saag paneer (or similarly, palak paneer), is a smooth, spiced Indian dish, the best versions of which are sprinkled liberally with sizable chunks of a cheese called paneer. The dish hails from the northern portion of India, where flat bread (puris, chapatis, or na'an) is generally served in lieu of rice.  The food is typically eaten by hand using the bread to scoop up the accompanying dishes.

The purists are going to hunt me down one of these days for making this dish with tofu, rather than paneer. But, I'm going to stand behind my ways. The fact is, I've been making this substitution for years -- to the extent that it has become the rule, rather than the exception.

I'm also going to stand behind Tina from Choosy Beggars, who does exactly the same thing.  We use different recipes -- but our philosophies are very much the same.  In fact, I'm even going to use a quote from her to explain the difference between tofu and paneer:

Tofu and paneer have a couple of similarities.  They’re both white.  They’re both moderately firm.  They both enjoy getting simmered on a flavorful bed of spiced creamed spinach, and they both willingly take on whatever flavors they are offered.  Where the similarity ends is in terms of texture and flavor.  Paneer is thick, slightly chewy but rich and dense.  The flavor is creamy and just barely sweet, like fresh milk.  Tofu, on the other hand, is a spongy and occasionally slightly bitter vehicle for whatever it happens to run into.  Oddly, I’m okay with that.  -- Tina

Yeah, we're OK with that too.  If you're not, we can respect that. But, please don't be a troll and leave nasty comments about our ignorance.  We KNOW they're not the same.

But, I digress.  The fact of the matter is, paneer isn't all that hard to find, and it's not even terribly difficult to make (or so we hear). In fact, we might even decide to tackle a paneer-making project one of these days.  But, in the meantime, tofu is a lovely substitute.

Saag tofu takes a bit of prep work to get things going, but the dish actually comes together quite quickly -- so this is more than appropriate for a weeknight meal.  You'll even have enough time to whip up a side of red lentil daal to accompany it, if you feel like going the extra mile.  But, it makes a perfectly respectable meal in and of itself.

This dish is wonderful made with all spinach. But, you can also do as we do and make it with a mixture of greens (please note that you may want to pre-cook tougher greens like kale and collards).  I particularly like the subtle bite that mustard greens offer up, and so we almost always use a combination of spinach and mustard greens.

Flavorful, fresh, and beautifully green, this saag is redolent with spices and garlic. The texture is velvety and slightly tangy from the yogurt, and the mustard greens add a little bit of bite. Freshly ground garam masala elevates the spice quotient to new heights.

Just perfect scooped onto a warmed piece of garlicky na'an.

Saag Tofu (or Paneer)


©BURP! Where Food Happens

Braciola di Pollo: Stuffed Boneless Chicken with Sundried Tomatoes & Summer Herbs

It's going back quite a ways, but I can still remember the first "fancy" dinner party dish I ever made pretty vividly. It was a recipe for chicken breasts that were pounded flat, stuffed with cheese, fastened with toothpicks, and baked in the oven.

The first lesson I learned was that you should always COVER your chicken breast with something before whacking away at it with a meat mallet. That was followed shortly by the realization that over-stuffing the chicken breasts probably wasn't the best idea.  And then I rounded the experience out by nearly impaling myself with the dullest toothpick I've ever encountered.

My oh my, how things change.

I haven't stuffed a chicken breast with anything in a very long time, though I've actually developed some pretty mad skillz for using toothpicks. And I've gotten pretty good with a meat mallet.

But, stuffed chicken (albeit not breasts) really IS the point of this post. So, I'd better get on with that.

The inspiration for this dish hearkens back to a chicken roll recipe from Mario Batali that we came across online a few months back. It was a boned chicken, stuffed with veal, pork, and ham and roasted in the oven until it was crisped and browned.  I liked the idea of a "boneless chicken roll," so I decided to play with the flavors.

We actually learned to debone poultry when we tackled Julia Child's Pate de Canard en croute for a cooking challenge last summer. It was a skill I was pretty proud to have developed (especially since a number of chickens were sacrificed along the way in order for me to gain confidence with the process).  But, I hadn't put it to good use in quite a while.  So, I figured a little bit of experimenting would get me back into practice.

Inspired by the summer weather, I decided to go with a stuffing that was lighter and far less meat heavy.  I happened to have a few dehydrated Principe Borghese tomatoes leftover from last summer's harvest on hand.

