Shepherd's Pie

Came across this vid a while back whilst researching for shepherd's pie recipes. I really enjoyed watching Gordon Ramsay whip up his dish. I love his energy, passion and pride. Best of all, he made it look so easy! Watch it and you'll know what I mean.


Of course, I tried his recipe, substituting lamb for beef. Also, I did without the red wine and herbs. The recipe worked for me, though the Worchester sauce made the mince a tad sourish. Here's the end product:

Today, I experimented with another recipe.

Ingredients
1 kg Holland potatoes (I used Granola potatoes and they worked fine)
2 tbs butter
2 tbs Carnation evaporated milk (I used fresh milk)
2 large onions
200 gm minced pork
1 pack fresh brown mushrooms, sliced (I used shitake)
1 small can tomato paste
1 can Campbell tomato soup
Cheddar cheese, grated

Method
1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degree Celcius.
2. Boil potatoes in their skins until soft (the recipe recommends peeling the potatoes before boiling them but I prefer to follow Mom's way of doing it).
3. Peel the skin and mash the potatoes with butter, salt, pepper and evaporated milk.
4. Fry the onions (I also added garlic) until soft and fragrant, then add the minced pork and stir-fry until well-cooked.
5. Add the mushrooms, tomato paste and tomato soup and continue to cook.
6. Pour the mixture into an 8-inch square baking tray and cover with the mashed potatoes. Smoothen the surface, make cross-hatch designs with a fork or knife and sprinkle cheddar cheese on top.
7. Bake for about 30 min until browned.

I was pretty apprehensive as I have never seen a recipe which uses Campbell soup (the exact ingredient intrigued me to try this recipe out) and I was using pork mince instead of the usual beef.

I was happy with the outcome! The pie was savoury, moist and very tasty! It's as easy as the Gordon Ramsay one and I like cheddar cheese better than parmesan. Perhaps next time, I'll throw in shredded carrot and try beef mince instead?

Marmite wings

Look! I made these golden wings!

They were really succulent and tasty! Little bro gave it a 8.2/10. Not bad for my first attempt!

And here's the recipe, which I saved from last week's Sunday Times, complete with my comments in brackets :)

INGREDIENTS
12 chicken wings
2 Tbs sesame oil
2 Tbs Marmite or Bovril
3 Tbs oyster sauce
3 Tbs honey
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

METHOD
1. Wash the chicken wings under running water, pat dry with paper towels. Using a sharp knife or kitchen sheares, cut the wings into three parts: drummette, flat (middle part of the wing) and wing tip. Save the wing tips for making chicken stock. Place the drummettes and flats in a resealable plastic bag. (I cheated by buying mid joints from Cold Storage - about $5.50 for 10 pcs, hence no chopping required.)

2. Mix the other ingredients thoroughly in a glass jar or bowl. Pour the marinade into the bag, making sure every piece of chicken is coated. Press all the air out of the bag, seal and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight. (I did not have sesame oil and substituted with olive oil but I think sesame oil would have been perfect!)

3. Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Line a baking tray with baking paper or aluminium foil and place a metal rack over it.

4. Scrape as much of the marinade off the chicken as possible - a teaspoon is useful here (the marinade was quite watery so I didn't have to scrape) - and place the pieces on the rack. Set aside until the oven is at the right temperature. (It took about 5 min.)

5. Bake the wings for 18 to 22 minutes (depending on the size). They should be a deep brown but not burnt. If doing in 2 batches, do a tray of all drummettes (they will take 20 to 22 minutes), then a tray of all flats (they will take 18 to 20 minutes). Let cool 5 minutes before serving. (I ate 1 pc within 3 minutes.)

Serve four as a snack.