What happens when National Pie Day meets Burns Night?

Not a haggis pie, thankfully. But something haggis-inspired, something that could live up to lines like these, from the Scottish poet Robert Burns' immortal Address to a Haggis,

But mark the Rustic, haggis fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.

In other words, not salad. Lamb, the foundation of this "great chieftain o' the puddin'-race," should be involved, perhaps using parts a little more approachable than the lungs, liver, and heart from which haggis is traditionally made. Also present should be neeps and tatties (rutabagas, or what Brits would call swedes, and potatoes), the pearls and pumps to haggis's little black dress. Finally, it should be both celebratory and economical, in honor of that famous Scottish thrift.

And why not make it pie-like while you're at it? Not because I really take a marketing ploy like National Pie Day seriously (yes, inroads may have been made by panna cotta, Oreos, and pineapple upside-down cake, but pie is far from an endangered species here) but because pie makes a party. Cupcakes are cute, cookies are swell, but a pie is Something Special. Not to mention that as a certified Pie Therapist, I feel that no good pie-making opportunity should be ignored.

Taken altogether, then, what better dish for a rainy winter day than a Shepherd's Pie, made with the leftovers of a good lamb stew instead of the usual drab gravel of ground meat. And topped with a thick cloud of mashed potatoes mixed with rutabaga, turnip's earthier cousin, the whole flecked with green bits of leek or scallion. Some rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf could also go into the stew, since this is California and these herbs grow everywhere.

Irish cookbook author Tamasin Day-Lewis suggests lamb neck for stewing, and having spied some at Avedano's recently, I decided to give her advice a try. And she's right: these "thick, bony, fatty chunks" are just right for stewing, falling into thick flavorful shreds after stewing, while the bones add body to the base. You'll need 2 necks for this, each cut up into four or five pieces (ask the butcher to do this for you, as this is requires serious bone-cleaving action that you don't want to attempt without a mallet, a heavy cleaver, solid arm muscles, and a very sturdy wooden countertop).

The stew makes plenty; eat it one day for dinner, then make your shepherd's pie with the leftovers on the following day. Serve, naturally, with a wee dram of your favorite whisky--Caol Ila, perhaps, Laguvulin, a tot of Ardbeg or Laphroaig.

Shepherd's Pie for Scotland
It can be a bit tricky to find rutabagas. Cauliflower, especially the beautiful, usually organic golden variety, makes a fine substitute if you find yourself stranded far from these useful roots. If you're making the stew a day ahead of time, leave the meat on the bones. Remove the meat and discard the bones just before serving.

Ingredients:
3 1/2 lbs (or thereabouts) lamb neck
4 carrots, chopped in rough chunks
3 sticks celery or one head fennel, chopped
2 onions, peeled and sliced
2 leeks, trimmed and chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, 4 sprigs parsley, tied together
Salt and pepper

For topping:
3 large potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large rutabaga, or 1 small head cauliflower
knob of butter (size depends on how buttery you think mashed potatoes should be)
1 cup buttermilk or whole milk, more as needed
green part of 1 leek, finely chopped, or 3 scallions, finally chopped
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
1. Put the lamb in a large pot and cover with cold water. Over medium heat, bring to a boil. Drain off water and scummy froth; rinse both meat and pot.

2. Lay onions, carrots, leeks, celery on bottom of pot. Add lamb and herb bundle. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Cover with water until lamb is just barely covered.

3. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat, cover, and cook slowly until lamb is very tender and can be pushed off the bone with a spoon, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

4. Let cool slightly, then remove lamb from pot. Set aside until cool enough to handle. While lamb is cooling, mash some of the cooked vegetables roughly to thicken sauce. Taste for seasoning. Remove herb bundle and discard.

5. Using your hands, remove lamb from bones and return meat to pot. Reheat before serving. Refrigerate any leftovers.

6. To make topping, cover potatoes and rutabaga chunks with water, adding a few good pinches of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer gently until potatoes are soft. (If using cauliflower, add when potatoes are just barely tender.)

7. Preheat oven to 350F. Drain potatoes and return to pot. Add butter and mash well. Add buttermilk or milk a little at a time, mashing thoroughly as you go, until desired consistency is reached (don't let it get too loose and creamy; it should be on the stiff side).

8. Saute leeks or scallion in a little butter, stirring, until softened. Add to potatoes.

9. Spread leftover stew in a 2-inch-deep baking dish, preferably glass or ceramic. Mound mashed potato over stew. Bake in the oven until stew is heated through and potatoes are just beginning to brown in parts, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

For those truly dedicated to all things haggis, this report from the BBC claims that the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture is considering lifting a twenty-year-old ban on importing Scottish-made haggis into the U.S. It also notes that a prominent haggis manufacturer has recently branched out into making haggis nachos.

