Rose's Lamby Shepard Pie

This is a favorite of mine. I don't make it often but I have had a yearning for it since St. Patrick's Day. But Richard wanted Corned Beef and Cabbage on that Sainted Day! So last night I gave in to the whim and made my Pie.

Now Shepard's Pie isn't what you would normally consider a pie, since it doesn't have a pie shell. Instead it has a layer or crust of Mashed Potatoes on top of it. Sometimes I make it very cheesy, but last night I felt like going a bit more simple. And here it is:

Rose's Lamby Shepard Pie

Ingredients:

2 medium sweet Onions, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tblsp Butter (Goat Butter)

1 lb Ground Lamb
2 Large stalks Celery, Diced
20 baby carrots, diced
2 large mushrooms, diced
1/2 cup Goat Milk
2 Tblsp Unbleached Flour

2 Cups Potato Flakes
1 1/4 Cup Water
3 Tblsp Butter (I used Goat Butter)
1 Cup Goat Milk
1/4 cup Grated Romano Cheese (I normally use Pecorino Roman which is sheep milk)
Salt & Pepper to taste
(I added a Tblsp chives & of Parsley and 1 Tblsp of Garlic Powder for extra flavor)

Preheat the oven to 375 Degrees.

In large skillet on medium low melt the butter and add the onions. Let simmer until onions start to get clear then add the garlic and salt and pepper lightly. (If you want to get fancy you can pour a bit of vermouth or vodka over the onions at this point. The liquid will steam off, but the flavor is incredible. This helps bring the sugar out of the onions and they carmelize beautifully)
Remove the onion and garlic mix to let stand for a bit while you put the lamb into this nicely seasoned skillet. Turn the heat up a bit and break up the lamb so that it will cook evenly. Add the carrots, celery and mushrooms and let cook down til they have a chance to start tenderizing.
In a bowl add the milk to the flour and stir til smooth. Pushing the meat mixture aside in your pan, start to pour in the milk mixture and let it heat to a boil and thicken, creating a nice sauce. At this point add the onion mixture and cook for another 5 minutes adding more salt and pepper.
Pour this entire mix into a pregreased deep casserole dish and set aside.

In a Medium pot bring the butter, water and salt & pepper to a boil. Remove from the heat and start adding the potato flakes and milk stirring continuously until well blended. Add a bit more potato flakes if you want to make thicker. Add in the parsley, chives and garlic to season if using them. Add in the Romano Cheese and stir til melted in.

Put the potatoes over the top of the lamb mixture in the casserole and make sure it covers all the way around to the edges. I like the potatoes to be at least an inch thick. Thicker if I have enough. I then will top with more Romano cheese that I just grate right over the top. About a 1/4 cup. Put the casserole into the oven and cook for 10 minutes at 375 then turn it down to 350 and let cook another 30 minutes or until top gets a lightly golden crust.

...Just a note, you can prepare this ahead of time and cover the casserole and refrigerate overnight before cooking. This makes it great as a prepare ahead dish for parties. I usually let it cook 10 minutes longer to bring it fully up to heat when done this way.

Serves 4-6 people.

That long awaited Mac and Cheese...

Well, as you can guess I haven't posted for a while. I came down with the flu and Asthma at the same time. I had a rough few weeks and am still coughing, but mostly over it. So now to the recipe...

Ultra Creamy Mac and

Ingredients:

1 package of pasta of choice (I love Rotini best) Cooked and drained

1 large Vidalia or Sweet Onion, Chopped

1 TBSP Goat Butter

1/2 lb Manchego Cheese, Grated

1/2 lb Goat Gouda, Grated

1 3 oz pkg Chevre (with Pepadew if you can find it)

2 oz Goat Butter

1/4 cup flour (I like unbleached but I have used Rice flour too)

2 cups Goat Milk (Meyenburg now has a 2% for the weight concious)

(Alternately, when out of milk I have used chicken stock which makes the flavor very rich)

1/2 Cup Manchego & Goat Gouda shredded together

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

(Optional, you can add veggies, diced chicken, shrimp or stew meat to this to make it a full meal.)

First I put the pasta in boiling water and cook until it is Aldente, drain, toss with a bit of olive oil and put into a deep casserole that I presprayed with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large skillet I melt 1 Tbsp Goat Butter and add the chopped onion. Saute slowly to carmelize the onions. Once Carmelized, add to pasta and stir.

In a medium saucepan heat the 2 Tbsp Goat Butter and Chevre til melted and add the flour whisking rapidly to blend quickly and allow to come to light boil. Slowly add the 2 cups of Goat Milk (Or Stock) whisking continuously and let heat back to a light boil as this begins to thicken up again. Start stirring in the grated cheeses and continue to stir until everything is melted and smooth.

**At this point, if I am going to add veggies or meat I do now. I like peas with white meat of chicken. But I have used broccoli too. The fanciest I made was with Fresh Asparagras lightly steamed and chopped up and Shrimp.

Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and onions and stir well to blend together. Cover the top with the final 1/2 cup of cheese. Put the casserole into the oven and cook for 20 minutes or until the top has gotten lightly golden. Remove and let sit for at least 20 minutes before cutting into the casserole. This lets the cheese sauce to set up and when you cut in all the cheese won't run out.

serves 6-8

Side Note: If you need to make this in advance for a dinner, I suggest making the sauce ahead of time. Don't add it to the pasta until the day of the dinner and baking then. Pasta will keep absorbing liquid and cause your creamy Mac and Cheese to be just a lot of Pasta Glue that is a bit dry.