Recipe: The Shepherd's Other Pie

Shepherd’s Pie is usually made with lamb (you know, a shepherd = sheep). But this is another pie the shepherd might make, this time with chicken. The shepherd doesn't really have much imagination: everything is a casserole topped with mashed potatoes. Let’s begin!

Chicken and mashed potatoes - a match made in heaven? Yes

INGREDIENTS

• 4-5 lb Whole Chicken, thawed
• 4-5 Medium Carrots, sliced thin
• 2 Ribs Celery, medium dice 
• 1 Medium Onion, medium dice
• 1 16 oz Bag of Frozen Peas
• ½ Cup Flour
• 3 Cups Chicken Broth/Stock
• 6 Tbs Butter
• 6-7 Medium Potatoes
• 1 Cup Half & Half
• Salt & Pepper
• Poultry Seasoning

INSTRUCTIONS
Chicken

1. Remove the innards from the chicken (they are usually placed in a convenient bag) and discard. We will not need any chicken guts this evening, but feel free to save them for your special organ meat luncheon that is coming-up.
2. Rinse the chicken well, inside and out. Dry the outside of the chicken with paper towels, and place in a roasting pan large enough to hold the chicken and the juices that are bound to escape
3. Coat the outside with a small amount of vegetable oil (rub it into the meat with your hands) and sprinkle a generous amount of salt inside and outside the bird. The salt with give it flavor, and is very important.
4. Roast in a 350 degree oven for ~90 minutes. Remove from oven, let sit for ~15 minutes, and then separate the meat from the carcass – you only need the meat. Cut the meat into large bite-sized pieces (or shred) and set aside.

Potatoes (we've been here before)

1. Peel and quarter the potatoes. Place into a large pot. Add enough water to barely reach the top of the potatoes. Sprinkle-on 1 Tbs of kosher salt, cover, and set on medium high heat.
2. When the pot comes to a boil, drop the heat to low and simmer for ~20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
3. Drain the water, and rice or mash your potatoes to completion. Add the Half & Half and stir together. You will notice that the mashed potatoes are silky and delicious – oh, that’s good!
4. Set the potatoes aside 

Stew

1. In a large saucepan, melt 2 Tbs of butter over medium heat.  Add the carrots, onion, and celery and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Be sure to “sweat” the veggies and not brown the veggie. The goal is to cook them to release their flavors, not to add new caramelized flavors. About half-way through the sweating, add ~2 tsp of Poultry Seasoning (or 1 tsp of Thyme) and 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper. This will give the seasoning a chance to soften (especially Thyme: it’s particularly woody, and can be a little spiky in the dish)
2. Add 2 Tbs of butter and the flour. It’s like a roux (again), and this with thicken the sauce. Cook the flour in the butter and veggies for a few minutes – enough time to allow the flour to cook. Add the broth (1 cup at a time) and stir. Allow the mixture to thicken before adding the next amount. When all the broth has been added, add the frozen peas and allow them to cook in the broth (5 minutes). Add the chicken you have already set aside and bring everything up to proper temperature.

Pie

1. Dump the stew in a decorative casserole dish. Be sure it’s deep enough to contain the stew here.
2. Top with the mashed potatoes – be sure to smooth-out the potatoes to cover the entire dish.
3. Now, you can take a fork and gently carve designs into the potatoes. Melt the remaining 2 Tbs of butter and pour over the potatoes – it will be delicious and also help the potatoes brown in the oven.
4. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until the potatoes begin to brown. Remove and eat.

RECIPE NOTES

• This seems tough, is it really worth it? >> Yeah, it is – this was awesome!
• Whole chicken – can I substitute parts? >> Yes, that’s fine. The whole chicken was the right amount of meat. So, I’d go with 2 breasts and 2 thighs or 3 breasts if you want an all-white-meat version.

