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Shepherd’s Pie

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Peeled Russet Potatoes
Peeled russet potatoes
Cut into cubes
Add cheese
cut carrots into stips
Cut strips into dice
add to pan

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound ground beef

2 cups beef stock

4 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1½ -inch chunks

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ cup milk

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 large onion, diced

4 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and chopped (optional)

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

½ cup frozen peas

1 tablespoon tomato paste or ketchup

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons Madeira or ruby port (optional)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon soy sauce instead of salt

¼ tea ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS           

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut and rinse the starch of potatoes. Place potatoes in medium saucepan; add water to just cover. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are soft and tip of paring knife inserted into potato meets no resistance, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain potatoes and return to saucepan. Return saucepan to low heat and cook, shaking pot occasionally, until any surface moisture on potatoes has evaporated, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat. Add 4 TBLS butter and milk to potatoes. Mash potatoes well with potato masher. Stir in cheddar cheese. Season with white pepper to taste. Cover and set aside.

Heat oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add carrots and cover. Cook carrots stirring occasionally until they begin to soften. Add onion, mushrooms, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are just starting to soften. Add the beef and break it up into smaller chunks as it browns.

Once the beef is brown, add 2 tablespoon flour, tomato paste or ketchup. Add Madeira if desired, cooking and scraping up any browned bits, about 1 minute. Add broth, Worcestershire, soy and bring to a simmer, scraping up any remaining browned bits. Add peas. Return to a simmer and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook until beef is cooked and peas are heated through about 5 to 10 minutes while continuing to stir occasionally. Don’t over break up meat.

If gravy has not thickened, stir cornstarch into about 2 tablespoons of water together in a small Pyrex bowl. SLOWLY stir cornstarch into filling a small amount at a time mixed and continue to simmer for 30 seconds until the correct thickness appears. Add add 2 TBLS butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste if needed.

Move meat filling into four crock pots.

Place mashed potatoes in large zipper-lock bag and snip off 1 corner to create 1-inch opening. Pipe potatoes in even layer over the filling in the crock pots, making sure to cover entire surface. Mound potatoes up with back of spoon, then use tines of fork to make ridges over surface. Place crock pots on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake in 400 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until the potatoes begin to brown.

Caution crock pots will be hot.

Move crock pots to small plates and serve hot!

SERVES 4

© Drunken Chef Enterprises LTD 2022

Recipe

Southern Fried Buffalo Wings

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        Southern Fried Buffalo Wings sounds crazy doesn’t it? Its like I could not make up my mind on whether to make fried chicken or buffalo wings. Yet the truth is that right after Saint Patricks’ day I had some leftover  buttermilk. I had no idea what to do with it until I decided to make a small batch of buffalo wings for myself. I soaked the wings in some buttermilk that I added Franks Red Hot Sauce to and after coating them in flour and spices, I fried those bad boys up and coated them with sauce! Turns out, they were delicious.

        I told my nephew about my new recipe and promised him I would make another batch soon. Well, last night was soon enough and I cooked up a fresh batch of wings for him and my sister-in-law. These wings are extra crispy and I covered them in my famous buffalo style wing sauce. I served them with lots of carrot sticks, celery sticks and blue cheese dressing on the side. I also made Jennifer a batch of boneless wings using my boneless wing recipe and we all ate some of those too!

        Here is the Boneless Buffalo Wings that I have already published here boneless-buffalo-wings. See below for the Southern Fried Recipe. The chicken is free-range chicken that I purchased from @ImperfectFoods along with the carrots and the celery.

Sothern Fried Chicken (wings version)

Serves  4 to 6

INGREDIENTS:

Coating:

2 pounds of chicken wings

          (Three packages from Imperfect Foods)

3 cups of flour

½ cup of cornstarch

2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp salt

½ tsp. white pepper

½ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. onion power

Marinade:

2 cups buttermilk

¼ cup hot sauce

Sides:

1-pound carrots

1 bunch of celery

1 package Maries Blue Cheese dressing

On quart of peanut, canola or vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:

The night before you are to fry up the wings, place them into a zip lock bag. Add the buttermilk and hot sauce in the bag with the wings. Close the bag and squeeze thus mixing and coating all the wings evenly. Place the wings with their “marinade” in the meat draw of you regenerator and let marinate over night.

