Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I wore green today, though show off my Irishness through that pasty white skin that I have (there is no hope of a tan with this skin). The celebration of St. Patrick's Day started on Sunday when my neighborhood hosted the annual parade in the streets of Boston.

For tonight's dinner, I decided on Shepard's Pie, though it's origins are British. I really didn't want to have corned beef and cabbage. Can I say the use of mashed potatoes make it Irish?

I pulled this recipe off the Food Network website when I did a search for St. Patrick's Day recipes. I thought it was good, though it could have had a little more flavor.

Please note that kudos go to the husband. He started peeling the potatoes before I even got home from work. He also did the mashing to the potatoes.

2 pounds potatoes, such as russet, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup chicken broth (cream can be used, but I opted for the lighter option)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1.5 pounds ground turkey (ground beef or lamb was suggested, but I wasn't into that idea)
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup beef broth (I cheated on giving up red meat here)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire
1/2 cup frozen peas

1. Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain potatoes and pour them into a bowl. Combine sour cream, egg yolk and cream. Add the cream mixture into potatoes and mash until potatoes are almost smooth. I added a bit of butter to give the potatoes a little more flavor.
   
2. While potatoes boil, preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to hot pan with ground turkey. Season meat with salt and pepper. Brown and crumble meat for 3 or 4 minutes. If you are using lamb and the pan is fatty, spoon away some of the drippings. Add chopped carrot and onion to the meat. Cook veggies with meat 5 minutes, stirring frequently. In a second small skillet over medium heat cook butter and flour together 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and Worcestershire sauce. Thicken gravy 1 minute. Add gravy to meat and vegetables. Stir in peas.
3. Preheat broiler to high. Fill a small rectangular casserole with meat and vegetable mixture. Spoon potatoes over meat evenly. Top potatoes with paprika and broil 6 to 8 inches from the heat until potatoes are evenly browned. Top casserole dish with chopped parsley and serve.

Though this was not an Irish dish I did have a Guinness with dinner. Enjoy your St. Patrick's Day. Slainte!