Sheppard's Pie, Lee's Retreat, Part II

I'm not sure if I said this in one of my first blogs or not, but this is definitely a learning experience.  Luckily I really enjoy learning.

So, how did my take on Lee's Retreat's "A Pub Above Sheppard's Pie" turn out?  I've been given the green light to make it again.  I do however, need to do some tweaking.

Overall, I would call this meal a success.  It was tasty.  Unfortunately, it was not as visually appealing as the dish I enjoyed at Lee's Retreat.  I was going to post a picture, but it looked like mashed potatoes with a side of dog food.  YIKES!  Luckily, it was pretty tasty.

I started with butter melting in my pot (the pot being big enough to hold all of the ingredients and fit nicely into my oven right from the stove).  Once the butter was melted, I softened some shallots without letting them turn too brown.  Then I mixed in just over a pound of lamb (in one inch cubes), thyme, and some salt and pepper.  I let the lamb brown slightly.  Then I added two potatoes finely chopped, enough Stonewall Stout to cover everything in the pot, and about a half of a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce (because my Joy of Cooking cookbook recommended it).  That all went into the oven for about an hour.  After the hour, I added carrots and some heavy cream.  Everything went back into the oven for another 40 minutes.  Then I added corn and peas (not the kind I had at the restaurant) and let it warm in the oven for another 10 minutes.

I made mashed red bliss potatoes that were boiled along with three cloves of garlic. 

Once everything was on the plate, we were ready to eat.  I did not do the lollipop lamb chop... but I figured that was some what of a decorative piece.

So, why is this a learning experience?  I used the recipe from Joy of Cooking (mostly).  I substituted the Stonewall Stout in place of chicken stock.  I liked that flavor.  It was nice and rich.  I made a much smaller batch than the book called for, so I cut down the ingredients... however, I did not cut down the cooking time.  My lamb was a bit overcooked.  The book called for potatoes to be finely chopped and that they would dissolve during the cooking process and thicken the sauce... but they didn't.  I just had these fine bits of potato floating along with the lamb and vegetables.  I did not have any potatoes in the dish at the restaurant.  With that all said, my sauce was not very thick.  I think I should have skipped the potatoes and used a thickening agent like cornstarch or rue instead.  Also, I think I should have stirred in the corn and peas at almost the last minute.  They really did not need ten minutes of cooking time.  They seemed overcooked.

Learning experience.  But I am really excited to make this again, and hopefully soon.  One really nice thing is that this meal did not cost very much.  I got the lamb half price by shopping at Wegmans and searching for the little orange "Special Today" sticker.  I think I paid $5 or $6 for the pound of lamb.  I always have potatoes around the house and corn and peas in the freezer.  Carrots are pretty cheap when you buy them in the produce department. 

I recommend this to anyone, just make sure you keep an eye on the "doneness" of your lamb, and don't add the corn or peas too early.