The next day, begin by peeling the carrots and cutting into “sticks” or thin strips.  Next wash and cut up the celery into strips. Place the carrots and celery in a bowl of ice water and place the bowl in the refrigerator. This will insure your celery and carrots are nice a crunchy later when the chicken is done.

I a clean zip top bag add the 3 cups of flour, ½ cup of cornstarch, 2 tsp. paprika, 1 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. white pepper, ½ tsp. garlic powder and ½ tsp. onion power. Close the bag and shake well combining all the ingredients.

Remove the chicken from the fridge and drop 3 to 4 wings into the bag with the flour mixture. Close and shake the flour bag well to coat the wings. Repeat the last step repeatedly until all the wings are in the flour. Once all the wings are in the flour, close the bag and let stand while the coating adheres to the chicken.  

Now fill your cast iron pan half way with your preferred frying oil. Heat the oil to 350 to 375 degrees.

Place 6 to 7 wings in the hot oil. Do not over crowd the pan. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes until a light golden brown. Remove to a sheet pan lined with paper towels or brown paper bag.

Wait until the oil returns to 350 degrees and add you second batch to the hot oil.

Repeat the last two steps until all the chicken is fried once. Then you can begin to make the sauce. Next, fry the chicken a second time just as before but this time they will be a deep rich brown and extra crunchy. Place the chicken in a large stainless steel bowl and coat with the sauce.

Serve with carrot sticks, celery sticks, blue cheese dressing and lots of cold beer.

The Drunken Chef Russ

NOTES: I own a large and extra deep cast iron pan given to me by a coworker and follower. I love this pan and use it often. For me, aside from a professional deep fryer, this is the perfect vessel for frying chicken.

© Russ Ahrens and The Magic of a Perfect Pairing, 2022

Recipe

Meat Sauce (Bolognese)

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This is a simple and common recipe. Sometimes you just need a big old plate of pasta and homemade sauce!

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound ground beef

2 cans whole tomatoes (Red Pack)

1 plum tomato (imported)

2 or 3 small cans of tomato sauce (DeMonte)

1 8 oz. can of paste (Contadina)

4 cloves of garlic (crushed)

2 large onions (chopped)

¼ cup water

1 tbsp. Olive oil

1 tsp. dry basil or a few leaves of fresh

½ tsp. sugar

¼ tsp. oregano

2 large bay leaves

¼ salt

¼ pepper

DIRECTIONS:

 Brown Meat in olive oil in a large pot and drain off excess oil.

 In blender chop one can of whole tomatoes and add this to the pot with the meat.  In a blender chop one can of one can imported plum tomatoes and add this to the pot. Add 3 cans of sauce and one can of paste. In a blender add the chopped onion and crushed garlic in water and pulse in the blender until finely chopped then add to pot of sauce.  Liquefy last can of whole tomatoes in the blender add to pot.  Add all seasonings.  Add about a ¼ cup of water to the blender and then add that to the pot. Cover and cook at least 1 hour.

NOTES:

Serve over pasta, like pappardelle or rigatoni. Add garlic bread and Italian Green Beans or a salad for a complete meal.

Also See Ma’s Meatballs, Chicken Parmesan, Shrimp Parmesan. My mother also added a piece of pork for my sister and ALWAYS made meatballs and sausage with every batch of sauce she made.

Recipe

IRISH SODA BREAD

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        Seeing how today is Saint Patrick’s Day I thought I would share a recipe from a dear old friend for Irish Soda Bread. I will be making this if not tonight Saturday when I make my corned beef and cabbage that I posted earlier this month. I don’t normally like soda bread but this recipe is a sweeter version then I have EVER had before. If you’re not a fan of Irish Soda Bread suggest you try this one. If you are a fan I hope you will let me know how you like this version of it.   