I also realized that it was the perfect opportunity to capitalize on all the summer herbs we had in the back yard.  Peef clipped some basil, parsley, and rosemary. And we got started.  I mixed the herbs with re-hydrated tomatoes, fresh bread crumbs, blue cheese, and a couple of eggs.

We de-boned and stuffed the chicken, and then threw everything into a hot oven for about 40 minutes.

The fact is, this is a relatively simple dish once you've got the pesky de-boning out of the way.  These days I almost always de-bone more than one chicken at a time and I always roll up one or two to sock away in the freezer for later. Makes for pretty slick entertaining when the time comes -- and honestly, it shaves off enough time that we can even throw together a delicious meal like this one on a regular old weeknight.

And, honestly, who can argue with that?

Braciola di Pollo: Stuffed Boneless Chicken with Sundried Tomatoes & Herbs

This post is part of our Summer 2010 Herb Series: Using and Preserving Herbs. Stay tuned every Friday for more hints, tips and tricks on how to use summer's bounty!  

We're also excited to announce that, starting next Friday, we'll be featuring guest posts from some of our favorite food blogger friends as part of the herb series.  First up on July 9th -- Amy from Very Culinary!


©BURP! Where Food Happens

Make Ahead Meal: King Ranch Chicken Kickasserole

 
This is not the blog post where I tell you all the secrets to successful meal planning.  I won't tout the benefits of "once a month" cooking or give you a slew of time-saving tips to use on your everyday weeknight meals.  Because, generally, that's not the way I operate.

I am NOT a domestic goddess. I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kindofa girl when it comes to weeknight cooking.

It's not that I haven't tried.  I've given meal planning a whirl. Made the list. Clipped the recipes. And meticulously shopped for all the grocery items that I need to create exactly seven home cooked meals in a week. I've witnessed the money it saves, and the headaches it prevents. But, honestly -- when the rubber hits the road -- planning ahead to that extent simply doesn't work for me.  In fact, some of you will be surprised to hear that that level of planning actually starts to stress me out.  I like a little bit of flexibility in my evening plans... maybe even a bit of uncertainty when it comes to what I'll whip up for dinner.

So, I was a little bit surprised when I discovered the brilliance that is the King Ranch Casserole.

YES -- this is a bit like the Tex-Mex casserole dish that shows up in all the ghastly women's magazines.  And YES -- it's a throw-back from post-World War II cooking, when casseroles made with canned soups were the space-age cuisine (because they could be made quickly and kept for later use, casseroles liberated the modern woman from the slavery of cooking).

But, NO -- this is NOT the version that uses cream of *whatever* soup.  And I promise you, this isn't a trap.  But, it will give you at least a night off from cooking... if you do a bit of prep work ahead of time.

This dish does require you to think ahead -- because the flavor of the dish improves pretty dramatically over the course of a day... or three.  The flavors meld. The textures improve. And, although it will still take you an hour or so to bake it up for dinner on the night you serve it, it gives you what might be exactly the right amount of respite from actual cooking duties to renew your strength and energy.

The best part of it is, it doesn't even require a REAL recipe -- though I'm going to give you a bit of a cheat sheet you can use if you'd like to recreate this dish at  home.

Here's what you'll need (more or less)

• a package of corn tortillas (A pack of 12 works great. We like sprouted corn... )
• 2-3 cups tomatillo sauce (it helps to have a bit of this in the freezer, but you can make your own)
• 3 cups cooked chicken (again, nice to have this in the freezer)
• An onion 
• a few cloves of garlic
• a teaspoon or so of cumin and smoked paprika
• salt and black pepper (to taste)
• 1/2 cup or so of chopped cilantro
• 8 oz sour cream
• 2-3 cups of grated cheese (Chihuahua, Monterey Jack, or whatever you have on hand)

Dice your onion and saute it with the garlic until everything is tender. Mix in the cumin, paprika, cilantro, pepper, salt, and chicken.   Provided you have your sauce and chicken together, this is all the cooking you'll need to do.

Put a bit of tomatillo sauce on the bottom of a glass or ceramic baking dish, and start layering your ingredients:

1. 4 tortillas
2. a bit of sour cream (spread this over the top of the tortillas)
3. 1/3 of the chicken mixture
4. 1/3 of the tomatillo sauce
5. cheese

Keep layering until you've used up all of your ingredients -- ending with a nice layer of cheese on the very top. Cover the pan, and place it into the fridge.  Leave it there for 1-3 days. I promise you, it's worth the wait.

