Feast Of St. Patrick: Shepherd's Pie

Photo: More is More Mom

Ingredients

Shepherd’s Pie:

4 pounds of boneless beef short ribs (can be cut into smaller 1 ” cubes)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

6 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper

1 onion, peeled, quartered and sliced

3/4 cup turnips, peeled and chopped

1 cup carrots, peeled and chopped

1 cup parsnips, peeled and chopped

2 cups tomatoes, diced

2 bay leaves

1 cup beef broth

1 cup red wine

Champ Potatoes:

5 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 cup of buttermilk

8 scallions, sliced and rough chopped

1 stick of butter

Preparation

Shepher'd Pie

Pre-heat the oven to 300°

In a large bowl, combine;

Beef

Tbsp oil

Garlic

Rosemary

Worcestershire Sauce

Salt and pepper

In a skillet, heat 2 Tbsp oil, over medium-high heat

Add beef and brown on all sides

Remove beef and place in a baking dish

Add onions and sauté for approximately 4 minutes

Turn off heat and add to the onions;

Turnips

Carrots

Parsnips

Tomatoes

Bay leaves

Mix well

Evenly spread over beef in baking dish

In the skillet, heat;

Broth

Wine

Pour over beef and vegetables

Cover with aluminum foil

Place in the oven

Cook for two hours

In the meantime, you can get the potatoes prepped. No need to start cooking them though until the last 40 minutes that the beef is cooking.

Champ Potatoes:

Place butter, sliced into Tbsp size pieces, into a large bowl

In a large stock pot, cover the potatoes with cold water, bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.

Cook for 25-30 minutes, or until tender

Drain

Pour potatoes on top of butter, so the butter melts a little bit

In a saucepan, add;

Buttermilk

Scallions

Heat through and simmer for about 5 minutes

Add milk and scallions to potatoes and butter, mashing with a potato masher or hand mixer

After 2 hours, remove the beef from the oven

Pre-heat the broiler

Skim a few cups of juice from the beef

Cover the entire baking dish with potatoes

Broil until the potatoes are lightly golden, only a few moments and watch carefully

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About

As the More is More Mom®, I’m all about……….more being Irish on St. Patrick’s Day! March 17th is the feast day of the Patron Saint of Ireland, St. Patrick. What better way to celebrate a feast day than with a feast?!? Even a tricky little leprechaun couldn’t talk my family into eating corned beef and cabbage, which is why I made a feast of a different kind:

Shepherd’s Pie
Shillelagh Sautéed Broccoli
Irish Soda Bread
Minty Milkshakes
For step by step photographs, please visit me at my website:
http://moreismoremom.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/shepherds-pie-shamrocks-and-shillelaghs-a-st-patricks-day-feast/
Delicious dinners are best enjoyed at a beautiful table. To me Ireland represents both the gorgeous, rustic countryside and the elegance of fine china, cut crystal, and stunning linens. I love the juxtaposition of the casual with the formal. I covered my table with a cheerful, apple green tablecloth with paisley’s and floral scrolls, and rich brown woven placemats. More of everything is always better so I added a gold leaf charger, white china with a scalloped edge and a dessert plate with Kelly green paisley’s (to echo the paisley in my tablecloth). Ireland always makes me think of wonderful textures, like nubby burlap, which is why I chose one of my favorite, heavily woven napkins. Again, I love the combination of rustic with elegant, so I chose to use green beaded napkin rings. Of course, nothing but the sparkle of cut crystal would do for both the water and wine glasses. As a centerpiece, I filled a footed glass pedestal bowl with fingerling potatoes, flanked by shamrock plants (Oxalis) and crystal candlesticks. For a little extra charm, I placed a sweet clown, adorned with shamrocks and a framed needlepoint “Kiss Me I’m Irish” plaque.

With such a hearty meal planned, I only put out a few little snacks; Kerry Gold Reserve Cheddar, Blarney Castle Smooth and Creamy Gouda with salami and crackers. Fresh veggies are always a hit, so I placed the carrots, cucumbers, snap peas and peppers in individual cabbage leaves. They were just darling.