Irish Soda Bread

Serves  5 to 7

INGREDIENTS:

4 Cups four

1 Cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1½ stick butter

1-1/3 cups buttermilk

DIRECTIONS:

Grease 9 inch round pan.

Mix and knead all these ingredients and then add 1 cup raisins.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. 

NOTES:

Serve with butter

Serve on Saint Patricks’ Day with corn beef

ENJOY!

The Drunken Chef

Recipe

A Holiday Dinner – Prime Rib

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These are a few Prime Ribs I have made with the recipe below

Prime Rib is usually something I save and make for Christmas dinner.  However occasionally I make it during the year for friends and family. It just goes so well with a bold Cabernet Sauvignon. I am partial to the cabernets from Caymus or St Francis.

        I suppose you could make this “standing rib roast” as it was called in the past for Easter or a leg of lamb. I usually make Shrimp parmesan for this particular spring holiday.  So perhaps I should make a big fat Prime Rib and open a magnum of wine to celebrate the Vernal Equinox. The point in time in which there is officially more daylight as it begins to win out over darkness.

        Here is to hoping that everyone has a happy and healthy Vernal Equinox on Sunday March 20th, 2022 at 11:30 am. I will be celebrating with a huge piece of beef and wine.

Standing Rib Roast (Prime Rib)

Serves Prime Rib – 5 to 7 ribs 10 to 14 people

SPECIAL IMPLEMENTS:

1 Extra Large pan*

INGREDIENTS:

Prime Rib – 5 to 7 ribs 10 to 14 people

1 small head Garlic peeled (for 7 ribs)

Salt

Pepper

Onion Powder

Olive

DIRECTIONS:

When you order your beef you can have your butcher separate the meet from the ribs and tie it back on. This makes slicing it easier later on.

At ~11:00am. (When eating at 4 or 5pm)

Pat dry the meat using paper towels. Place the meat in a large shallow pan. I use my largest broiler pan.

Mix together in a small bowl- crushed garlic and two tablespoons of olive oil. Rub this mixture all over the roast using your hand to coat it evenly with garlic and oil. Sprinkle on salt, fresh ground pepper and onion powder on top the oil and garlic on top of mixture. You can even cut slits into the beef with a paring knife and insert slivers of garlic. I do this across the whole roast about 2 inches apart.

Let the beef stand out on a large plate for two hours, until it is at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 300°. (~1:00PM)

After the beef has sat for two hours stick in the thermometer probe and Cook in a 300° oven for 3 to 4 hours until meat thermometer reads 140° – Rare.  Remove the beef from the oven. Cover with tin foil and let rest/stand at least 20 minutes. Meat will continue to rise in temperature for another 5° to 10°.

After 20 minutes, carve one-inch thick slices and serve.

NOTES: Serve with Roasted Potatoes or French Fries, Fresh String Beans, Sautéed Mushrooms and Onions, and for a condiment try making some homemade Horseradish Sauce.

*The Whirlpool Broiler Pan can be found on Amazon for $30.

ENJOY!

The Drunken Chef

© Russ Ahrens and The Magic of a Perfect Pairing, 2022

Recipe

Roasted Potatoes

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This is a good side dish for any roast.

COOKING UTENSILS NEEDED

Peeler

Chef’s knife

Cutting board

Metal baking dish (I can use the bottom half of a Whirlpool Broiler Pan)

INGREDIENTS:

3 lbs. baking (russet) Potatoes

2 tbls Olive oil and 2 tbls butter (melted) or margarine

¼ Paprika

¼ Garlic powder

¼ Onion powder

¼ Salt

¼ White pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Peel potatoes. Cut potatoes into wedges. In a 9 X 13 metal baking dish add potatoes, oil, butter, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.  Mix until potatoes are coated.

Place in oven with meat during half hour of cooking time. Remove potatoes when they begin to brown.  While meat is resting, finish browning potatoes under broiler if needed.

NOTES: This is one of those recipes I asked Aunt for when my mother and I used to visit her. She used to make this with a leg of Lamb and use some of the lamb drippings in the potatoes……it was so yummy.

I use a metal dish as I do not this the potatoes brown as nicely in a glass or Pyrex brand one.