While you're waiting for your casserole to "age"  you can do all sorts of fun things -- go out, make a new friend, write a blog post or two, read other peoples' blogs and get new ideas for what to make for dinner NEXT week.

When it's time to bake the casserole, put the dish into a cold oven.  Set the oven to 375ºF and allow the casserole to bake for 50 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, whip off your apron and mix yourself up a nice stiff brandy old fashioned. You deserve it.  Make it a double.  After all, you'll have to wait almost an hour for the casserole to come out of the oven. Might as well make it worth your while.

When the casserole is all brown and bubbling, it's going to smell seriously good and you'll be tempted to slice right into it.  But, you should refrain for about 10 minutes just to let everything set up a bit.

One bite of this and the children will rejoice. Your significant other will sing your praises. And the dog will beg to lick your plate when you're done eating.

You'll feel liberated.
And modern.
And oh-so-very-savvy.

But you can thank me later.  In the meantime, take a bite of your casserole.

Quick Roasted Tomatillo Sauce


©BURP! Where Food Happens

Never the Same Dish Twice: Caramelized Onion & Poblano Enchiladas

There's just something about a cheese enchilada.

It's not complicated. Or fancy. If you're honest, you'll probably even admit that it's really not even all that interesting.  But, there's something about a deliciously soft tortilla that's filled with cheese and covered in sauce that seems to capture the imagination. 

Of course, if you're like me, you're always trying to play with perfection... tweaking a little bit here, adjusting there. Making things better (hopefully)... or at least different.  Keeping the spirit of the experimentation alive.

This dish has been a perennial favorite in the Burp! kitchen. In fact, the recipe goes way back -- to the beginnings of the blog.

It was one of our very first blog posts -- published toward the end of June in 2007.  At the point it was written, we weren't cognizant that we had an audience.  In fact, we were pretty sure that we didn't. You'll notice there's no pretty photo of our meal. No story about where we got the idea for the recipe. In fact, there's not much of anything interesting about the post at all, except maybe the recipe itself (and that's probably somewhat debatable).

The fact of the matter is, the idea stemmed from a recipe for cheese and caramelized onion enchiladas that we found in Jack Bishop's A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen.   We loved the concept of using sweet caramelized onions in an enchilada, but I wasn't completely satisfied with the recipe on its own.  So, we started tweaking.

Rather than using pickled jalapeno peppers, I decided to sub in slices of roasted poblano chiles. To add a bit of delightful creaminess, we added a few ounces of cream cheese to the filling. We neglected to use Bishop's sauce.  And suddenly, we had a brand new dish.

Years later, I'd venture a guess that we've made this dish at least 10-15 times. And it's likely to have been different every go-round. We've used various sauces (a mole, a red chile sauce, and a roasted tomatillo sauce). We've substituted roasted red peppers and fresh jalapenos for the poblanos. We've added goat cheese to the mix, rather than cream cheese.  And every time, it's been a completely new kind of fabulous.

But, that's exactly what I love about cooking. And blogging.  It's never the same twice. Ingredients change. Trends come and go. We approach the same dishes with different perspectives. And recipes have this miraculous way of morphing into new experiences right before our very eyes.

Every single time we step into the kitchen, we learn something new. And we find something unexpected.

So, go ahead -- tweak that recipe. See what it becomes for you.
Caramelized Onion & Poblano Enchiladas


And don't forget -- in celebration of our Burp-Day, we'll be giving away at least THREE (3) Burp! t-shirts during the month of June. Visit Burp! Blog on Facebook to find out how to win!


©BURP! Where Food Happens

Cowboy Stew Redux: Stellar Tamale Pie

Some people aren't really into leftovers.  But, I can hardly imagine a life without them.  Even though there are only two of us, I always cook for at least 4 people. Most of the time, we take the leftovers to work for lunch. On the rare occasion when I've cooked up more than four servings (or we don't need lunch the next day), I often throw the remainders into the freezer.

Even for those of us who take great joy from cooking, there are nights when we just don't feel like going through the effort.  These are the nights when most people order take-out (and trust me, we do that too).  But, it's such a joy to know that a delicious dinner is only a few steps away when you've got some leftovers on hand.

In this case, it was a tub of Pork Cheek and Black Eyed Pea Chili.  This stew-like concoction has big chunks of pork shoulder (or pork cheeks, if you can find them) and black-eyed peas that have been cooked in a combination of chicken broth and porter, and seasoned with plenty of Spanish smoked paprika.  This is the sort of chili that takes some time, but is well worth the effort -- especially since it makes plenty!  Its flavor also improves over time, like many other well-seasoned stews.

