cottage pie

After a rough week of tests and lab practicums, I'm back home and waiting for me are stacks of notes and a horrid book known as Anatomy & Pathophysiology (and this amazing SLR camera, thus the better picture quality). Such is the life of a pharmacy school student but we endure and learn to aid the public when we go out into practice. I will say though, I enjoy learning about everything in school (even though some things seem COMPLETELY irrelevant) and being surrounded by an amazing group of friends.

My brother and I were left to fend for ourselves tonight and I decided to put together a Cottage Pie for supper. Cottage pie is a variation from shepherd's pie that uses beef instead of lamb. I wanted to make shepherd's pie but my brother isn't the biggest fan of lamb (he literally spit out his lamb at Fogo the first time he tried it). This dish is tasty, relatively fast and extremely simple to assemble.

**PREHEAT OVEN TO 350°F. Also, get a pot of salted water boiling for the potatoes!**

Cottage Pie
Inspired by Gordon Ramsay, Serves 4

Ingredients: (Beef Layer)
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 large onion, grated
- 1 large carrot, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 1-2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- Leaves from 1 sprig of thyme (you can substitute dried)
- 1 cup red wine
- 1.5 cup chicken stock

1) In a hot pan, add olive oil and fry the ground beef for about 2 - 3 minutes until you start to get a nice browned color. Season with salt and pepper.
2) Drain the ground beef and in the same pan, add the grated onion, carrot and garlic. Return the drained ground beef into the pan.
3) Add W sauce, tomato puree and thyme and cook for 2 - 3 more minutes. The vegetables shouldn't be colored, they should be sweated.
4) Add in the red wine and reduce to get rid of the alcohol.
5) Add in the chicken stock and cook until the sauce is thickened.
6) Taste to check seasonings and set aside until the mashed potato component is finished.

Ingredients: (Potato Layer)
- 2 lb potatoes (Yukon, White, anything you can mash with)
- 2 egg yolks
- Parmesan cheese, grated

1) In the salted, boiling pot of water, add the potatoes and cook until tender. My peeled and quartered potatoes took about 8 minutes. The smaller the potatoes, the faster they cook!
2) Drain the potatoes and return to the pot to dry out.
3) Add in the 2 egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan and mash until smooth.
4) Taste to check seasonings.

Assembly:
1) Place the meat sauce on the bottom of an oven-safe bowl.
2) Place the mashed potato on the top and smooth out with a spatula.
3) Sprinkle with salt, pepper and grated Parmesan over the mashed potatoes.
4) Place in the oven for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown.
5) Serve immediately.

Here's what mine looked like once it was out of the oven. I forked through the top of my potatoes to make it look cool but it's completely unnecessary. It's for show, so do it anyways :)

It's always a good sign when picky eaters (aka most children) finish all of their food. Aside from adding flavor and texture, using grated vegetables is a great way to hide our nutritious friends! On a side note, I hate those flower dishes/cups my mom has. I've been promoting clean, white plates for sometime now but I don't see any of them being purchased in the near future...or ever.