Whirlpool Broiler Pan’s can be found on Amazon for $30.00

Holiday Dinner – Prime Rib

© Russ Ahrens and The Magic of a Perfect Pairing, 2022

Recipe

Sautéed Mushrooms and Onions

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INGREDIENTS:

1 package mushrooms

1 large Spanish onions

4 tablespoons stick of butter

2 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Wash mushrooms under cold running water to remove dirt. Let drain. While the shrooms drain slice the onion. Cut small mushrooms in half and large mush into quarters.

Heat oil in a large All-Clad or similar steel pan. When hot, add onions. Fry over medium high heat until brown. Leaving the onions still for a minute or two without stirring. I think they tend to brown quicker that way. It also gives me a change to take a sip of wine.

Add the Mushrooms and stir. Cook for a two or three minutes stirring the same way.

Reduces heat and add butter and table spoon at a time until it is all incorporated.

Season with salt and pepper and serve.  

© Russ Ahrens and The Magic of a Perfect Pairing, 2022

Recipe

Horseradish Sauce

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This is the perfect condiment for Prime Rib or a roast beef sandwich.

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup sour cream

¼ cup jarred horseradish (less if you do not want it that hot)

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons dried chives

1 teaspoon Lee and Perrins worcestershire sauce (optional for those allergic to fish)

½ teaspoon cider vinegar

Pinch of Salt

Pinch of white Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Add all the ingredients to a medium size glass bowl and whisk together until they are all combined. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least one hour or for best results over night.

NOTES: One pinch = 1/8th of a teaspoon

Serve with Prime Rib or on roast beef sandwiches.

© Russ Ahrens and The Magic of a Perfect Pairing, 2022

Recipe

WELCOME MARCH and corned beef

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        March is a favorite month of mine. Many famous book, poetry and music all refer to March such the idiom; “In like a lion out like a lamb.” Which as many of you might know refers to the weather of March and how it is freezing in the first weeks and noticeably, “supposed to be”, warmer in the last. This however is not always true. I have seen snow in New York City just before Easter back in the seventies and again the eighties. Then there is the famous expression by some guy named Will; “beware the ides of March.” Which back then, March 15th was considered Roman tax day.  I wonder why the United States chose April 15th?

I digress, March is a wonderful month filled with food. There is Saint Patrick’s Day, in which here in New York, we celebrate with and overabundance of corned beef, cabbage and boiled potatoes that is made in a very large pot. This is a recipe I will be making and sharing with you all now.

I always prepared this this meal on March 17th, regardless of it falling on a Friday during lent. As a matter of health, more so then anything else I choose to eat fish every Friday during lent. It give me a good excuse shall we say, “to make all these terribly stinky dishes that smell up my house all day.” Those are my wife’s words, she prefers me to cook fish OUTSIDE whenever possible. She would have me cook the corn beef outside if I could. Therefore, I should be posting a few fish dishes this month. Including but not limited to, fried flounder, stuffed flounder, fried shrimp, shrimp scampi, potato wrapped sea bass, and the ever-popular tuna salad, to name a few.  After all, there are only like seven weeks until Easter and I am forced to stop cooking MOST fish recipes in the kitchen of my home.

Let get to the first recipe we discussed, Corned beer, I mean BEEF. (ugh a corny joke)

Saint Patty’s Day Corned Beef

Serves 4 to 6

SPECIAL IMPLEMENTS:

1 Extra Large Stock Pot

INGREDIENTS:

2-3 thin cut corned beef brisket (I like the Freirich brand)

1 onion

2-3 carrots

2-3 stalks celery

 2 heads of cabbage

12 oz. Bottle Beer (Guinness Harp or Sam Adams October fest if you have it)

1 whole clove garlic (peeled)

6 – 8 pepper corns

1 tbsp. pickling spice or seasoning packet from corned beef

5 lbs. Red Bliss Potatoes or small white potatoes

Frozen corn on the cob

Water

DIRECTIONS:

In an extra large stockpot, add corn beef with juice from package (and the spice packet). Add enough water to cover corned beef.  Add one 12 oz. bottle of beer, preferably NOT dark, perhaps one you are serving with dinner (Sam Adams Oktoberfest I saved from the fall).  Add carrots, celery, and onion that has been cut into large pieces. Add the whole clove of garlic. Cook on low 2 hours. After cooking the meat two hours you can now add potatoes and the cabbage. Turn heat to high. Return to a boil. Now lower heat and simmer one hour longer. Remove meat to cutting board to rest. Test meat for doneness to see if it is tender, meat should pull away will a fork. If it still too chewy cook it longer!

