When the cows come home, eat them.

We realized when we got back from the farmers market that we already had ground beef; since we had just bought more, the week's challenge became: use ground beef.  My first thought was to make a "Cowherd Pie," because shepherd's pie sounded good, but we didn't have any lamb.  Then I found out that a shepherd's pie with beef already has the (uninspired, and inexplicable) name "cottage pie," and is usually found in England and Australia.

I love when articles online say that a food is "found" in certain areas, like it's a wild species roaming free across the African veldt until someone sticks a serving spoon in it and puts it on the table.

I also found out that shepherd's pie (and cottage pie) is usually topped with a baked layer of mashed potatoes, which was a little confusing, because I thought I'd had it with a pastry crust.

I didn't want mashed potato topping.  I wanted biscuit topping.

Hence, I give you the first draft  of "cabin pi."  Cabins are almost the same as cottages, but more rustic and American, like biscuits.  "Pi" because math, dammit.  And because mine was round, not baked in a rectangular casserole.

Here's what you need:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 3/4 to 1 C carrot, sliced
• 1 C onion
• 1 C bell pepper (pick your favorite color.  I only used it because I had one in the fridge)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 oz sliced mushrooms
• 1 C broth (whatever's handy)
• 1 1/2 C frozen veggies (I had peas and corn.  I also only meant to use 1 C, but I over-poured, and it was too much trouble to pour the frozen corn back into the bag)
• kosher salt
• black pepper
• rosemary

I also meant to include thyme and Worcestershire sauce, but I forgot both.  Maybe I should have organized my notes better.

Also, for biscuit topping (because if you don't use a biscuit topping, then it's not a TRUE this thing I just made up):

• 1/2 C melted butter
• 1 1/2 C milk
• 1 1/2 C flour
• 1 1/2 t salt
• 1 1/2 t baking powder

Here's what you do:

• Preheat your oven to a piping hot biscuit-baking temperature of 400F.
• Brown the ground beef in a deep skillet, seasoning with salt, pepper, and rosemary.  If you're rollin' like a cabinite, use cast iron, because it will save a step later.
• Add the carrot, bell pepper, and onion.  Cook until tender-crisp, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in the mushrooms.  Give them a few minutes to soften and soak up juices.  Stir occasionally.  Add the broth (thyme and Worcestershire), bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let the whole mess simmer a few minutes while you get the biscuit topping put together.
• Make your biscuit topping.  Mix all those ingredients together.  Easy, right?  Pro tip: don't use this recipe to make actual biscuits.  It is WAY too runny for that to work.
• Add frozen veggies to the meaty mixture.  Give them a stir, too, since we've developed a habit.  Let it cook for another four or five minutes, then turn off the stove.

This is what I had before adding the topping.

• Remember when I said deep cast iron could save you a step?  It's this one.  You can either pour everything into a baking dish (I'd suggest a 9x13, but I'm just guessing.  I know the beef mixture doesn't look like much, but those biscuits will rise.), or go to the next step.
• Pour the biscuit topping over the meat mix, trying to cover it evenly.  Scrape the bowl with a spatula--you want all the biscuity goodness you can get in there.
• Bake until biscuits look done (golden to golden-brown).  Mine took about 45 minutes.

See? Doesn't that look tasty? Looks are NOT deceiving.  It was fantastic.

"That's no canyon... that's my dinner!"

The results were fantastic, and I say that as a thoroughly modest person.  Only an effort of supreme will kept me from eating the entire pan full of food and making the Chief Taster watch; she was similarly afflicted.  I still wish I'd included the Worcesterchire and thyme, but that's ok--I'll make this again.  I might even try it with beer instead of broth.  Now THAT'S a cabin pie!

the song oversold it

The Chief Taster bought a few chestnuts, because she wanted to try roasting them.  She has a brutal addiction to Christmas music, and while I greatly appreciate that she keeps it in check until the day after Thanksgiving, I also blame that addiction for this experiment.  Not that it was a failure, but we were both a little disappointed with them.  What's the big deal?

Fresh chestnuts should bounce like a tennis ball.  I learned this during my research, and enjoyed whipping the chestnuts down at the kitchen counter while she watched, offering no explanation about what I was doing.

Score the flat side of the chestnuts enough to cut through the outer peel.  Then score them again, making an X-shaped cut.

This one isn't cut quite deeply enough, but you get the idea.

While you bounce and score your nuts, preheat the oven to 425F.  When it's ready, roast the chestnuts on a baking sheet or in a shallow dish (I used an 8x8, because we didn't have many nuts, and it allowed me to shake the dish to turn them while baking more easily than I could with a flat baking sheet) for 30-40 minutes, shaking the pan every few minutes to make sure the nuts cook evenly.

When they are done, give them a few minutes to cool, then peel them using fingers or a knife.  We tried sprinkling them with salt, cinnamon, cumin, and curry powder.  Not all together.  Salt was best, but they still just tasted like potato to me.  Later, we found that after roasting, some people like to fry them in butter.  Maybe we'll try that next.