Since this particular chili is pretty meaty, and we tend toward the Veg-Head side of things, I decided to saute some kale & onions to add to the chili.  I cooked them right in my cast iron skillet so that I only had to dirty one pan.  When the onions were cooked and the kale was barely tender, I stirred in the chili and allowed it to reheat.

While the chili was reheating, I stirred together a quick cornbread topping -- whole wheat flour, cornmeal, some ancho chile powder, cumin...  I grabbed some shredded cheese to stir into the cornbread & scatter over the chili.  And then I spooned the topping onto the warm chili mixture.

Just 45 minutes in a 400 degree oven, and dinner was served! 

The pork was tender, the sauce rich and smoky. And the cornbread topping helped to sop up some of the juice from the stew and greens.

Even better than that, Peef declared it "one of the best dinners ever!"  Makes me wonder why we don't cook with leftovers more often.

Easy Tamale Pie


What are your favorite leftovers for repurposing?


©BURP! Where Food Happens

Spring Comfort Food: Mexican Bean Pot with Spinach & Chorizo

Spring in Wisconsin is always an interesting proposition. While the weather improves overall, there's no telling what any given day might hold -- rain, flurries, sun, or clouds.  It's also difficult to tell from day to day what the temperature is going to be like.    As the saying goes, Wisconsin is one of the only states where you can experience all four seasons in the span of a week (or less)!

This recipe is for the damp, cool days of spring.  The ones that still leave you longing for a bit of warm comfort food.  And it's the perfect recipe for someone who wants to try out cooking beans from scratch.  If you've never done so, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the texture of home cooked beans -- which are a bit more firm than canned beans, and (IMHO) infinitely more flavorful. There's also a chance that the beans are infinitely more nutritious -- but, I'll leave that to the discernment of the experts who can actually measure such things.  The fact is, I cook my beans from scratch because they taste good.

Of course, my technique (as with many other things) for cooking beans, is still a work in progress. For example, the jury is still out for me on whether or not to soak beans.  Soaking definitely cuts down on the cooking time, but I'm not certain that it bears much other benefit. Lately, I've been ignoring the pre-soaking -- particularly for black beans, which seem to lose a great deal of color when soaked. As a result, I tend to cook my beans on the weekend, when I have plenty of time to wait for them to cook.  I've also been adding a strip or two of kombu (seaweed) to my beans as they cook. Like other seaweeds, kombu contains trace minerals -- which give a nutritional boost to the beans.  It also contains enzymes that reportedly help to break down the raffinose sugars in beans (the cause of excessive gas and bloating), increasing digestability.   The added nutritional benefit is enough for me -- but if it happens to also reduce some of the unpleasant side effects associated with beans, all the better.

This particular bean pot was inspired by a lazy afternoon when the rain was coming down in torrents outside the window.  Fresh Mexican-style chorizo was on sale at the Outpost, and I had almost two pounds of spinach languishing in the refrigerator.  I wasn't in the mood for soup -- but I was seriously craving a pot of beans.

I cooked the beans simply -- in plenty of water with a large red onion and some garlic cloves. I let them cook gently in my dutch oven for most of the afternoon -- pausing to test every 15-20 minutes during the last stages of cooking. Black beans are done when the skin easily gives way when pressed between two fingers, and the creamy flesh oozes out in a fantastic display of nutty deliciousness.

When the beans were nearly cooked, I sauteed a bit of chorizo and a large red pepper.  I also pulled out a 15 oz can of chopped fire roasted tomatoes and a couple of chipotle peppers, which I chopped finely.  I added everything to the cooked beans with a bit of salt, and allowed them to simmer for about 20 minutes -- just to let the flavors meld. Then, I added the chopped spinach.

Once the spinach was wilted, I removed the pot from the flame, and spooned the beans into bowls, topping them liberally with cilantro and a nice squeeze of fresh lime.

We scooped up our beans into warm tortillas, slurping up the flavorful sauces as they dripped.

The sheer simplicity of this dish made it an immediate favorite.  Seasoned with little more than the spices from the chorizo, a hint of sweetness from the red bell pepper, and a bit of smoky heat from the chipotles, this was one of the best pots of beans I'd ever eaten.   And it was even better the next day for lunch, alongside a cheese and jalapeno quesadilla.

Excellent paired with a well-mixed margarita with plenty of lime. 

