Individual Cottage Pies

Your culinary terminology factoid of the day is:

A Shepherd's Pie is made with Lamb.

A Cottage Pie is made with Beef.

I know. I know... Grocery stores regularly sell frozen "Shepherd's Pie" and they're made with beef. Many restaurants have Shepherd's Pie on their menus - and they're made with beef. Google Shepherd's Pie and the first recipe shown is made with beef, although the next one - Alton Brown's - is made with lamb.

Good ol' Alton. He makes a sciolist proud.

But regardless of what you call it, meat and vegetables covered in mashed potatoes is really good stuff. And really easy to make.

As I was cooking dinner yesterday, I was already planning a _______ pie for tonight. My first thought was a small casserole dish, but when I started, today, I thought individual pies might be better. We have those two small pie plates that always look too small for anything - until I start filling them. They're actually really big and hold a lot - but my mind tends to hearken to pre-portion-control days, causing doubts. After today, I may, finally, be over it. We shall see.

There are as many ways to make this dish as there are names to call it, so I grabbed what we had on hand and went for it. The concept is also a great way to use up leftovers.

Cottage Pie for Two

• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 cup chopped leeks
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 10 oz mushrooms, chopped
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 cup beef broth
• thyme
• salt
• pepper
• 1 potato, boiled and mashed
• 1/4 cup shredded cheese
• buttered breadcrumbs

Sauté onion and leek in a drizzle of olive oil until wilted. Add garlic and quickly mix in. Add ground beef and cook through. Add brandy and cook until evaporated. Set aside.

Sauté mushrooms in a drizzle of olive oil until they are browned and give up their juices. Add a half-cup of red wine and reduce by half. Add beef broth and reduce by half.

Mix mushrooms with beef mixture and heat through, adding salt, pepper, and thyme, to taste. Thicken with a bit of cornstarch, if desired.

Place into individual casseroles, if you have them.

Meanwhile, mash potatoes and mix in shredded cheese. Spread on top of meat mixture and top with buttered bread crumbs.

Place in a preheated 350°F oven for about an hour - until potatoes are well browned and filling is hot.

This was good and it did not disappoint! The mushrooms add a lot of meatiness which means a smaller amount of beef is needed. The onions and leeks add a sweetness, and the splash of brandy and wine add a nice little back flavor without really identifying themselves - they just add to the overall richness of the dish.

And it was also just a tad too much! Granted, I could have finished it, but...

by Tim Dineen

Cassoulet

If you have ever had the opportunity to have a real cassoulet - resplendent in duck fat and confit - it is a meal you will not soon forget. In theory, it's a white bean stew, but calling it a mere stew is like calling Botticelli's Birth of Venus just a nice picture. It's a bit more elevated... just a bit...

A classic cassoulet is duck or goose confit with sausages, different meats, and white beans, slow-cooked with a topping of bread crumbs that soak up the cooking fat and liquid until they achieve the perfect crunchy crust.

Tonight's dinner was not one of those - although it was pretty good for being on this side of the Atlantic. I used chicken thighs and Spanish chorizo sausages, white beans and a mixture of others, French herbs, grape tomatoes, lots of red wine...

I first braised the bone-in chicken thighs with the onions, sausage, tomatoes, and red wine. When the chicken was thoroughly cooked, I pulled it from the bones, mixed it back in with the sausage mixture and added the beans, more red wine, and then the bread crumbs mixed with butter, garlic, more French herbs, and some grated pecorino, just because. It went into a 350°F oven for about an hour.

About as far from tradition as one could get, but... it was a damned fine meal!

If you want to try your hand at a traditional cassoulet - and have all the time in the world - here is Julia Child's recipe.

