Sausage-Apple-Yam Shepherd's Pie

It is incomprehensible to me, but my son - yes, Jeremy, who's usually such a cooperative eater - doesn't like Shepherd's Pie. It has all his favorite foods in it: meat, gravy and, particularly, mashed potatoes. I often top it with grated cheese. He hates it. What's a mother to do???

Make a variation on the theme, that's what. Use breakfast sausage, chopped apple, cider, and sweet potatoes ... et, voila! One of Jeremy's favorite dishes of all time!

Yeah, technically a "shepherd's" pie is made with lamb. But there's still ground meat for a base, there's gravy, and there's a kinda-sorta mashed potato on top. This dish is sweeter, though, more colorful, and a nice twist on tradition.

Now, this isn't technically a Hallowe'en recipe: there's no candy corn, and there are no spider webs made out of frosting. But the topping is orange, like a pumpkin! So, since "Trick or Treat"-ing comes on Wednesday and you might still be seeking ideas for your dinner or a party, I thought I'd offer this dish as well as some links to previous posts about the festivities:

Jack-o'-Lantern Pizza
Hallowe'en Dipped Marshmallows
Sweet 'n' Salty Caramel Corn Mix
Jack-o'-Lantern Cheeseburgers

Sausage-Apple-Yam Shepherd's Pie

• 2 very large sweet potatoes
• 1 pound breakfast sausage, hot or mild
• 2 large Honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2" dice
• 3 large scallions, chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• generous sprinkling freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 cups apple cider
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 425F. Prick sweet potatoes, then bake for 90 minutes until very tender. Let cool until you can handle them.

Place sausage into a large saucepan; break up sausage and cook it over medium heat. When sausage is half done, add apples and scallions; saute for 5 minutes, then add salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, until apples are tender.

Meanwhile, melt together butter and cornstarch. Slowly add cider, stirring it into the butter mixture until incorporated before adding more liquid. Once all the cider has been added, bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.

Place the sausage mixture into a casserole dish, then stir in the cider gravy.

Cut the sweet potatoes in half, then scoop out flesh into a mixing bowl. Mash sweet potatoes, then spread over the sausage. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Serves 6-8.

Frugal Floozie Friday -- The Ugly Mug

On a blustery day recently, I dropped Jeremy off at an appointment. I could have parked myself in the waiting room for an hour-and-a-half, but that seemed pretty dreary. So I took myself out for a treat at The Ugly Mug, today's Frugal Floozie Friday feature.

It was warm and cozy inside, and very welcoming. It was also kitschy and quirky, so I felt right at home immediately! I perused the numerous options, from bagels to coffee to desserts, but settled pretty quickly on one of my favorite treats: hot Caramel Apple Cider. And who was I to deny myself a scone to accompany my beverage? It was a Friday afternoon, I'd worked hard all week ... I deserved it.

My truly delicious, perfectly satisfying treat cost exactly $4 ($3 for a small cider, $1 for the scone), making it an ideal Frugal Floozie Friday option within our mandatory $5 budget. The change from my $5 bill was placed into the tip jar.

When my drink was ready, I was asked if I wanted whipped cream on top of it. I can't even begin to imagine refusing such an offer, but the kind gentleman who gave me a very generous portion of cream said people actually do so ... wow!

I gathered up some newspapers and took a little while to read and decompress while enjoying my afternoon snack. Warm, sweet, fragrant cider, a freshly baked crumbly scone ... I was transported from the stress of the previous hours, days, weeks and able to relax happily.

The Ugly Mug has lovely treats, a welcoming atmosphere, and offers many potential Frugal Floozie Friday goodies. I highly recommend it!


The Ugly Mug
317 W. Cross
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
734-484-4684


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My Favorite Chicken Recipe

Point-blank, this is my favorite chicken recipe. I'm a good cook and baker, though hardly a Michelin-starred chef; I like to think that I make a number of really delicious things to feed my loved ones. But if I could only pick one dish -- one shining example from all the thousands of foods I've prepared over the years -- this Cider-Braised Chicken would be the one I chose as my specialty.

I've been making it for several years, and was so proud of it that I entered it into a Passover recipe contest that Empire Kosher Poultry held in May of 2005. Yeah it's more of a Rosh Hashanah recipe, with apple cider as a key ingredient, than a Springtime one; but it met all the requirements -- featured chicken, was kosher (no mixing of meat and dairy products) -- so I sent it in ... and I won 2nd Prize! I was so thrilled!!!

This dish is special enough for a romantic date or a special event, but also easy enough that it could be served at any time. It's fragrant, tender, luscious. And I've even served it to picky eaters who've actually then begged for seconds ....

Enjoy! And בתיאבון [bih-TAY ah-VONE] = "Bon appetit" in Hebrew.

Cider-Braised Chicken

3 tablespoons oil
2 pounds chicken thighs
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons herbes de Provence*
1 cup apple cider

*There are many, many varieties of herbes de Provence, which is a mix of thyme or fennel or savory or rosemary or other herbs, often with lavender mixed in. I bought a jar recently that smelled like oregano, that appeared to have no lavender in it at all ... this was not good. Find a mix that doesn't have one overpowering ingredient, and be sure the lavender is there, too.


Heat oil in a large, deep-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the chicken with the salt and pepper, and place into the skillet skin-side down.

Cook for 10 minutes until nicely browned.

Turn the chicken over and cook for 5 minutes on the other side. Remove the chicken to a platter.

Pour off most of the fat, then sauté the shallot for 1 minute until translucent.

Stir in the mustard, vinegar, and herbes de Provence; combine well.

Stir in the cider, and return the chicken to the skillet.

Cover the chicken and bring it to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer for 45 minutes. Place the chicken on a serving platter and boil the sauce down to reduce it until it has thickened and become caramel-colored.

Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve hot.

Makes 6 servings.