Shepherd's Pie

I mostly think of shepherd's pie as pub food, but apparently it was a(nother) occasional family dish as well.  In any case, I figured a hearty combo of lamb, potatoes, and some veggies was worth a try.  Courtesy of my Best Meat Recipes cookbook:

The Recipe

Filling
3+ lbs lamb shoulder chops, cut away from bone and into 1 in pieces
2 medium onions, chopped
2 medium carrots, cut into 1/4 in slices
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 1/4 c chicken broth
1/4 c red wine
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp thyme, chopped
1 tsp rosemary, chopped
1 c frozen peas, thawed

Topping
2+ lbs russet potatoes, cut into 1-2 in cubes
6 tbsp butter
3/4 c milk
2 egg yolks

salt & pepper

Sprinkle the lamb with salt and pepper.  Heat 2 tbsp oil over medium-high and brown the lamb (probably in 2 batches, extra 1 tbsp oil per batch).  Remove lamb to a bowl.

Reduce heat to medium and cook the onion and carrot until (onions are) soft.  Add the garlic, flour, and tomato paste.  A minute later, broth, wine, and Worcestershire, then the thyme and rosemary.  Cover and simmer until the lamb is tender, 25-30 minutes.  Then stir in the peas.

Meanwhile, get the topping going - cover the potatoes in water, sprinkle salt, and bring to a boil.  Once potatoes are tender (15-20 minutes), drain and return the pot to low heat.  Mash in the butter, milk, and egg yolks.  Season with salt and pepper.

Now you combine everything in a large baking dish or (a couple) pie plates.  Pour in the lamb mixture.  Drop gloops of potatoes around the edges, sealing in the filling.  Bake at 400 degrees until the top is golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.

Notes

This dish went over well.  It was a good bit of work, but fed a decently-sized group, several of whom helped prepare.  We went heavy on the herbs (although maybe not on salt & pepper), and also used Chipotle Tabasco sauce instead of Worcestershire in the spirit of using what was on hand.  I personally was not sure it was much better than the sum of its parts.  I would do it again, though; not sure it's worth the effort in smaller, more personal quantities.

Apple Smothered Pork Chops

Every once in a while (usually when I haven't had a serving of Chipotle carnitas in a while), I feel like whipping up pork chops for dinner.  This recipe comes from a meat cookbook that's provided a couple strong recipes already.  I skipped straight to their version that subs in some apple and cider:

Recipe

4 bone-in pork chops
4 oz bacon (4 slices), chopped
2 tbsp flour
1 3/4 c apple cider
1 onion, halved & sliced
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and sliced into thin wedges
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme, minced
2 bay leaves
oil, salt & pepper

1. Sauce: Fry up the bacon, then remove but leave as much of the grease as you can.  Reduce heat to medium low and whisk in the flour.  Cook, whisking frequently, until it's a rich brown (about 5 minutes).  Then whisk in the cider, increase heat, bring to a boil, then cover and remove from heat.
2. Chops: Heat a tbsp of oil in a skillet over high heat until smoking.  Sprinkle the pork chops with pepper, then put them in the skillet to brown (about 3 minutes per side).  Set aside.
3. Stew: In the same skillet, reduce heat to medium, add a tbsp oil and the onion, apple, 2 tbsp water and a sprinkle of salt.  Caramelize the onions (about 5 minutes), then stir in the garlic and thyme.  Then put the chops back in, cover with onion mixture, pour in the sauce, and add the bay leaves.  Simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes, or until you can stab the pork with a knife easily...
4. Gravy: Remove the pork chops to a serving plate.  Increase heat to medium high and simmer the sauce until it thickens into a gravy (about 5 minutes).
5. Serve: Serve the pork chops over a starch, pour over the gravy, and sprinkle with the bacon.

Notes

This one's a bit more labor-intensive than I'm usually looking for.  I definitely like the combined browning and stewing pork chop approach.  I may not have browned them quote enough (I felt like the times above were underestimations), but you do get some good flavor and keep it tender while not overcooking in the pan.

In the end,  I think this came out very well, with a better balance of sweet and savory than some other apple/cider-based recipes I've tried recently.  Sprinkling bacon on top is almost cheating, although I guess the grease plays a key role earlier on.  The recipe recommends egg noodles for a starch.  Here's the (somewhat crowded) final plate I ended up with: chops and gravy over spinach & goat cheese mashed potatoes.  No recipe for that side; just added the extras to the flakes...

Beef Chili

We made a paleo version of this recently, but it slipped my mind to share the recipe for future reference.  And to take a picture, will add when possible...

Recipe

2 lbs ground beef (recommended 85% lean)
2 onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 in cubes
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chili powder (!)
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 15-oz cans kidney beans, drained & rinsed (optional if going paleo)
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1 28-oz can tomato puree
oil, salt & pepper

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large Dutch oven/soup pot, and add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and spices.  When they're starting to brown, increase heat to medium high and add half the beef.  Cook until no more pink is left, then do the same with the other half.  Add the beans and tomatoes, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer - one hour covered, one hour open.

Notes

We did the paleo version with no beans, mushrooms instead.  It was delicious, but I think it was missing a little grainy, savory element from the beans.  Doing my research, I found that using chili powder (especially that much) isn't cool with some serious schools of chili thought.  But it's a solid one worth returning to.