Posts filed under 'vocabulary'

Shepherd’s Pie

Last night i cooked a great Shepherd’s Pie …all of which got me wondering where the name comes from… here’s what i discovered.

Cottage pie, is a traditional English dish made with minced meat covered with mashed potato and often topped with cheese. The dish is traditionally made with lamb meat; when this is the case the dish is known as shepherd’s pie, though the term shepherd’s pie is often used to mean a variety made with any kind of meat. The meat used in the dish is traditionally beef or lamb though turkey is also often used today.

Traditionally, the meat is prepared by dicing or mincing, and frying with chopped onions, seasoning, and dripping (from the roast) or stock. Other ingredients can include garlic, chopped carrots, peas or other vegetables, mushrooms, herbs (such as rosemary and oregano), tomato purée, and wine. A quick version can be made using canned oxtail soup.

The meat is laid in a deep pie dish and covered with mashed potato, to which milk, butter or dripping may be added. For a decorative effect, the mashed potato can be piped onto the meat layer. The pie is then baked in the oven, making the top surface golden and crisp. Grated cheese can be sprinkled on top prior to baking.

Cottage pie and pie shepherd’s pie are traditional methods for using leftover roasted meat, either beef or mutton, using mashed potato as a convenient pie crust. In early recipes, the pie dish was lined with mashed potato as well as having a mashed potato crust on top.^[1]^[2]

The use of previously uncooked meat is a recent adaptation, suited to the techniques of commercial food processing companies. Early cookery writers did not use the terms “cottage pie” and “shepherd’s pie” and the terms did not appear in recipe books until the late part of the 19th century. From that time, the terms have been used interchangeably, although there is a popular tendency for “shepherd’s pie” to be used when the meat is mutton or lamb. The term “cottage pie” is known to have been in use by 1791 but it is not known to what type of dish it then referred to

A recipe – OK -

Easy Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

Filed under All Seasons, Beef, Casserole, Comfort Food, Main Course, Wheat-free

Shepherd’s Pie is an English dish, traditionally made with lamb or mutton. Americans typically make Shepherd’s Pie with beef. The English (and Australians and New Zealanders) call the beef dish a “cottage pie”. Naming conventions aside, Shepherd’s Pie is essentially a casserole, lined with cooked meat and vegetables, topped with mashed potatoes, and baked.

Here is a basic recipe for a simple ground beef Shepherd’s Pie. The original recipe comes from my friend Frances Hochschild and her mother (thanks Frannie!). We dressed it up a bit with some veggies and Worcestershire sauce.

Easy Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 lbs ground round beef
1 onion chopped
1-2 cups vegetables – chopped carrots, corn, peas
1 1/2 – 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

METHOD

1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).

2 While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large frying pan.

3 Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.

4 Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add worcesterchire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.

5 Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.

6 Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.

7 Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown.

Serves four.

YUM!

Add comment June 2, 2008

Ha-Ha

The ha-ha or sunken fence is a type of boundary to a garden, pleasure-ground, or park, designed not to interrupt the view and to be invisible until closely approached. The ha-ha consists of a trench, the inner side of which is vertical and faced with stone, with the outer slope face sloped and turfed - making it in effect a sunken fence or wall.

Add comment May 30, 2008

Estates – spot the difference

Both of these might be considered estates … one should probably be referred to as a country estate and the other a housing estate – you decide which!!!

for a better view of council estate life – who better than Skinnyman rapping on the subject

that said i prefer Wiley, or Roll Deep

but here’s Dizzee … the real deal

Add comment May 16, 2008

The English Language Around The World

Thanks to Nicole for this…

The English Language Around The World

SEVERE PUNISHMENT! … ‘Balls’ is also a slang word for testicles

The following are examples of genuine English found around the world on signs, notices etc. Most of them have mistakes; a couple of them are here just for their amusement value.

Hotel bedroom, India:
GUESTS ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SMOKE OR DO OTHER DISGUSTING BEHAVIOURS IN BED.

