“GOOD FENCES MAKE GOOD NEIGHBORS.” Robert Frost’s neighbor likes the thought so much he says it twice as they mend the stone wall between them. We think good food makes even better neighbors. It’s certainly one reason Rosa is a great next door neighbor.
We’re always inviting each other over, often spur of the moment, for dinner, or snacks and drinks, or movie night (with food and drink, of course). On Christmas Eve, when plans changed and we couldn’t have dinner with Rosa and her family, she and her mother showed up at our door bringing dinner to us, starring wonderful tamales they had made that day. (And we gave them a chocolate cake Marion had made for them.)
Over one of our recent in-person dinners, I started waxing eloquent about one of my favorite winter dishes, shepherd’s pie. As it happens, Rosa had never had it.
Originally created as a frugal way to use leftovers, shepherd’s pie, a hearty UK favorite, combines lamb and vegetables topped with mashed potatoes, then baked. Before the advent of mincing machines in 1870, leftover lamb or beef roast was cut into chunks and cooked with whatever vegetables were at hand. Carrots and peas are most commonly used now. And for the record, the dish made with beef was actually called cottage pie, though recipes today use lamb and beef interchangeably, or even combine them.
Back to good neighbors, last weekend we had Rosa and her sister Loretta and Marion’s sister Lena over for shepherd’s pie. And a big salad with a simple garlicky vinaigrette. Rosa brought cheesecake for dessert. It was a wonderfully cozy evening, filled with stories, laughter and second helpings. You’ll find our shepherd’s pie recipe here. Oh, and the poem that started this post? Find Robert Frost’s Mending Wall here.