Shepherd's Pie

Copyright 2011 Christine's Pantry. All rights reserved.

 

Casserole cookery has been around since prehistoric times, when it was discovered that cooking food slowly in a tightly covered clay vessel softened fibrous meats and blended succulent juices...With the addition or subtractions of leftovers or inexpensive cuts of meat, the casserole is flexible and economical in terms of both ingredients and effort. The classic casserole, a French dish, was originally made with a mound of cooked rice. Fannie Merit Farmer's Boston Cooking School Cook Book (1896) had one casserole recipe, for Casserole of Rice and Meat, to be steamed for forty-five minutes and served with tomato sauce. In the twentieth century, casseroles took on a distinctive American identity. During the depression of the 1890s, the economic casserole provided a welcome way to stretch meat, fish, and poultry. Certain items were also scarce during World War I and leftovers were turned into casserole meals. The same was true during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 1 (p. 194)

1912... There is no doubt that the fashion of cooking in casseroles or earthenware dishes has come to stay in this country; and it is hardly a matter of surprise when the advantages of this form of cookery are really understood, whether it be actual casserole cookery, so called, or cookery in fireproof utensils. Cooking "en casserole" is a term which signifies dishes cooked and served in the same earthenware pot or utensil, though, as every one knows, the original French word is the generic name for a stew pan or a saucepan. The old idea of a casserole was some preparation of chopped fish, or vegetables enveloped in a crust of cooked rice, macaroni, or potato. Properly speaking, however, a casserole is a dish, the material for which in many instances is first prepared in the saute or frying pan and then transferred to the earthenware pan to finish cooking by a long, slow process which develops the true flavors of the food being cooked. The sooner the casserole utensil becomes an indispensable part of our everyday kitchen outfit the better...When casserole cookery is thoroughly understood, many combinations of food and many inexpensive viands will be put to use and very palatable results obtained.
How to Cook Casserole Dishes, Marion H. McNeil [David McKay:Philadelphia] (p. vii-viii)

By foodtimeline.org/foodfaq.html#casseroles

Shepherd's Pie

Copyright 2011 Christine's Pantry. All rights reserved.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground pork

extra virgin olive oil

1 can of sweet corn, drained

1 medium onion, finely chopped

6 medium potatoes

salt and pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke

6 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup milk

Directions:

Pork: Add enough olive oil to cover bottom of skillet and heat over medium high heat.  Add ground pork, break meat up while cooking. Add onions, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke and garlic powder. Mix together. Cook until pork no longer pink.

Potatoes: Peel and slice potatoes 1/4 thick. Cook in boiling water for approx 15 minutes or until fork tender. Whip potatoes with electric mixer, mix until moderately smooth. Don’t over beat them, a few lumps are fine. Add 1/4 cup milk, 6 tablespoon butter, salt and pepper to taste. Whip until mixed. Adjust seasonings and milk, if desired.

Corn: Sprinkle garlic powder, salt and pepper

Spray a 9x9x2 inch pan, or any similar casserole dish. Add meat to casserole dish. Then add corn. Then add potatoes. Place the dish under preheated broiler, until heated through. Enjoy!