Sláinte for St. Pat's Day! Shepherd's Pie that's a No-Brainer

Readers, readers, readers!  The Amateur Foodie has been neglecting you.  And she's upset about it.

Certainly I've not been fasting or anything silly like that (not that it's silly to fast...it's just a bit comical to think of me depriving myself of tasty food for an extended period of time).

I've been cooking and eating, but I've also been writing essays and doing Calculus homework, which makes it a little tough to get online and share with you.  The important thing is, I'm back!  So, now that I've apologized thoroughly, to the food!

Yesterday was that most hallowed Irish holiday, St. Patrick's Day.  Some like it for the beer, others for the whiskey...I happen to enjoy it because of the food, not the beverage.  I like fish and chips, bangers and mash (tee-hee, I know...we've been through this, readers...control yourselves!), shepherd's pie, and that quintessential Irish staple, corned beef, which I was regrettably deprived of this year.

Now, I was most upset at not being able to enjoy corned beef, but Momma was workin', and Daddy don't like corned beef, so I had to resort to my backup plan (one just as tasty, I assure you).

Ground beef, baby carrots, potatoes, frozen peas, and Coleman's Shepherd's Pie mix.  Delicious.  Yes, I know, AF made her shepherd's pie with the use of a spice packet!?!?  Oh, don't look at me like that, darlings, we all have our vices.

To be frank, Coleman's is the only spice mix that closely matches the flavor of my ab-fab favorite pie (from Shannon's, aforementioned in my blog).  And it's so easy to use!  Sagey and warm and delicious, it adds just the right amount of flavor to mincemeat (ground beef, to those of us from the opposite side of the pond) and veggies.

The only thing that might throw you off is the metric system measurements on the back of the packet.  Resort to the almighty Google if you need to.  It'll be worth looking up, because the thing turns out deliciously.

It says to add the veg right toward the end of cooking and bake the whole thing for a half hour.  But to me, it seems terribly inefficient to do that.  Plus it results in al dente veggies...this is Irish food!  We don't want al dente!  (So sorry, I'll calm down.)  To eliminate said issue, I cook the carrots and peas in the pan after I take the mince out to drain.

To make the whole thing just a tadbit more interesting, you can cook chopped button mushrooms in with the beef.  They add a nice sweetness, and they soak up the sauce like little sponges.

I mix the meat back in and put the whole concoction into a casserole dish, top with lots of mashed potatoes and bake for ten minutes at 400-Fahrenheit, plus some time under the broiler (which you'll have to watch so you don't petrify your potatoes...just go until they're golden-brown).

It was a tasty dish to sit down to at eight at night after Mom got home from work, but it just wasn't corned beef.

I'm gonna get my Reuben sandwich soon...very soon.  And I hope it's from Shannon's.

Until next time,

~Amateur Foodie

Spaghetti-sagna, or Spaghetti Casserole, Whichever You Prefer

Have you ever made a great spaghetti with meat sauce and ended up with leftovers that just don't seem to have as much pizazz after zapping them in the microwave?  Not to worry, Amateur Foodie is here for you, dearies.

My solution? A quasi-lasagna dish.  It doesn't matter if you have one serving of leftover pasta or six, this transforms it into something warm and melty that just seems to work.

Transfer your leftover pasta into an oven-safe pan (sized appropriately for your quantity of pasta).  Pack it down fairly well, then top with mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano.  Bake in a 400-degree (Fahrenheit) oven until the top is melted and the sauce is bubbling.  You can also check to make sure that the center is warmed through (Nothing's worse than a delicious, hot pasta casserole with a cold middle).

Enjoy with garlic bread, salad, whatever you want.

Buon Appetito!

The Happiest of New Years to You!

Well, darling readers, I've done it.  And with an hour and a half to spare.

My blog is entirely up-to-date.  There's nothing else I have to add except for a New Year's Eve greeting.  Be safe and enjoy your family and friends this holiday.  Have a glass of bubbly for me; I'll be raising a glass of Welch's for you (three more years, my friends...just three more years).

Love and happiness to you,

~Amateur Foodie

I Love Food with Funny Names

Bangers and mash.  Go ahead and get out the obligatory giggles.  That's Irish for sausages and mashed potatoes.

My favorite Irish restaurant is a one-of-a-kind: Shannon's Irish Pub in Glen Ellyn.  They have a great reuben sandwich, and their shepherd's pie is fab.  I love my traditional fare, but I had never tried the bangers and mash (yes, I'm going to call it that as many times as possible to prolong the giggle-fest).

I've had bangers and mash before at a different Irish place, but the sausages weren't substantial enough, and the mashed potatoes were dry and underseasoned, even with a hefty ladle of well-salted brown gravy.  This was a meal.  The four sausages were enough for a dinner and leftovers for lunch the next day, and it came with well-seasoned mashed potatoes (thank you!), baked beans (odd, but forgivable), and broccoli.

The mashed potatoes at Shannon's are what is called champ, which means the potatoes are blended with chopped scallions, giving them a mildly oniony flavor.  This goes so well with the sausages, and complements the little pile of sauteed white onion that comes alongside.

The sausages will likely strike most people as odd.  They're not overly porky, and the grind of the meat is extremely fine.  The flavor of the meat is not smoky, salty, or sage-y.  It's very fatty tasting, but not in a way that is unpleasant.  The overall impression of the flavor is acidic; it probably tastes beery, but I wouldn't know.

The real beauty of the dish is the marriage of the hearty flavors on the plate.  The beans and mash and gravy go perfectly with the sausage and onions.  To really "get it," you need to take a bite of everything at once.

