Directions
Grind rosemary and fennel seed in a spice grinder; transfer to a mixing bowl. Stir savory, thyme, basil, marjoram, lavender, parsley, oregano, tarragon, and bay powder with the rosemary and fennel. Store in an air-tight container between uses.
Sautéed Baby Vegetables
4 servings
Ingredients
1 pound assorted mini squash - patty pans and/or baby zucchini
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup frozen pearl onions
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons chopped fresh dill Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Directions
1. Halve the squash. Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Sauté the squash 5 minutes then add the onions and tomatoes, season the vegetables with salt and pepper and cook 5 to 7 minutes more until the tomatoes begin to burst and the onions are warmed through.
Toss the herbs with the vegetables and transfer to a serving dish.
Georgie’s Tips
Baby vegetables are tender and delicious. There’s also something elegant about the way they look on a plate. I find this mini squash combo prepackaged in several local grocery stores. There’s nothing that says you must use this combination of veggies with all the options baby carrots or brussels sprouts, button mushrooms, baby eggplant, baby beets, or haricot vert, a French green bean that’s tiny. Try different combos for variety in taste, nutrition, and presentation.
When they’re available at the market and I have time, I prefer using fresh pearl onions, sometimes available in red, yellow, and white colors.
Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 3 ½ dozen cookies
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by the heaping spoonful onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Georgie’s Tips
These cookies are comfort food! Easy to make and quick to bake, they store well, and are easy to pack and carry for lunches or parties. I prefer the old-fashioned rolled oats, but quick oats will work, too. Choose another variety of nuts if you’re not a fan of pecans or leave them out altogether. Enjoy!
Shepherd’s Pie with a Pastry Crust
Serves 6
Ingredients
1 pre-made deep dish pie shell
3/4 pound ground beef, lamb, or turkey
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
8 ounces beef broth [or beef bouillon if you have a brand you like to use]
2 carrots diced
1 cup frozen green peas
1 cup chopped cremini mushrooms
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, sage, or rosemary [optional]
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch chunk
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk [add more or less as needed]
1 medium or large egg, beaten
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese [I like to use extra sharp cheddar]
Directions
FOR CRUST:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Let pie crust thaw, prick lightly with a fork
Bake pie crust for about 15 minutes—just until crust begins brown
Remove from oven and let cool while you complete the mashed potato topping and meat pie filling.
FOR TOPPING:
Boil potatoes until tender. Drain and mash with 2 tablespoons of butter, add milk about ¼ cup at a time and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix until fluffy. When cooled a little, fold in one beaten egg.
FOR FILLING:
Dice up onions, carrots, and mushrooms. Sauté over medium high heat in EVOO with about a tsp of salt. Add chopped garlic and continue to cook until veggies are ‘al dente’—tender but not mushy. Remove the veggie mixture.
Brown hamburger or turkey in the same pot. Add veggie mixture back to pot with 6 ounces of beef broth, fresh herbs if you want to use them, a teaspoon of salt and pepper. Cover pot with a tight-fitting lid and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 1o minutes.
Mix 1 ½ tablespoons of all-purpose flour in with the remaining beef broth until all lumps are gone. Raise heat until the meat mixture begins to boil. Slowly add the broth/flour mixture while stirring quickly and continue to stir and boil for about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Fold in the peas.
Spoon the mixture into the cooled pie crust. Pile the mashed potatoes on top of the pie and spread to cover. Sprinkle with shredded cheese.
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes brown on top. Let cool for 10 or 15 minutes before serving.
Georgie’s Tips
Okay, so, not everyone is going to agree that this recipe ought to be called Shepherd’s Pie. If you use beef instead of lamb, this is Cottage Pie to many fans of Shepherd’s Pie across the pond. In the U.S., this is a version of what most people grew up calling Shepherd’s Pie and many of us have never heard of Cottage Pie. The bottom line—whatever you decide to call it is still just as tasty…the old ‘rose by any other name’ issue in a meat pie.
The CREAMY MASHED POTATOES recipe featured as a side dish for the Chicken Marsala will work too for the topping. If you have a favorite brand of powdered mashed potatoes, you can use them instead. You’ll need to make about 2 0r 3 cups according to directions, depending on how high you want the topping to be. I add the beaten egg because I think it helps the topping bake a little firmer, but you can leave it out if you prefer.
You can skip the crust and use only the filling and topping instead, but I think the crust makes it a real “pie!”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anna Celeste Burke is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author who enjoys snooping into life's mysteries with fun, fiction, & food—California style!
A few words for you from Anna…
Life is an extravaganza! Figuring out how to hang tough and make the most of the wild ride is the challenge. On my way to Oahu, to join the rock musician and high school drop-out I had married in Tijuana, I was nabbed as a runaway. Eventually, the police let me go, but the rock band broke up.
Our next stop: Disney World, where we “worked for the Mouse” as chefs, courtesy of Walt Disney World University Chef’s School. More education landed us in academia at The Ohio State University. For decades, I researched, wrote, and taught about many gloriously nerdy topics.
Retired now, I’m still married to the same, sweet guy and live with him near Palm Springs, California. I write the Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery series set here in the Coachella Valley and the Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery Series set in California’s Central Coast, The Georgie Shaw Mystery series set in the OC, and coming soon, The Misadventures of Betsy Stark also set here in the desert. Won’t you join me? Sign up at: http://desertcitiesmystery.com.
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