"i'm a shepherd."

it's been a while since i've written about a "quick weeknight dinner," so i thought i'd post the shepherd's pie recipe from tonight (posted below). took about 30 minutes to prep it, another 30 to bake.

...hmmm, ok, so maybe this one isn't as quick as i thought... [awwwkward] well, you could, uhhh, definitely make it the night before (cover and refrigerate) and then just pop it in a 375°F oven the next night; just add about 10 more minutes to the original baking time.

yeah, that's the ticket...it's fast if you make it the night before!!! let's, um, just ignore the fact that prepping it the night before makes this a little less than ideal as a really quick dinner. but never mind, never mind. let's move on, people; nothing to see here.

in all seriousness, trust me when i say this dinner is *really easy* to make. yes, FINE, ok, it takes an hour from prep start to table, but it's only a half hour of actual work and it's very tasty. this is a great dinner to make when it's a little cool/chilly outside. the potato top becomes deliciously golden and crispy (oooh, especially the edges.... *sigh* edges.... yummy edges.... hunh, what?! oh sorry, got distracted.) and underneath, the beef filling is wonderfully rich and piping hot! neither kevin nor i thought we'd finish our portions, but we did. and with even a little room to spare for some dessert! [oink oink oink!]

p.s. points to anyone who knows whom i'm quoting in the title.


Shepherd's Pie

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
1 cup beef stock
2 tsps tomato paste
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup fresh peas
salt and pepper to taste

1 lb yukon gold or yellow finn potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tbsps unsalted butter
1/4 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375°F. Bring pot of salted water to a boil; add potatoes and cook until fork tender, about 20 minutes. While potatoes are cooking, over medium-high heat, heat olive oil in a medium skillet. Add onion, carrot, and ground beef, and cook until meat is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drain liquid from pan, then add broth, tomato paste, and herbs. Bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer until mixture is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in peas and then spoon beef mixture into 2 individual-sized gratin dishes.

Force potatoes through a ricer (or use potato masher), then stir in garlic, butter, and then milk. Add salt to taste. Spread potatoes on top of beef. Using a fork, create crosshatch in potatoes. Bake in oven until potatoes are golden brown, about 35-40 minutes. Serves 2.

perfect pastry for passover

while saturday at sundown marks the beginning of passover, what it doesn't have to mean is seders with food that's well, NOT tasty (and sometimes downright weird) and where the wine is manishewitz.

until last year, the most problematic part of our seders had always been what the heck to make for dessert. pretty much every recipe i had looked over and even tried was just a sad attempt at working around the fact that flour is verboten. that is, until i got my grubby little paws (as aaron h. likes to refer to my hands) on a copy of elisabeth prueitt and chad robertson's Tartine cookbook. there, i stumbled on a chocolate cake recipe that was perfect for passover.

i tried it out last year, and it was a huge hit. gentiles ate it not realizing i had made it for passover. jewish peeps who *were* observing passover didn't believe me that it was, well, er, kosher for passover. (it's always a great feeling when you're hit on both sides with accusations of being a liar. *sniffles* *honnnnnnnk*) i brought in the leftovers to work and it disappeared in about 10 minutes. but then again, that's what happens to most desserts at the office, so don't worry, i didn't let it puff me up TOO much. (note the use of "too." a-HEM.)

this is a cake that can be served two different ways: at room temp, which makes it more like a chocolate mousse cake; or, serve it chilled, in which case the cake is much more like a flourless chocolate cake. either way, trust me when i say it's tastylicious. the key is to use the finest chocolate you can, well, get YOUR grubby little paws on. (just make sure to wash said grubby paws before you start baking.) recipe below.

matzoh tov!


Tartine Bakery Chocolate Soufflé Cake

Cake
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp unsalted butter
14 oz finely chopped bittersweet chocolate
7 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Ganache Topping (optional)
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream

Cake
Preheat oven to 325 deg. Line bottom of 10" springform pan with 3" sides with parchment paper cut to fit exactly.

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat and add chocolate. Stir occasionally until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, place the yolks and half the sugar and beat on high speed until light, fluffy, and volume triples, about 4-5 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, fold the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks until mostly combined.

In another bowl, and with clean beaters, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Add the other half of the sugar and the salt, and beat until whites form medium-stiff, glossy peaks. Blend one third of the whites into the yolk mixture to lighten, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites just until no white streaks are visible. Turn the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake until the top of the cake is no longer shiny, about 30-40 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 3 hours, up to overnight.

Ganache topping
Remove cake from refrigerator, uncover it, and let sit at room temp for about 15 minutes before pouring ganache.

