Since my novel, Clover, is about leprechauns and St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, I’m sharing my favorite Shepherd’s Pie recipe. I absolutely love preparing this dish throughout the year. It’s not as heavy as a stew, but filling and flavorful enough to be satisfying any day of the week.
Traditionally, A Shepherd’s Pie is made of ground or chopped lamb. If you prefer to use beef, you may absolutely substitute, making the dish a Cottage Pie. Serve with a pint of your favorite beer and you’ve got yourself a meal.
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds all-purpose potatoes, peeled, quartered, and rinsed
Salt
3 tablespoons butter, divided, 2 tablespoons kept chilled
Freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 pound raw ground lamb or raw ground beef
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup beef or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried (I prefer to use fresh rosemary here. It makes a huge difference)
Pinch ground nutmeg
Directions
1. Put the potato chunks in a large pot of cold water. Bring to a boil, add a teaspoon or so of salt, and cook until tender but not waterlogged, 10-15 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water and drain the potatoes. Return them to the pot and cook over low heat for a minute to remove excess water. Then mash with a fork, potato masher, or ricer, adding the cooking water along with 1 tablespoon butter and salt and pepper to taste. Beat with a wooden spoon until fluffy.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over a medium-low flame. When hot, add the onion, carrot, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 15 minutes.
3. Increase the heat to medium and add the meat. Cook raw meat for about 10 minutes, stirring and breaking it up with a wooden spoon; brown leftover meat for about 5 minutes, stirring for even coloration. Spoon off any fat. Sprinkle with the flour and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes. Add the stock, herbs, nutmeg, and salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Allow the meat to cool slightly.
4. Spread the meat in a 9-inch pie plate or baking dish. Spread the mashed potatoes over the top, making irregular peaks with the tines of a fork. Chop the remaining 2 tablespoons cold butter into small pieces and scatter over the top. Bake in the preheated oven until browned and heated all the way through, 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before serving in the baking dish.
Nicole Kilpatrick
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy/ romance
Publisher: Fire and Ice Young Adult Books
Date of Publication: December 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68046-983-7
ASIN: 1680469835
Number of pages: 270 pages
Word Count: 77K
Cover Artist: Ashley Redbird Designs
Tagline: Sometimes the best of luck can be the worst of curses.
Book Description:
When a handsome leprechaun reveals himself to Clover O’Leary on her eighteenth birthday, she is faced with three hard facts. One: he is the reason for her remarkably charmed life; Two: her luck has now taken a turn for the worse. Three: her name is a curse; a malicious gift from the powerful leprechaun who named her while she was still in the womb.
In order to get her life back and undo the evil spell, she must travel to Ireland to seek the only creature who may be able to help: the Seelie Queen. With her intriguing leprechaun in tow, Clover crosses into the Faerie Realm, where fairies and mythical creatures abound and where finding her luck may ultimately lead to finding her love.
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1st
Excerpt from Chapter One:
The room smelled
of sweat, cigarette smoke, and a tad bit of spilled beer drying on hot
concrete. The stench of inebriated desperation was palpable. Theirs hadn’t been
the only poker game when Nick O’Leary first came into the gambling den, but now
everyone had gathered around their table to watch. Everyone looked so strange
to him all of a sudden, as if his frayed nerves had somehow made everything
sharper and more focused. The lad in the pale blue suit, too handsome. The lady
who smelled of lilacs, what was up with those ears? The whole lot of them
seemed caricatures of their former selves, and in the center, staring at him
with the greenest eyes he’d ever seen was Alistair.
“I don’t enjoy
waiting, my friend.” He smirked as he theatrically drummed his fingers on the
table.
Alistair wasn’t
Nick’s friend at all. He had just met the guy that day at a Las Vegas casino.
He had cajoled him into a private poker game, and Nick had been too much of a
gambler to resist. There was something about him that was hard to say no to. He
was expertly groomed, immaculately dressed, and extremely good-looking, and yet
for all these attributes, he somehow looked out of place. He was like a Picasso
in a sea of wallpaper. Nick found himself wanting to be in the man’s presence.
Next thing he
knew, Nick was in a gambling den ten blocks off the strip, in what would appear
to be an oddly high stakes game of poker, face to face with the mysterious
Alistair.
“See, I’m not
sure I understand,” Nick stammered.
“It’s quite
simple really. We’ve, shall we say, upped the ante? Money is so passé nowadays,
don’t you think? My preferred currency is luck.”
The last word
drew a collective gasp from the now captivated crowd.
“Look, I really
don’t know where you’re going with this…”
“Pretend that I
may give you luck and pretend that I too may take it away. Upon this premise,
my friend, we shall place our final bets. If you win, I am prepared to offer a
lifetime of providence. If I win, you will surrender said providence to me, commencing
immediately until the day of your death.”
About
the Author:Nicole Kilpatrick was born and
raised in the sun-kissed Philippines islands, but now works and lives in the
asphalt jungle that is New York City. A lifelong lover of books, she read the
Godfather when she was twelve and instantly fell in love. While she still
enjoys the occasional gangster novel, she has since discovered her true passion
in young adult fantasy. Mario Puzzo was quickly replaced by J.K. Rowling in
this author’s heart.
When not writing, she can be
found lounging in a cabin by a river, curled up at home reading a book, or
concocting recipes in her cozy kitchen in Brooklyn, where she lives with her
husband. Clover is her debut novel.
https://nicolekilpatrick.com
https://twitter.com/npkilpatrick
https://www.instagram.com/npkilpatrick
https://www.facebook.com/NicoleKilpatrickAuthor
https://goodreads.com/nicolekilpatrick
1 comment:
nice cover
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