Doctor’s surgery, India:
SPECIALIST IN WOMEN AND OTHER DISEASES.

Hotel, India:
WOMAN’S ARE REQUESTED NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN IN BAR.

Hotel, Moscow (opposite Russian Orthodox monastery):
YOU ARE WELCOME TO VISIT CEMETERY WHERE FAMOUS RUSSIAN AND SOVIET COMPOSERS, ARTISTS, AND WRITERS ARE BURIED DAILY EXCEPT THURSDAY.

Hotel airconditioner instructions, India:
COOLES AND HEATES: IF YOU WANT CONDITION OF WARM AIR IN YOUR ROOM, PLEASE CONTROL YOURSELF.

Zoo, India:
PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS. IF YOU HAVE ANY SUITABLE FOOD, GIVE IT TO THE GUARD ON DUTY.

Poster, USA:
ARE YOU AN ADULT THAT CANNOT READ? IF SO, WE CAN HELP.

Restaurant, India:
OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, AND WEEKENDS TOO.

Automatic hand dryer in public lavatory, USA:
DO NOT ACTIVATE WITH WET HANDS.

Hotel Lobby in Romania:

The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable.

Cemetery, India:
PERSONS ARE PROHIBITED FROM PICKING FLOWERS FROM ANY BUT THEIR OWN GRAVES.

Restaurant menu, Germany:
OUR FOOD LEAVES YOU NOTHING TO HOPE FOR.

Tokyo Hotel, Japan:

IS FORBIDDEN TO STEAL HOTEL TOWELS PLEASE. IF YOU ARE NOT A PERSON TO DO SUCH THING IS PLEASE NOT TO RED NOTICE.

Shop in Majorca

ENGLISH WELL TALKING

HERE SPEECHING ENGLISH

Temple, India:
IT IS FORBIDDEN TO ENTER A WOMAN EVEN A FOREIGNER IF DRESSED AS A MAN.

Hotel bedroom, India:
PLEASE DO NOT BRING SOLICITORS OR OTHER SIMILAR WOMEN INTO YOUR ROOM.

Hotel brochure, India:
THIS HOTEL IS RENOWNED FOR ITS PEACE AND SOLITUDE. IN FACT, LARGE CROWDS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD FLOCK HERE TO ENJOY IT.

Hotel bedroom, India:
YOU ARE INVITED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHAMBERMAID AT ANY HOUR. SHE ALWAY’S HAPPY TO HELP IN ANY WAY.

Hotel, India:
THE FLATTENING OF UNDERWEAR WITH PLEASURE IS THE JOB OF THE MAID.

Black Forest, Germany:
IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN ON OUR BLACK FOREST CAMPING SITE THAT PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT SEX, FOR INSTANCE, MEN AND WOMEN, LIVE TOGETHER IN ONE TENT UNLESS THEY ARE MARRIED WITH EACH OTHER FOR THIS PURPOSE.

Supermarket, India:
FOR YOUR CONVENIENT, WE RECOMMEND COURTEOUS, EFFICIENT SELF-SERVICE.

Hotel, Berlin:
BECAUSE OF THE IMPROPRIETY OF HAVING GUESTS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX IN THE BED, IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE LOBBY BE USED

Laundry, India:
LADY’S, LEAVE YOUR CLOTHES HERE AND SPEND THE AFTERNOON HAVING A GOOD TIME.

Tourist agency, Czech Republic:
TAKE ONE OF OUR HORSE-DRIVEN CITY TOURS. WE GUARANTEE NO MISCARRIAGES.

Advertisement for donkey rides, India:
WOULD YOU LIKE TO RIDE ON YOUR OWN ASS?

Dentist’s advertisement, India:
TEETH FILLED AND EXTRACTED BY THE LATEST METHODISTS.

Hotel bedroom, India:
IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST VISIT TO BOMBAY, YOU ARE WELCOME TO IT.