4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 pounds ground beef or lamb
1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup beef stock
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper

1. Boil potatoes in salted water until tender.
2. Drain the potatoes and mash them with the sour cream, egg yolk and cream.
3. Meanwhile, cook ground meat over medium high heat in a large skillet, draining fat if it begins to pool.
4. When the meat is fully cooked, reduce the heat to low and add the carrot and onion. Season with salt and pepper.
5. While the vegetables are cooking, melt butter and flour together in a small sauce pan over medium heat.
6. Whisk the broth and Worcestershire sauce into the butter and flour.
7. Allow the gravy to thicken and then add it to the meat, along with the peas.
8. Preheat the broiler to high while preparing shepherd's pie. Fill a large ramekin with the meat and vegetable mixture, then spread the whipped potatoes evenly overtop of that.
9. Sprinkle paprika on top of the potatoes, then put the ramekin in the oven to broil until the potatoes are evenly browned.

Makes 6 servings

1 cup butter, softened
1-1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups (4 large) carrots, grated
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup orange juice

3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl cream together butter, white and brown sugar.
3. Add cinnamon and nutmeg, then mix in eggs one at a time.
4. Stir in vanilla, carrots and walnuts.
5. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.
6. Mix dry ingredients into wet, gradually adding the orange juice while doing so.
7. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10" tube pan and bake for an hour or until it can be poked with a toothpick and pulled out clean.
8. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 5 minutes, knife around the edges and cool completely on a wire rack.
9. Mix cream cheese and butter then add sugar gradually until it forms a paste.
10. Ice the top of the cake before serving.

Makes 16 servings

The latest Weekend Cookbook Challenge is winter comfort food and while I already suggested that Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Tomato Soup is the greatest comfort meal, I figured I'd make a dinner specific for this challenge. Since I made this in the middle of the week and grabbed my recipes off the internet I'm probably disqualified, but it was still fun.

Since the onset of this project Shannon has been urging me to make Shepherd’s Pie. I have not had it since the earliest of childhood memories where I vaguely remember disliking it, but being one of the top 10 comfort foods, I figured I'd give it a shot. Also, with the enormous amount of carrots in the fridge, I decided to whip up some Carrot Cake, another comfort food favorite.

Shepherd's pie has always sort of thrown me because it doesn't have a crust. I'm not sure what really makes it a pie at all. I tried to look it up, but all I determined was that a shepherd's pie made with beef instead of lamb is properly called a cottage pie. Either way there is no crust, but I do prefer cottage pie because I'm having trouble figuring out where to place the apostrophe. Is the pie the creation of shepherds or a shepherd? Shepherd's, shepherds'… Quite the dilemma.

It was better than I remembered, but it's still just beef with some gravy and vegetables mixed in with whipped potatoes on top, as far as I'm concerned. It's hearty and filling like all comfort foods, but it doesn't really do anything for me. Shannon apparently expected something quite different than this recipe, with tomatoes and corn. I'm not sure what that is, she's swears it's shepherd's pie, but unlike any shepherd's pie I've ever seen.

I ended up making the carrot cake into more of a carrot loaf. In a way, I think I made it too well, if that's possible. It's light and fluffy and everything a cake should be. I wanted a heavier spiced nut loaf texture to it. Regardless, it's delicious. It's nutty and spicy, just like Shannon. It's no surprise that she loved it, too.