When the meat is done cover and let rest. It needs it. Turn the heat up to high on potatoes and cabbage to boil and add the corn. Cook corn in the same hot water for the recommended time on package.  When corn is ready it will also be “seasoned”, slice meat and serve with cabbage, potatoes, corn.

Serving suggestion: Serve with bakery fresh rye bread, whipped butter and a nice spicy brown mustard like Guldens.

NOTES I don’t remember ever eating corned beef with my mom until I was a teenager. I don’t think anyone else in my family liked it back then. Everyone except my sister who ate with her eggs for breakfast but let’s save that recipe and story for another time.  See St. Patrick’s Day Menu or SPRING

NOTES: Remember corned beef shrinks when you cook it. Why? I don’t know! It just does, so buy extra, plus I have a few recipes for that leftover corned beef that you DON’T want to miss out on!

ENJOY!

The Drunken and now hungry Chef

Recipe

Turkey Burger

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I made turkey burgers last night. The recipe is below. I do recommend these. I’m not saying make these just as a healthy alternative, or not because ground turnkey is cheaper then beef right now but because they taste DAM good! Enjoy.

The Drunken Chef

INGREDIENTS:

4 Brioche hamburger buns

1 package ground turkey

1 large whole egg

1 carrot

1 celery stalk

1 onion

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoon of olive oil

Salt and Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Begin by heating a large pan over medium heat. Butter the inside of four hamburger buns. I prefer Brioche buns for this. Now place the buns in the HOT frying pan and cook. You are frying them like a grill cheese sandwich. This will make all the difference to the taste of your burger in the end.

Once your buns are toasted and removed to plates peel and slice an onion.

Fry the onion in 1 tablespoon of oil and 1 tablespoon of butter over medium high heat.

While the onions are cooking, mince 1 carrot, and 1 celery stalk. I use my Pampered Chef chopper for this.

Right after the onions have cooked (begin to brown) I return them to the cutting board and chop them up finely using a large chef’s knife.

Return then onion to the hot pan on medium heat. Add the carrots and celery. Cook on medium heat for two minutes. Adding more olive oil if necessary to keep them from sticking to pan.

Mince 1 clove of garilc. Add garlic to the onion mixture in pan and continue cooking one more minute.   

In a medium size bowl. Place the ground turkey. Add 1 lightly beaten egg, salt and pepper to taste (but don’t taste it). Mix in the onion mixture a little bit at a time (1/8th ). Dumping all of the hot onion mixture, all at once, will cook your eggs and you will have scrambled eggs and raw turkey, ewe, you don’t want that.

Now that all the vegetables have been carefully mixed into you turkey, you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the frying pan and heat it over medium heat until its hot again.

Form a meat ball and press into the pan forming a round patty using a fork or back of a spoon. Repeat with one or two more meatballs but do not over crowd your pan. The burgers will not brown but will steam. They will be good, but not perfect.

After frying burgers on one side without moving them (This is how the brown) for two to three minutes. Flip burgers over and continue to cook on the other side for two minutes. Adjust temperature under pan so the burgers cook through WITHOUT burning yet turning a nice brown like a burger should.  Test the burgers with an instant read meat thermometer. They will be done at 160 degrees. They start getting dry after that.

Remove burgers to bottom bun and “dress up” you burger however you like. You can add more grilled onions (if you made extra) or lettuce, tomato and a slice of red onion or cold slaw, pickles or just ketchup or hot sauce. It all up to you. It’s your burger!

Server with a cold beer and French fries or waffle fries.