Recipe: Potato & Leek Soup

It's wintertime, and that means it's time for soup. After I made this, my wife exclaimed, "Mama Mia, that's a spicy meatball!" wait, wrong wife. She actually said it was the best soup I have ever made. Sounds like high praise, right? Well, I have made a number of soups in the past, and my ego of experience took a huge hit (were the soups from the past just bowls of poorly made piss?) No matter. I choose to accept this praise at face value: she enjoyed the soup. I'm guessing that you will enjoy it too. Enjoy it, that is, unless you fuck it up. Keep reading to see how to make it right.

Potato & Leek soup in a bowl on my table. 

What's that? Homemade bread too? Yes, I am awesome

INGREDIENTS

• 3-4 leeks, washed and cut into rings
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 4 Tbs butter
• 1 cup half & half
• Salt & pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prep the veggies: dice the potato, dice the onion, and wash & cut the leeks (see the note on leeks below - they deserve special attention)
2. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the veggies and cook until tender but not browned - about 10 minutes. Stir the veggies from time to time to prevent browning. Add the stock and bring to a boil (if the stock is not enough, feel free to add a little water - enough to barely cover the vegetables). Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for ~20 minutes until the vegetables are cooked-through.

Leeks, onions, and potatoes in the pot with vegetable stock. Note how the veg stock slightly exceeds the level of the materials - this is the right amount (you can even go with a little less stock). Why is the veg stock red? It's the tomatoes - veg stock has some tomatoes in it

4. Now it's time to process: using your trusty stick blender, buzz the shit out of the mixture until it's smooth and creamy. no stick blender? Put the mixture into a blender or a food processor and spin to win. Watch out! Hot soup is like napalm in a blender - don't get any on you!

Stick blender in the pot grinding-up soup. It's the way to go

5. Add the half & half and stir. Taste it. Needs salt, right? Add salt & pepper to taste.

Add the half & half, buzz, and then add the salt

6. Done. Ladle-up some, and eat healthy soup with your family.

RECIPE NOTES

Use all the white, all the light green, and ~1" of the dark green

• What do I do with these friggin' leeks? >> They are certainly weird. And unless you're a bonafide soup maker, you're unlikely to have any experience with leeks. A leek is like a large green onion - a tender white bottom and a dark green top/stalk. The dark green tops are tough - let's get rid of most of them. Cut-off the bottom root (trim closely, we want to preserve the white section) and the top - leaving only ~1" of dark green. Now, cut the whole stalk in-half lengthwise. Look closely, you will notice that the leek is made of many layers (like an onion). Leeks are grown in especially loose and sandy soil, so there's likely to be dirt and grit in between layers. Slice the leeks into 1/2" rings then drop those leeks into some clean water and clean 'em off. Rinse and repeat. Advanced move: spin in a salad spinner to remove the water - yeah, that's the stuff
• How do I store this soup? >> I don't recommend long-term storage, but this will make ~3/5 gallons of soup - possibly more than you want to eat all at once. I recommend using mason jars for storage. You can use the small pint-sized ones to make a soup serving ready to bring to work. Or you can dump it into a half-gallon jar and store it in the fridge (pictured)

Jar full of soup. Keep it next to the orange juice and above the shelf of beer

UPDATE - July 2, 2012

I made this soup last night and decided that I wanted a greener and more healthful looking soup. Let's face it; made properly, the potato leek soup is not as green as you'd expect. The soup takes-on more color from the potato than the leek (we're using the tender white bottom after all...) How to make it green...?

SPINACH!

For greener soup, cook the soup as directed above. For the last 3-5 minutes, drop-in a cup of baby spinach and let it cook with the soup. Those leaves cook quick, and won't add much flavor, but oh baby, they add color and health to the soup. Grind it up as before, and you'll have a beautiful green soup ready for consumption. You're welcome

Here it is with the spinach buzzed-in. Notice the greener hue and green flecks. 

That's health staring you in the face. Popeye would be proud.