So there I was, my hands all gritty with cornmeal, making biscuits, when all of a sudden a lady from Von Maur, one of the stores I applied to, called. OMG! She sounded really interested in me...until I said that I was only looking to work during the summer. Apparently they don't hire temp workers. I was pretty crushed, so my dinner ended up missing that certain zing that comes from being fully engaged in the cooking of it. I was pretty sad, and so I was a bit sloppy. Overall, it wasn't bad but it could have been better. This is going to bug me for a while, I can tell.

Anyway, my menu evolved partially as a private joke - it's very loosely based on the concept of an English dinner, as shepherd's pie is the main attraction, but it's heavily Ameicanized. I got a little smirk out of literally making pudding to end things, because it's another word for "dessert" in England, but I didn't want to be too over-the-top themey.





The Menu
Shepherd's Pie
Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits
Banana Pudding Parfaits

2:45 PM: Chopping



You know what? I really frickin hate chopping onions. My eyes are really sensitive and after about a minute they begin to tear up like crazy. Today they were especially bad for some reason, and the whole situation was worsened by the fact that I was wearing mascara, which would then drip into my eyes and make them sting even more. Exhibit A:



This is my tissue; you can see the black smudges all over it. It took me 20 minutes to chop the onions, something that should only take 5 minutes tops. The next time, I think I'm going to break out the swim goggles. I don't care if I look stupid, I just wanna chop my onions in peace.



Peeling potatoes. This is really embarrassing to admit, but I've never used a potato peeler until today. It turned out to be a lot of fun - the slimy potato texture was kind of gross but at the same time somewhat entertaining and I liked watching the peels zoom everywhere. Dodging the peels became a kind of game.

3:30 PM:Making the Pie


 Wow. I think I've been here before. This is me browning the lamb, with onions and carrots floating around all willy nilly. I really liked cooking with lamb. It browned quickly and smelled so delicious. I did a lot of sniffing while in the kitchen today, which is something I don't normally do when cooking. The rich, deep aroma of the lamb was too nummy to resist.



The potatoes, waiting to boil. It seemed like they took forever to cook, and then all of a sudden, GURGLE GURGLE GURGLE.



The meat portion of the Pie, with the aforementioned ingredients and newly added beef broth, tomato paste, parsley, and rosemary. (Sage and Thyme weren't invited.) 



The frozen peas lookin' all cute while I defrosted them in the sink.



See, what'd I tell ya? Look at that intense boiling action.



The last step in making the meat portion, with the (non) frozen peas added. They just brighten up the whole thing, don't they?



Mashing the potatoes. I was a little worried about this because I'd always thought of mashing potatoes as something fairly labor intensive. I was wrong - all I had to do was break them up with a spoon and incorporate the butter and milk. They ended up with a nice texture and a nom-worthy buttery flavor.



Building the pie. It was a great deal of fun spreading the potatoes over everything. It reminded me of frosting a cake.

4:45 PM: Making Drop Biscuits



Whisking the dry ingredients together. This was right before the Von Maur lady called me, so I'll have you know that I was whisking fairly cheerfully until then.



The finished biscuit dough. The green scary looking things are just scallions.



The biscuits about to go into the oven.

I will admit that the reason I didn't go into detail above about the biscuits is that they didn't turn out very good, IMO. Originally, I had chosen the recipe because it sounded like the guilty pleasure biscuits they serve at Red Lobster, but the texture of these was very different. The cornmeal made them gritty and messed with the taste - they were basically dry and unpleasant. To be honest, although I was upset, I don't think it was entirely my fault that these weren't great. I want to attempt them again but with a different recipe.

After I got the biscuits out of the oven, I plated everything as shown in the first pic, then we ate. After dinner it was time for...

6:00 PM:Pudding



I wasn't able to take pictures last night when I made these because I had to whisk the pudding constantly, but please don't take my lack of pics as lack of interest. I loved making the pudding parfaits - they're what I'm most proud of making so far. I just had this warm, delighted feeling while watching my dessert bubble on the stove last night which I have never experienced before. Making pudding was daunting but surprisingly easy. You just have to make sure that your arm is well rested before you begin, because you'll be stirring almost constantly for about an hour.

I layered my pudding with bananas, which caused a minor controversy last night. My mom and I got into a debate - she said I should wait to plate the dessert until today so the bananas wouldn't go brown, but I had noted that the recipe said if you covered them with pudding, they wouldn't change. I probably should have listened to Mom, but honestly, if it was between your mom and Martha Stewart, who would you pick? We ended up both being right - the bananas were slightly brown but not too bad. After dinner I topped the parfaits with whipped cream and Nilla wafers. They ended up being quite delicious with a subtle vanilla flavor and silky texture that came from being homemade.

Overall, I would rate my menu as a B-. The Shepherd's Pie and Pudding Parfaits were delicious but the Biscuits were FAIL, so that's 2/3. Not too shabby, but I'm hoping to bounce back next week with something especially delicious.

Mood sad Tags: cooking diaries, food, pictures, work?