in good taste, vol. 27: IT’S FALL

a good dressing-down, shepherd's pie, and the meat paradox

Everyone is in a good mood here when fall hits. Well, I am.

Yesterday was the first day of autumn and I discovered some pep in my step. I put some cinnamon in my coffee and fired on all cylinders. I sent a gift card for a PSL to a friend for her birthday. I put nutmeg in the alfredo for dinner. 

I don’t even care what it says about me: fall is the best season, a truly exceptional and cherished time of year. Even with ***all this**** in mind, tell me you can’t step outside and catch a little optimism. 

Well, that and ragweed pollen, but that’s what antihistamines are for. Happy days are here again.

In this week’s haul of property escapism: a storybook UK listing whose lede is truly buried in the property description, a dramatic Garden District transformation, another gorgeous revival in NOLA’s Irish Channel, astonishing homes in Marrakech. 

Directly connected to my interests: a wonderful look at a century of American menus, 1841-1941. 

“When we understand why we eat meat that we know has been raised in poor conditions, we can begin to understand many other forms of behavior that conflict with deeply held moral principles.”

In honor of the recently belated Negroni Week, a favorite piece from The Awl: “‘I can’t do anything right,’ I said. ‘I can’t even drink Negronis. And it’s Negroni Season.’” 

SHEPHERD’S PIE; OR, THE ATLANTIC LASAGNA

You may recall my recent embarrassment of (lamb) riches. If you, too, find yourself with too much ground lamb on your hands, I strongly recommend shepherd’s pie as an obvious use case. 

This is real fall-winter food, as stick-to-your-guts as it gets for September. Not to be confused with cottage pie (which uses ground beef), shepherd’s pie really can be tweaked in many ways, given enough force of will and creativity.

INGREDIENTS:

For the potatoes:
4-5 gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
¼ cup, cream
2 tbsp. butter
Salt & pepper
1 egg yolk (separated)

For the meat layer:
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 lb. ground lamb
1 white onion, diced
2-3 carrots, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp. tomato paste
1 cup, chicken broth
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1.5 tbsp, AP flour
2 tsp. herbes de Provence
Salt & PEP
Dash of cumin, dash of paprika
½ cup, frozen peas

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat your oven to 400.

Start with the meat layer: add onion and carrot to a large, high-sided skillet with a lid, saute-ing over medium-high until softened a bit. Add garlic and cook until fragrant and sizzling. Make a bit of room for the lamb, which you’ll break up and brown, adding salt and pepper. Then pour your flour over and toss to coat, cooking for another minute. Add tomato paste, broth, Worcestershire and dried herbs & spices and whatever. Boil, then simmer, covering with a lid. Cook for about 10 minutes or until it’s thickened up.

Then make your mashed potatoes. Boil the quarters, drain them when you can poke them all the way through with a fork. Mash them back in the pot, but don’t overdo it lest they get gluey. Add cream, butter, salt & pepper and mix until smooth, folding the egg yolk in the mixture.

By now, meat and potatoes are done. Add your peas to the meat mixture. Layer the meat mix, then the potatoes, into a standard casserole dish. Use the flat part of a spatula to flatten a surface on the potatoes, taking care to kind of nudge it into the edges of the casserole so the Meat Layer doesn’t spit up too much. 

Stick into the oven and cook for about 25 minutes. When potatoes have browned up top, let the pie stand for about 10 minutes.

That’s it. Stay rested and hydrated, open a window or two.