Gangster Pie

I asked my boyfriend what he wanted for dinner and he told me "hamburger pie". I suggested shepherd's pie instead. Obviously, there are no shepherds in LA, so while we live here it's going to be called Gangster Pie.

4 potatoes

1/2 of a yellow onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1/4 cup of milk

6 tablespoons of butter + 1 tablespoon for sauce

salt and pepper to taste

2 pounds of ground lamb

1 cup of frozen peas, thawed

2 cups of frozen corn, thawed

1/2 cup of beef broth

1 tablespoon of flour

1 tablespoon of worcester sauce

1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese

paprika

Peel, cube and boil potatoes until soft. Drain and put in large mixing bowl. Add butter, milk, salt and pepper. Mash it up! I like mine chunky, but that's really up to you. Set aside.

Saute onions in vegetable oil in skillet for 3 minutes. Add garlic and c

ook for an additional minute. Add ground lamb and brown. (You can substitute beef or turkey instead of lamb. That is called "cottage pie".) After lamb has browned, add peas and carrots. Cook 5 minutes. Add broth, flour, butter and worcester sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir until the flour is no longer visible. Cover and let simmer until sauce has thickened.

Spread meat and veggie mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Cover with potatoes. Add cheese and sprinkle with paprika.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove, let cool and enjoy!!

Oscar Night Dinner

I promise my pictures will get better as I go along. Cheap apartment means florescent lights and nothing looks good in florescent lighting. Anyhow, this turned out really well and was surprisingly easy. Total prep time was about and hour and a half.

I found this recipe for stuffed pork loin with I was lazily browsing the internet one day at work. While it looks difficult, it turned out to be very easy. I paired it with some sauteed brussel sprouts, red potatoes and mushrooms. Tasty!

Pork Loin with Spinach-Bacon Stuffing

2 pound pork loin roast
1/2 cup chopped onion (I substituted this with a large shallot. It's a little milder and sweeter.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 ounces of frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
6 slices bacon, cooked well done, drained and crumbled (I used turkey bacon. It's waaay healthier.)
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard (I actually forgot this ingredient...still turned out great, though)
1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Butterfly the pork loin by cutting it horizontally to within 1/2-inch of the other side. I had never butterflied something before, but it's not as hard as it sounds. Lie it flat and cut into it, then turn it on the side, flay it open and continue cutting until you are almost through. Don't cut it all the way through! Open it out and take out your aggression on it with a meat tenderizer until it's an 8x8 square. I just thought about terrible L.A. drivers and BAM!...I had a square.

Meanwhile, cook the onion and garlic in hot oil until tender, remove from heat.

Press well-drained spinach between several sheets of paper towels to remove all the moisture.

Add onion mixture, bacon, cheese, mustard, basil and pepper. Mix well. At this point it will smell amazing...but don't eat it, you need it!!

Spread spinach mixture on pork. Roll up into a spiral. I had to get help with this because the meat is floppy. Tie it up with some cooking string/butcher's twine. *You can get this from the butcher at your grocery store.* I used 4 pieces of string to make sure it was secure.

Place pork in shallow pan and roast at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. It took about an hour in my oven. The internal temp should be about 155 degrees.

Slice to serve and remove the string!

Garlic Sauteed Brussels and Red Potatoes

5 red potatoes, sliced
1/2 pound of small brussel sprouts, halved
5-7 whole mushrooms, quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons of butter
salt and pepper to taste

Okay, so I just made this up as I went along. Tinker with it as you like.

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add garlic and saute until golden. Add your veggies and sprinkle in salt and pepper. It took well over 45 minutes for my veggies to soften, so I'd start this and then begin to prepare your pork. You'll need to stir it fairly often, especially if you don't have a non-stick pan. Cook until potatoes have softened.