Making Pie Shepherd-Stylee

Reasons to Love Shepherd's Pie
1. Pie fixes everything.
2. Meat and potatoes.. Classic combo.
3. Satisfies a variety of food groups.
4. Even better as a leftover.
5. Can be made with leftovers and random things in your fridge.
6. Topped with mashed taters and cheese.. basically 2 of the best foods ever.
7. Reminds you of your grandmother or your favorite British friend.
8. The Possibilities are Endless.....

This last reason brings me to the purpose of this post. How many ways can you configure a Shepherd's Pie? Ben Pero and I had just this question and so started the brilliant idea for a shepherd's pie cook off with contestants getting as creative as possible. Now, if you didn't know already, shepherd's pie is traditionally made with lamb on the bottom and some vegetables and gravy and topped with mashed potatoes and cheese. But tradition is not the way of my world. The showcase showdown was to be held on St. Patrick's Day and what could be more inspiring than the most traditional deliciousness of corned beef and cabbage. So here follows my crazy recipe submitted to the Official 2011 Shepherd's Pie Showdown.

St. Patty's Day Shepherd's Pie
Boil your corned beef brisket for an hour and a half.
In the last half hour, boil about 6 potatoes.
Dice half an onion and 3 cloves of garlic. Saute in 1 Tbl. of olive oil.
Chop up 5 carrots and 3 ribs of celery. Add to onion.
Pour in a bottle of stout and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Add 1 Tbl. of flour to thicken.
Remove corned beef from pot and chop into pieces. Layer on the bottom of pan. Cover in carrot mixture.
Drain and mash potatoes with 1/2 cup sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley.
Cover meat and veggies with taters. Top with breadcrumbs. Bake at 350 for half an hour covered. Remove cover. Top with shredded cheese. Bake 10 minutes more.

Now this shepherd's pie was delish, but Ben countered with Italian sausage (and you know how I feel about sausage) covered with sauted peppers, onions and mushrooms and topped with basil-garlic mashed potatoes.

Verdict: Tie game. Both pies were so delicious, different, and enjoyed by all, it was hard to pick a fav. Other thoughts/ideas: Mexican (taco seasoning and beef), Cook McCready (chili on bottom), Sweet potatoes on top Apples and Sausage on the bottom... the possibilities are truly endless.

Use these examples, get crazy, create your own, just hop on the shepherd's pie train; it's a truly delicious place to be.