Dinner Pie, Oh My: Part Five

I've heard it said "Eat Dessert first, you never know when

you're gonna die." I strongly concur.

However, what if your dessert was hijacked by a dinner

disguising as a dessert. Like a pie, that wasn't your

average pie...

Yes my friends, I am talking about the dastardly meal

that is shepherds pie or worse yet pot pie. Shepherds pie

though is very often mislabeled... It actually is just a

veg and meat pie topped with potatoes and baked. Pot

pie actually has a pie crust.

I remember my dad making shepherd's pie when I was

a kid and I hated celery, so I never wanted to eat it.

And you have to admit that dinner pie isn't the most

photogenic or appetizing looking meals... So naturally,

as most children do, I had to give it a suitable nickname.

My Dad's shepherd pie became "Shepherd's Hulgh" --

as in a puking noise. I'm not sure how to spell that, but

you get the picture.

I feel pretty bad about this because my Dad is a damn

good cook and he doesn't cook nearly as much as he used

to, very sad. Also, I know that if I had his shepherd's pie today

I wouldn't be complaining.

We did a special take on the whole shepherd's pie idea today

for dinner... Our filling was just a load of mostly broccoli that

could be the base of a very good soup. (onions, garlic, broc,

carrots, sage, rosemary, bay leaf, soymilk, salt, pepper,

and a vegan roux).

Now the crust is what brings us back to the traditional sense

of shepherd's pie-- taders. Instead of lobbing some potatoes on

top we made a potato crust, as follows.

Potato Pie Crust

2 cups mashed potatoes, cooled

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp water

Mix all but water. Slowly add water until a ball is formed.

Divide and roll out in to about 1/8" thickness.

This is good for a 9" crust and up. We used an 8" pan and

still had some dough left over. Once the bottom

of the crust is in place, pierce some holes in it with a fork

and prebake for about 8 minutes at 350F.

Pour in your filling and apply the top crust. Cut a couple of

slits in it, so the heat can escape. Bake for 30 minutes or

until golden brown.

My Shepherds "hulgh!"

Hee hee looks like the pie puked though!