The only thing that doesn't work is the broccoli.  Now, I'm not opposed to a good green, cruciferous veggie on my dinner plate.  But if you're going to feed me broccoli, it had better be something amazing, not just a butter-roasted floret.  Sorry, Shannon's, but if I want something healthy to go with my bangers and mash, then I'll order a side salad.

Oh, and the key lime pie is to die for.

Before I forget, one final giggle: bangers and mash.

Cheers,

~Amateur Foodie

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for...Soupy Cream?

We got an ice cream maker!!!!

That's right, our own creamy, dreamy frozen confections!  I was so excited to use it.  I popped the freezing drum in the freezer for 24 hours, and as soon as that 24 hours had passed, I made the base for a simple vanilla ice cream.  I poured it into the ice cream machine and started it churning.

I went into the living room to watch a hockey game (Blackhawks, my dear).  I checked on the ice cream about every five minutes.  The recipe book said it should take about 20-25 minutes for the ice cream to set.  After the second period of the hockey game started, the consistency of the ice cream was the same as it was when I started the machine.

I didn't get it.  I had let the drum freeze, and for a good long time at that.  I followed the recipe to the letter.  But when I pored over the instructions for using the ice cream maker itself, I discovered that I had taken the freezing drum out of the freezer far too soon, and I forgot to shake it to make sure that the liquid inside the drum had frozen entirely.

And so today, on New Year's Eve, I took the drum from the freezer once more, filled it with the ice cream mixture, and put it in the machine to churn.  Twenty minutes later, I had a drum of ice cream the consistency of soft serve, and after putting it in a bowl in the freezer for a couple of hours, I must say, it probably rivals Edy's.  Just perfect for an ice cream sundae.

Bella, Bella, Bella Means Beautiful...Food that is

It's carefully hidden in Oakbrook Center.  Or at least that's what it says on the menu.  Almost a next-door-neighbor to ma cherie, Mon Ami Gabi, the restaurant Antico Posto is like Gabi's quiet Italian cousin.  It's a "Lettuce Entertain You" restaurant just like Gabi and another restaurant I love, Wildfire.

Ever since the first moment I stepped inside this restaurant through its revolving door, I loved it.  There's a bar at the front and a couple bar tables, but the majority of the restaurant is dimly-lit, white-tablecloth dining.  And it's usually packed.

The first thing placed on the table is crusty, fresh-baked bread with coarse salt on the crust and a dish of add-ons: fruity olive oil with garlic, parmesan, and balsamic and a dynamite giardiniera with green olives, onion, celery, cauliflower, and eggplant.  If the entrees themselves weren't quite so phenomenal, I could just eat the bread.

But the thing is, the entrees are phenomenal.  So don't do too much carbo-loading at the outset of your meal.

They make these really great brick oven pizzas with a chewy crust that tastes a little pretzel-like to me.  They hardly use any sauce, which allows the flavorful toppings to shine, whether it's oven-roasted tomatoes and basil on their goat cheese pizza or sweet fennel sausage and fire-roasted peppers.  The goat cheese pizza is my sister's favorite, and it's the food item that taught her to embrace the roasted tomato.

I happen to be rather partial to the pasta dishes, and I've sampled quite a few.  The pasta is made fresh in-house, and this really makes a difference in their plates.  I love the gnocchi (both bolognese and pomodoro), and the spaghetti bolognese.  While not necessarily authentically Italian (according to Food Network's Alton Brown), this combo of thin, delicate pasta and rich meaty sauce is undeniably delicious.

My all-time favorite pasta at Antico is the cavatelli, which in Italian means "little worms"...delicious, right?  But in all seriousness, it's a hearty yet delicate pasta with a pleasant chew to it.  At Antico, they make it with ricotta, and they pair it with assertive toppings.

I've tried the cavatelli special with vodka-cream sauce, tossed with sweet fennel sausage  and lots of fresh parsley (shown right).  It was a great deviation from my usual, a plate only available once a week.

Behold, ladies, gentlemen, and others: Cavatelli with Sunday Meat Sauce.  It is a heaping plate of pasta tossed in a light cream and topped with a great big ol' dollop of braised meat.  On my last visit, our waiter gave up the names of the meats they use, five in all: pepperoni, sausage, sopressata, roast beef, and roast pork.  All of this is cooked down in garlic and tomato until it's a soft, sumptuous sauce full of meat that is fall-apart tender.  I can think of nothing to improve upon it.

And don't even get me started on the desserts.  They have these great little mini-desserts, from a velvety panna cotta with brandied cherries (my favorite, right) to a creamy lemon cheesecake, topped with whipped cream and lemon curd (my sister's favorite, already half eaten before I got a chance to snap a pic...though I don't blame her).  All you need to cap it off is a LaVazza cappuccino, and you're in business.  Bella, bella, bella.

A Recipe I'm Stealing: Comfort-Food Breakfast...in a Croissant Crust

Panera has lots of good food at a great price point.  It's not exactly five-star dining, but it's great on a Saturday afternoon if you just want some soup or a sandwich...or on a Monday morning in December while you're waiting for Lacey the Kitchen Dog (pictures to come) to finish getting her hair cut.

The breakfast selection at Panera has always been expansive.  They have bagels, muffins, scones, cookies, brownies, bear claws...the list goes on and on.  But an item that showed up sometime within the past couple of years has blown every other breakfast item out of the water.

The breakfast egg souffle is hands-down one of my favorite breakfasty things ever.  It's creamy and fluffy in the middle, and the crust of the souffle is essentially made of buttery, flaky croissant dough.  There are a couple different varieties, like four cheese and spinach-bacon.  I tried the spinach-bacon for the first time a couple weeks ago, and I think it may have just beat out the four cheese as my favorite flavor.

Hmm...suddenly I have a taste for coffee.