Shepherd's Pie

Just had to share this delicious recipe with you guys.  Mike is the go-to Shepherd's Pie guy around here and this is his latest trial.

So, maybe comfort foods are not always the most photogenic.  But believe me when I say this dish was ultimately savoury and delicious.  The meat is seasoned with thyme, cloves, black pepper and garlic, not to mention a healthy splash of red wine.  Rather than a veggie layer, celery and carrot are cooked in with the meat.  The skin-on potato layer (just the way I like it!) has a pinch of nutmeg.

To summarize Mike's alterations to the recipe:

• Substituted milk for the half-and-half called for
• The amount of wine was not specified so we used 1/2 cup
• We had no fresh oregano or thyme around so went with dried thyme
• The original recipe uses Yukon gold potatoes, we like reds 

Since we had to open a bottle of wine to flavour the dish, we obviously couldn't let it go to waste!

This is a homemade shiraz, getting better with age.  I think Mike should start up a home brewing blog... any other votes in favour?