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Ghostly little figures hover over the meaty pie in this recipe for a favorite main dish that’s a little bit dressed up to match the spirit of Halloween.
The recipe is from Betty Crocker’s “Celebrate! A Year-Round Guide to Holiday Food and Fun” (Wiley). The annual cavalcade of feasts begins with New Year’s Eve, and includes Chinese New Year and Cinco de Mayo besides all the standard American celebrations.
There are recipes to fit all these occasions, and plenty of color photos and decorative suggestions for presentation and serving. All this makes the cookbook eye-catching and helpful as a source for party and entertainment planners.
A note with this recipe refers to the old belief that you could drive away the ghosts that came out at Halloween by lighting lanterns or candles — and suggests that you could mimic that and also grace your holiday table by setting it with candles.
Ghostly shepherd’s pie
The preparation time is 30 minutes, and the baking time is 25 minutes.
Cooking spray
1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2½ cups frozen mixed vegetables
14½-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, undrained
12-ounce jar home-style beef gravy
13/4 cups water
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
½ cup milk
21/4 cups instant mashed potatoes
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, slightly beaten
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray 12-inch skillet with cooking spray. Cook beef and onion over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown; drain.
Set 12 peas aside for garnish. Add remaining frozen vegetables, tomatoes and gravy to beef mixture. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until vegetables are crisp-tender.
Meanwhile, in medium saucepan, bring water, margarine and garlic powder to a boil. Remove from heat; add milk. Stir in potato flakes and cheese. Add egg; blend well.
Spoon ground-beef mixture into ungreased 8-inch square (2-quart) or oval (2½-quart) glass baking dish. With large spoon, make 6 mounds of potato mixture on top of beef mixture to resemble ghosts. Place 2 reserved peas on each mound for ghosts’ eyes.
Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until potatoes are set and mixture is thoroughly heated. Makes 6 servings.
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