Mexican Bean Pot with Spinach & Chorizo


©BURP! Where Food Happens

Hyped Up Shepherd's Pie with Mushrooms and Greens

I haven't a single fond childhood memory of shepherd's pie.

It's not that my mother made BAD shepherd's pie.  Or even mediocre shepherd's pie.  The truth is, my mother never made shepherd's pie... or cottage pie... or even cowboy pie.  And I followed in her footsteps. Until sometime this fall.

I was inspired by the turnips at the farmer's market. They were gorgeous things -- all pretty and white, with the most perfect greens attached. I simply had to take them home with me, despite the fact that I had absolutely no idea what I'd do with them.  Fortunately for me, it was the weekend. So, I had plenty of time to sit and wait for inspiration to hit.

Turns out it didn't take long. I ran across a post written by Peter from Kolofagas about Shepherd's Pie.  He made that darned pie look so incredible, I could have just about eaten it right off the page.  And right then and there, I knew what we were having for dinner.

At this point, you're probably starting to wonder what in the world this has to do with my turnips... but, trust me, they were part of my vision. When it came to the turnips themselves, it's possible I envisioned them roasting alongside a well-seasoned, pastured chicken. They'd caramelize in all that lovely schmaltz and become the best thing since mashed potatoes.  But, the greens... why not create a shepherd's pie with some serious nutritional punch by throwing them into the mix?

And so, off to the kitchen we went. Chopped up plenty of vegetables -- onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and shiitake mushrooms.  Oh, yes, and we can't forget about those gorgeous turnip greens.

I sauteed the shiitake mushrooms in a bit of butter. When they were done, I set them aside and gave the vegetables a bit of the same treatment. When theys were just starting to soften, I added about a pound of local ground lamb, browning that up nicely. I threw in a dash of worchestershire sauce, and I added a couple of teaspoons of fresh chopped rosemary and thyme leaves.

Once the herbs were incorporated and I could smell them letting off their fragrant oils, I added a bit of flour to make a roux.  Stirred in about 1/2 cup of zinfandel, allowing the alcohol to dissipate, and then poured in about 1 1/2 cups of mushroom stock and tossed in a couple of bay leaves.

 

While the sauce was simmering, I whipped together my mashed potatoes and set them aside.
By then, the sauce had thickened up nicely and the flavors had really started to meld. I could tell simply by how everything smelled... but I took a quick taste just in case I needed to adjust the seasonings.

Determining that everything was just the way I wanted it, I added what a veg-head like myself would likely consider to be the Pièce de résistance -- those stunning turnip greens.  I should mention that any tender greens would work well here -- swiss chard, mustard greens, or spinach would all do nicely.   I left them in the stew just long enough for them to wilt (4-5 minutes, tops), stirred in the reserved mushrooms, and then I took everything off of the heat.

 

I poured it all into a large baking dish, spreading things out evenly.

 

And then I topped the whole mess with mashed potatoes.  I did go through the effort of fluffing the potatoes up a little bit with a fork before sprinkling on a liberal dose of paprika... and that went a ways in making things look a bit more appetizing.  But, I didn't go through quite the effort Peter did. He piped his potatoes on top of the pie so very beautifully, while I just slopped mine on, right out of the pan.  Some of you may judge me for this. But, I can assure you, the finished product (while it might have been lacking in the looks department) tasted just fine.

 

In fact, once everything has baked together for about 45 minutes, and the kitchen starts filling up with the aroma of the lamb, the veggies, and the intoxicating scent of the rosemary and thyme, you'll forget all about the fact that your potatoes aren't all that pretty.

 

The torture comes when you take the casserole out of the oven. Despite the overwhelming impulse to scoop right in and start devouring your humble feast, it's really a much better idea to allow the casserole to rest for 15-20 minutes before serving. It will be painful, but I assure you, you'll be glad you waited.

After a good rest, you can scoop that delicious mess into bowls.

 

And yeah, you can even garnish your bowl with a nice sprig of fresh rosemary.  It's a lovely touch -- but, like so many niceties, it's not necessary. In fact, the final product would be just as delicious eaten right out of the pan with a big fork.  But, that doesn't make for a very good photo op. Does it?

The reality is, if you're looking for good old-fashioned comfort food, shepherd's pie is where it's at.  If you're looking for a kicked up version with a bit of serious vegetable action -- this recipe does a pretty good job of delivering.  And hey, if you decide to make it on one of those cold winter's nights... invite me over for a bite. It would be difficult to refuse.

Hyped Up Shepherd's Pie with Mushrooms and Greens



©BURP! Where Food Happens