Heat cream in small saucepan and bring to just under a boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Let sit for about 2 minutes without stirring until the chocolate melts. Then, stir gently until smooth (incorporate as little air as possible). Pour ganache over cake and tilt and turn pan to cover top evenly. After about 20 minutes, the chocolate will have set. Run a thin knife around the inside edge of the pan to loose the sides. Release and lift off the pan sides and transfer cake to serving platter.

Serve the cake cold or at room temp. Slice cake while still cold with a warm knife, cleaning blade after each cut (even if you prefer to serve at room temp, otherwise it'll be hard to make clean slices). Cake keeps in refrigerator, covered well, up to 1 week.

Serves 12-16. Or, if you've got friends like mine, 10-12. ;)

friday night lights...(pork, not pigskin)

i've been holding back a leg of pork from my marin sun farms' meat csa box for a worthy gathering (don't worry, i was storing it in my freezer). we were having our friends katie and matt over for friday night dinner, so i figured this was my chance.

i've been sort of, er, fantasizing about the green-garlic aïoli from our marin sun farms lunch, so i decided to make some to serve on the side, instead of having a gravy (which is, frankly, a PITA to make on our radiant-heat stove). i've also, uh, sort of been fantasizing about using my meat slicer, so i figured this was a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. (and un-hunh, thanks, yes, i *know* i need better fantasies, ok?) as for the rest of the meal, i made crispy potato pancake, roasted asparagus, and grilled up some diagonally-sliced baguette.

the roast came out pretty well, but i realized that night i should get a small roasting pan with a rack, because i only have a (huge, enormously) large roasting pan that's appropriate really only for, say, a thanksgiving turkey, and an oval baker, which is shaped in such an *unfortunate* way that makes fitting ANY kind of rack impossible. (soooo "unfortunate"....i mean, it's so unfortunate that i get to buy a new roasting pan.) i opted to roast the pork in my oval baker, only to have to switch it out towards the end to the (huge, enormously) large roasting pan because of the (shocking amount of) pan juices that came off of the mere 4-lb pork leg. i mean, when i tell you that sucker was SWIMMING, well, frankly i'd be lying, 'cuz it was DROWNING. i saved it just in time. now, i didn't have to do cpr on it or anything, but it was definitely a close one.

katie was in charge of dessert. she talked a big game a few nights before, claiming she'd bake brownies, but in the end she brought over a GIGANTIC TUB of mitchell's cookies & cream ice cream and sugar cones, instead. this change in her sweets strategy might have had something to do with the fact she arrived at our place slightly tipsy, but this is all just rampant speculation on my part. i mean, i have no idea whether katie can bake drunk. er, i mean "slightly tipsy." but, the ice cream was damn tasty. i'm eating some as i write, in fact. (curse you, katie sween, for leaving behind such delicious ice cream who calls my name from the freezer, no matter where i am in the house!!!! how does it know my name?!?! howwwwwwww?!?!?!)

recipe for friday's dinner below. timing wise, roast the pork first (obv); when it reaches about 150°F, start cooking the potato pancake. While you're resting the roast, bring the oven up to 450°F, and then roast the asparagus. enjoy!


Roast Leg of Pork
4 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano

4-lb leg of pork

Preheat oven to 350°F. Purée the first 6 ingredients in a blender, and then rub the mixture all over the roast. In a roasting pan, place pork leg on rack and roast until meat thermometer registers 160°F. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes. Transfer roast to a carving board and slice thinly across the grain. (Break out the meat slicer if you have one!) Serves 4-6.


Green Garlic Aïoli
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 stalks green garlic, chopped (light green and white parts only)
1 tsp coarse kosher salt
1 cup mayonnaise
3 tsps fresh lemon juice

In a food processor, blend olive oil, green garlic, and salt until garlic is minced. Add 1/4 cup mayonnaise and blend well. Transfer to bowl; whisk in remaining mayonnaise and lemon juice. Cover and chill for at least an hour.


Crispy Potato Pancake
2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and coarsely grated
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Using a salad spinner, spin potatoes to remove excess liquid, then transfer to a bowl. Stir in cheese, onions, salt and pepper until well blended.

Heat oil in 10" skillet over moderate heat until hot. Add potato mixture, then press firmly into a round cake. Cover skillet and cook potato cake until underside is crusty, 10-12 minutes. Slide out onto a plate and then invert skillet over potato cake and flip into skillet. Drizzle oil around edge of cake, then cover and cook another 10-12 minutes. Slide potato cake onto serving plate and cut into wedges. Serves 4-6


Roasted Asparagus
1 1/2 lbs asparagus, trimmed
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 450°F. Arrange asparagus in a single layer in a roasting pan. Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly, then drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 10-15 minutes, until asparagus is just tender. Serves 4.