Julia Child's Cassoulet

Grocery List

• 2 pounds (5 cups) dry white beans, such as Great Northern
• 1 pound fat-and-lean salt pork (rind optional)
• 1 large herb bouquet made up of
  • 8 parsley sprigs
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme
  • 2 imported bay leaves, all tied in washed cheesecloth
• 4 pounds bone-in lamb shoulder, sawed into stewing chunks
• Rendered goose fat, or cooking oil
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 4 or 5 large garlic cloves, minced
• 4 or 5 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 2 imported bay leaves
• 2 cups dry white wine
• 3 cups beef stock or bouillon, or more if needed
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 5 pounds preserved goose, cut in pieces, plus cracklings
• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds sausage, such as kielbasa or chorizo, or sausage meat formed into cakes
• 3 tablespoons rendered goose fat or melted butter; more if needed
• 2 cups moderately pressed-down fresh white crumbs from crustless French bread
• 1/2 cup moderately pressed-down minced fresh parsley

For the beans

• 2 pounds (5 cups) dry white beans, such as Great Northern
• 1 pound fat-and-lean salt pork (rind optional)
• 1 large herb bouquet made up of
  • 8 parsley sprigs
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme
  • 2 imported bay leaves, all tied in washed cheesecloth
• Salt, to taste

For the cassoulet

• 4 pounds bone-in lamb shoulder, sawed into stewing chunks
• Rendered goose fat, or cooking oil
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 4 or 5 large garlic cloves, minced
• 4 or 5 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 2 imported bay leaves
• 2 cups dry white wine
• 3 cups beef stock or bouillon, or more if needed
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 5 pounds preserved goose, cut in pieces, plus cracklings
• 11/2 to 2 pounds sausage, such as kielbasa or chorizo, or sausage meat formed into cakes
• 3 tablespoons rendered goose fat or melted butter; more if needed
• 2 cups moderately pressed-down fresh white crumbs from crustless nonsweet French or Italian bread
• 1/2 cup moderately pressed-down minced fresh parsley

Instructions

The Beans (~ 1 hour)

• Make the beans: Pick over the beans to remove any debris, wash and drain them, and place in a large pot.
• Add 4 1/2 quarts water, cover and bring to a boil.
• Boil uncovered for exactly 2 minutes.
• Cover and let sit for exactly 1 hour

The Pork (~ 15 min)

• Meanwhile, if you are using the salt pork, remove the rind and cut pork into slices 1/2 inch thick.
• Simmer rind and pork in 3 quarts water for 15 minutes to remove excess salt.
• Rinse in cold water, drain and set aside.

After Beans have sat for 1 hour...(~ 1 & 1/2 hours)

• When the beans have finished soaking, bring them to a simmer, adding
  • the optional pork and rind,
  • the onion and
  • herb bouquet, and
  • 1 tablespoon salt if you have not used salt pork, 1/2 tablespoon if you have.
• Simmer slowly, partially covered until the beans are just tender, about 1 & 1/2 hours, adding boiling water if needed to keep beans covered at all times, and
• salt to taste near the end of the cooking.

(May be done up to 3 days in advance; refrigerate. Bring just to a simmer before proceeding with the cassoulet.)

The Lamb (~ 1 & 1/2 hours)

• Dry lamb pieces.
• Film casserole with fat or oil, heat to very hot, but not smoking, and brown lamb pieces, a few at a time, removing the browned pieces to a dish.
• Pour out excess fat and brown the onions lightly.
• Return lamb to casserole, and
  • add garlic,
  • tomato paste,
  • herbs,
  • wine and
  • enough stock just to cover lamb.
• Salt lightly,
• cover and simmer slowly until lamb is tender, about 1 & 1/2 hours.
• Correct seasoning.
• When cool, remove and discard bones from lamb.

(May be cooked up to 3 days in advance; when cold, cover and refrigerate lamb in its cooking liquid. Discard congealed surface fat before using.)

To Assemble the Cassoulet

• Remove bones from preserved goose and, if you wish, the skin.
• Cut goose into serving chunks the same size as the lamb pieces.
• If using salt pork, cut it into thin slices.
• If using sausage, cut in half lengthwise, then into chunks, and brown lightly in a frying pan with goose fat or oil.
• If using sausage meat, form into cakes about 11/2 inches across, and brown in fat or oil.
• Using a slotted spoon, remove beans from their liquid, but reserve liquid.
• Arrange a third of the beans in the bottom of a 6-quart casserole.
• Cover with a layer of lamb, goose, sausage, a handful of goose cracklings and, if using it, half the salt pork.
• Repeat with a layer of beans, then meat.
• End with a layer of beans, coming to within about 1/4 inch of the rim of the casserole.
• Ladle the lamb cooking liquid plus as much bean cooking liquid as needed just to cover the beans.
• Spread breadcrumbs and parsley over the top.