This Sunday marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scottish poet Robert Burns, a night beloved in the hearts of the Scots, but relatively unknown to most Americans. For those of you uninitiated in Burns Night, it is a celebration in honor of good ol' Rabbie Burns, and, in true Scottish style, it is bathed in whisky and delicious haggis, neeps, and tatties.

My Scottish husband and I have made it a quest to educate and initiate our friends into the hallowed Burns Night traditions. Last year, we hosted our first Burns Night, and to our great surprise nearly everyone we invited not only showed up, but embraced the event with open arms, trying on their best Scottish brogue and gobbling up the haggis we’d captured out in the wilds of Dixon, CA.

It goes like this, at least at our house: We steam some haggis--which is essentially a big stuffed sausage made from sheep offal, spices, and oats; way more delicious than it might sound--and we make big pots of mashed potatoes (the “tatties”) and smashed rutabagas (the “neeps”). Just before the haggis is brought out and skewered with a large knife, we read Rabbie Burns Address to a Haggis. All the while, the whisky is flowing.

Perhaps it doesn’t sound as fun as it actually ends up being, but then again, you might not have a friend like Traci, who takes a few whisky shots and takes over the room with her rolling Rrrrrrrrs and guttural brogue.

This year, being quite a monumental anniversary, we decided to (or actually, our friends demanded that we) host our 2nd Annual Burns Night. Once again, we drove out to Dixon for some house-made haggis. Although I have to say, after the nearly 5-hour journey, I’m apt to make it myself next year. And while the official night is Sunday January 25th, this year we’ll be celebrating ol’ Rabbie Burns 250th anniversary on Saturday, January 24th. So pull out a poem and read it in your best brogue, have a nip of whisky, and take a bite of sausage (or better yet, haggis!), and give a wee toast to a fabulous poet, who will be celebrated the world over, and at our little home away from Scotland house in San Francisco.

If you are itching to participate in Burns Night 2009, the main event here in SF happens at:
Edinburgh Castle
Saturday January 24 at 8pm, $10 at the door
950 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA
415.885.4074

For those of you out in the Valley, check out:
Canal Street Grille Robert Burns Night
Saturday, January 24th at 6:30pm
1225 Canal Blvd, Ripon, CA, 95366
209.599.4646

Haggis. For some reason, that word seems to conjure looks of extreme disgust on the faces of most Americans. "Do you even know what it is?" I ask. Or, better yet, in between the "icks" and "ews" I question "Have you ever even tasted it?" Not surprisingly, most people answer with a sheepish "No."

Granted, haggis, which is essentially a spiced lamb and oatmeal sausage, gets a bum rap in the U.S. primarily because much of what you find in this country is canned and more closely resembles a mushy, livery blob. Authentic, fresh Scottish haggis cannot be imported into the United States due to strict regulations.

But haggis really can be delicious. So I decided to prove it to my friends. Luckily for me, and my Scottish husband, Friday night January 25th just so happens to be Burns Night, a Scottish holiday celebrating the birthday of Scotland's beloved poet, Robert Burns. A night when the homely little haggis is properly revered.

A key element of Burns Night--whether a grande formal affair or just a few friends getting together--is haggis, traditionally served with neeps (turnips; although I believe what they use in Scotland is actually what we know as rutabagas in the U.S.) and tatties (mashed potatoes) and a wee lick of whisky.

My first order of business was finding an edible haggis in the Bay Area. Either that or make my own, which I was willing to do if it came down to it. Fortunately, there are enough people in the Bay Area who like it that I found a few excellent referrals to a little shop called The Scottish Meat Pie Co., who actually make their own fresh haggis. Granted, I still had to work for it as they aren't officially in the Bay Area, but in a little town called Dixon near Sacramento. But I love my Scottish husband and I wanted to celebrate his Scottishness properly. As well as prove to my friends that haggis is delicious.

Therefore, on Monday, I made the drive out to Dixon (and sat in a massive traffic jam for 2 hours) to pick up my previously reserved haggis. The very friendly folks at the Scottish Meat Pie Co. definitely recommended reserving one at this "wild haggis time of the year." In fact, they had just finished making a big batch of haggis--lucky me!

So with my fresher-than-fresh haggis I made my way home, and tomorrow night I'll be serving up a platter of haggis, neeps and tatties, and shots of Scotch whisky, while reciting Robert Burns' poem To a Haggis.

A few asides:
• There are lots of Burns Nights happening all over the Bay Area, such as the one at the Edinburgh Castle Pub on Saturday January 26th, of you want to get your Scottish on.

• The next time someone offers you haggis, rather than scrunching up your face into a grimace, perhaps take a bite.

• Yes, haggis contains offal, typically lamb meat, liver, and heart, but remember that eating the whole beast is a sustainable, responsible way of eating!

The Scottish Meat Pie Co.
245 N. 1st Street
Dixon, CA 95620
view map
707.678.5354