Leftover Adventures, Issue No. 2

Shepherd's Pie!

God bless shepherds. They're out in the Montana wilderness in rain and snow, drinking and loving, dodging lightning and driving sheep, and for what? For Randy Quaid to kick them out on their asses and send them back to Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway. The nerve! Still, they find the time to take some basic kitchen ingredients and whip them into something classic, quick, and passionately satisfying.

For this recipe, I used some leftover GROUND PORK and GROUND BEEF from when Wife of Mighty Bay Leaf made me birthday spaghetti and meatballs. I also had some BACON in the fridge. So I chopped up the bacon cooked it in a pan until it was almost good and crispy, then I added the ground meats, and added BLACK PEPPER and MADRAS CURRY POWDER. It smelled pretty good I tell you what. When the meat was cooked through, I poured out the liquid and saved it for later. Then I added a jar of BEEF GRAVY to the pan. I'd theretofore never used gravy in shepherd's pie, so you might call that a Jack Twist. Then I added more curry powder. Finally, I poured the meatiness into a Pyrex 8x8 casserole dish.

Meanwhile, I mashed a couple Yukon gold POTATOES with some BUTTER and a splash of HALF AND HALF. I also chopped a medium YELLOW ONION and cooked it in the same pan I cooked the meats, with a little bit of the reserved liquid.

On top of the ground beef/pork/bacon, I put a strained can of SWEET CORN, then the onions, then the mashed potatoes. On top of this action, I added some chopped fresh PARSLEY, SHREDDED PARMESAN CHEESE, and some BREAD CRUMBS. I baked this in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Shepherd's pie, I wish I knew how to quit you.