(Recipe may be prepared to this point up to 2 days in advance, but if the beans and lamb have not been freshly cooked, bring them to a simmer for several minutes before assembling cassoulet, to prevent any chance of spoilage. When cool, cover and refrigerate.)

Cooking the cassoulet

• If you have assembled and refrigerated the cassoulet in advance, place the covered casserole in a 325-degree oven for an hour or more until its contents are bubbling and the center of the cassoulet reaches 212 degrees when tested with an instant-read thermometer, then proceed as directed below. Heating the cassoulet on the stove to this point may cause the beans on the bottom to scorch.)
• Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Bring casserole to a simmer on top of the stove, then set it in the oven.
• Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until breadcrumb topping has crusted and browned lightly.
• Break the crust into the beans with the back of a spoon and return casserole to the oven.
• Lower temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking 15 minutes or more until a second crust has formed.
• Break it into the beans, and if the cooking liquid seems too thick or the beans dry, add a spoonful or so of the bean-cooking liquid.
• When the crust forms again, the cassoulet is ready to serve.

Just a bit more involved than my little dinner, tonight, but I can pretty much guarantee after eating it you'd think you were in Provence...

by Tim Dineen

Faux Paella

It's getting towards the end of the grocery week and the produce bin is looking a bit scarce. I'm trying not to overbuy - something that is really easy to do when going to a produce store - and I'm trying not to go to the grocery store more than once a week. I have a real love/hate relationship with grocery stores... I love food and looking at new things and creating recipes in my mind while looking at things walking down the aisles.. I hate dealing with clueless customers and indifferent staff. And crowds and lines. And over-indulged children. And... And... And...

I'm getting even more crotchety in my dotage and finding balance sometimes eludes me.

Yet, I also can't see doing Instacart, Peapod, or any of those other online grocery services. I'm too cheap. I'd much rather grouse about something than pay someone else to do it for me. Low as they may be, I do have my standards.

And while the vegetable larder is low, the freezer is full. The pendulum has swung from meats to produce but the buying habits haven't quite caught up there, either. I still tend to buy family packs of things and then repackage and freeze - I love my FoodSaver - so there's lots of variety in the protein department. Did I just write about balance eluding me?!? Welcome to my world.

With two links of Mexican Chorizo and 2 chicken thighs thawing - Mexican Chorizo is fresh, Spanish is cured and dried - my idea of a soup morphed into a paella of sorts. I may not do Instacart, but I do have things like Murcian Calasparra Rice delivered to the door.  I also have three kinds of Italian rice, Indian rice, Thai rice, Japanese rice, Chinese rice, and generic long grain white rice from California. And no onions - although I do have shallots.

Faux Paella

• 2 chicken thighs
• 2 links Mexican chorizo, cut into 1" pieces
• 3 shallots, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup Calasparra rice
• pinch saffron
• pinch thyme
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 cup white wine
• 2-3 cups chicken broth
• salt & pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Brown chicken thighs, set aside.

In same pan, brown chorizo. Add shallots, garlic, and bell pepper.

Add rice and stir until it begins to become translucent. Add wine and reduce by half.

Add spices and chicken broth and bring to boil. Add chicken.

Place in oven - uncovered - and cook about 20 minutes, or until rice is tender. Check liquid and add more broth, if necessary.

I use a 35 year old Le Creuset braising pan to make my paella - not a traditional paellera - and I finish it in the oven so I don't get the traditional crispy crusty socarrat on the bottom.

Of course, I'm also just making dinner, not trying to replicate the traditional dish of Valencia. If I were, I'd buy the pan and research the original recipe.

While I have gone to extremes like that in the past, today, I'd rather go to Spain and have someone cook it for me. I'll make do with my bastardized version at home.

by Tim Dineen