How to Make a Spectacular Shepherd's Pie

Here's another great idea using Colman's excellent sauce mixes.

Many experts will tell you that real Shepherd's Pie must be made with lamb. The theory seems to be that its name derives from the meat to which shepherds would have most access.

I am not convinced. Neither are the experts at Colman's who make a wide range of great sauce mixes for British style dinners.

In Britain many meals are made with "mince" which usually refers to minced beef (ground beef as we would call it in Canada). The back of a Colman's Shepherd's Pie sauce mix packet refers to "mince". My old mum made it with beef and that's the way I have always made it myself.

Start by browning half a kilo of meat in a frying pan to seal in the natural meat juices. Set the meat aside and brown some chopped onion. Mix the browned meat and onions together in the pan, add 250ml of cold water and the contents of a Colman's Shepherd's Pie sauce mix packet and bring the mix to a boil. If you wish, you can add some chopped, cooked carrots and peas to the mix at this stage.

Transfer the meat, veggies and sauce to an oven dish and spoon mashed potatoes thickly over the top. Smooth the potatoes down then lightly furrow the crust with a fork. Now put the dish into an oven - uncovered - at 400 degrees F and bake until the pie's crust turns golden. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top after cooking for a little extra pizazz.

Do you have to use Colman's sauce mix?
No of course not. If you prefer not to use Colman's Shepherd's Pie sauce mix, thereby saving yourself a lousy couple of bucks, your pie will be flavourless, your family will leave the table, rush to the telephone and order a pizza. Blighty's Tuck Store will go out of business and I'll be forced to take a job delivering pizzas. When I bring your family's pizza to your door, through the cruel, cold wind and snow you will see the terrible mistake you have made, but it will be too late ...

Make this inexpensive meal and be a hero

Do you think I am kidding? This recipe is not only inexpensive but it really, really does taste incredibly good. I recommended it to the staff at the store and now they are spending their own good money to make it for their families too. When I first made it myself "She Who Must Be Obeyed" thought I had made it into the gourmet chef hall of fame. She should have guessed I had a little help from Colman's. I used Colman's Sausage Casserole Sauce Mix which has an incredible flavour. I have used it before in another recipe and earned a marital blue riband on that occasion too.

Follow this recipe and you will be a household hero too. You will need 1 pack of McWhinney's Irish sausages. OK, not everybody in the blogosphere lives within easy commute of Blighty's Tuck Store so you may have to substitute some other brand of sausages. I recommend McWhinney's (imported from Northern Ireland) because they are made of a very healthy 80% real meat. Chop up the whole bag and fry them until they are nice and brown on the outside. Now dice an onion, a red pepper and a few mushrooms and mix them with the sausages in an ovenproof casserole dish. Mix up some Colman's Sausage Casserole Sauce Mix. Stir the sauce into the casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees Celsius for an hour. Serve it hot with some potatoes then standby for some serious adulation from a grateful family.

You can pick up Colman's sauce mixes at Blighty's Tuck Store or email us at shop@blightys.com for a quote on shipping some direct to you.

How To Make Eggs Benedict To Die For

Perhaps I should have made the title of this post "How to Make Eggs Benedict to Die From". In my household, Sunday morning just isn't Sunday morning unless we have our favourite breakfast "Eggs Benny" as I call it or Eggs Benedict as it is usually known.

So why "... to die from?" Well you see, Eggs Benedict is made from poached eggs with Hollandaise Sauce on top. And Hollandaise Sauce is made with egg yolks. And egg yolks contain galactic quantities of cholesterol. So much cholesterol, in fact, that some healthy eating guidelines suggest you should eat no more than three egg yolks per week.

So there you are, anxiously sitting around the breakfast table on a Sunday morning when a plate appears in front of you. Saint Peter is whistling a happy tune in the sky above your head while he unlocks the padlock on the Pearly Gates. You lift your fork and tuck into delicious Eggs Benny loaded with forty megatons of cholesterol. "This is heavenly" you say as the taste floods into your mouth. "You'd better believe it" says Saint Peter as he settles into his comfy chair behind the reception desk just inside those Pearly Gates to await your arrival.

"How many egg yolks did I eat this week?" you think to yourself. "Oh yes, I'm good to go, I've been eating nothing but oatmeal for breakfast all week". Saint Peter moves the bookmark in his appointment book forward a week, then closes it and steps outside to tend his roses. Yes Eggs Benedict is not the healthiest breakfast you could eat, but the taste is worth the risk of premature membership in the choir immortal.

How to make Hollandaise Sauce
Ingredients:
2 large egg yolks
Dash of lemon juice
Pinch of mustard powder (or ground mustard seed)
Pinch of salt and pepper
One quarter of a cup of milk or cream

Preparation:
Whisk all the ingredients together in the top part of a double boiler and cook over a steady heat, stirring all the time until the sauce thickens. Pour over poached eggs on a bed of toast and ham for a great Eggs Benedict.

Or, for perfect results every time, you can make up a pack of Colman's Hollandaise Sauce Mix while your eggs are poaching. You can pick up Colman's sauce mixes at Blighty's Tuck Store or email us at shop@blightys.com for a quote on shipping some direct to you.