Shepherd’s Pie, Sally Ann Mickel

A plate of cooked shepherds pie with roasted potatoes and diced vegetables including carrots and peas on a wooden table.

A shepherd’s pie sounded like the perfect dish to make on an icy January weekend, staying in a West Virginia cabin with friends. I turned to my database to look through recipes, taking note of the books they came from, the ingredients required, the people named.

A simple recipe using canned vegetable soup caught my eye. I found it within “Baba’s Kitchen Secrets,” a 1981 book produced by the Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church. Generously scanned for me by Maryland cookbook collector James Coffey, the book contains a mix of Russian heritage recipes alongside some of the standard fare found in community cookbooks of the time.

I had previously made some of these recipes with my family for an Easter meal.

When I went to research Sally Ann Mickel, I immediately came across a local artist mentioned on the Maryland State Arts Council and Maryland Pastel Society pages. These pages presented some lovely pastel works of flowers, a still life of a shelf of toys, a basket of Easter eggs.

Had I been thinking it through, I would have taken note that the colorful work of the eggs, entitled “Pysanky Eggs”, all but verified the connection of this Sally Ann Mickel to the Holy Trinity cookbook.

White boxer dog portrait wearing red collar with medal, painted artwork on brown background — *Artwork by Sally Ann Mickel*

I am glad that didn’t occur to me! Instead I followed the links to a website, where I saw more artwork, including a particularly striking portrait of a white pit bull type dog. There were many animal portraits but I was, of course, drawn to the dogs, and the way the artwork showed the subtle shifts of light on a coat of fur, the twinkling eyes.

I sent an email asking if this was the same Sally Ann Mickel.

A few weeks later I found myself in her house, flipping through a recipe scrapbook that had belonged to her mother-in-law. Sally Ann married Michael Mickel on October 7, 1978 at the Holy Trinity Church, which remains a part of their lives to this day.

The “Baba” in “Baba’s Kitchen Secrets” refers to a Russian grandmother. Sally Ann didn’t know her grandmother, so she instead thought of her mother when she contributed recipes to the cookbook. When I emailed that I was making her recipe, she replied to me:

“I have an old Campbell’s Cooking With Soup cookbook that belonged to my Mom. The recipe is called Savory Shepard’s Pie. My Mom was of Irish decent and said the pie was usually made with lamb but because of the expense she liked this recipe that used ground beef. She eliminated the salt from the Campbell’s recipe because she had heart problems. She thought the soup used in the recipe was salty enough! Some times she would substitute Pillsbury canned rolls for the mashed potatoes.”

Baba's Kitchen Secrets spiral-bound cookbook with illustrated grandmother figure surrounded by religious icon comparison photos. — *Baba’s Kitchen Secrets and a Holy Trinity 100th Anniversary book*

I don’t have health reasons (currently), but I had already instinctively omitted the extra salt in the recipe. I told Sally Ann that I sometimes wonder if these companies included extra salt just to give the cook a feeling of control, or to draw attention away from how much salt is already in their product.

The dish was a perfect simple dinner to share with friends after a day of driving along frozen rivers and past pristine snowy fields, before sitting in front of a wood stove with beers and/or hot cocoa.

The morning I headed up to meet Sally Ann Mickel, I started to feel a little bit of good ole social anxiety. She’d made a comment about GPS and I was afraid to admit I don’t use that. I thought of a woman years ago who invited me to document a cookbook collection and then canceled on me when she found out I’d be taking the bus. Something about the amount of effort on my part rubbed her the wrong way. As if I got here by being normal.

Black and white dog with distinctive markings looking up at camera on tiled floor — *Radar*

I ultimately admitted that I would turn to my trusty gazetteer if I lost my way, and she didn’t seem fazed. I didn’t lose my way at any rate and was greeted by her dog Radar in the driveway. He watched me with suspicious assessing border collie eyes throughout the afternoon while she shared with me stories and recipes.

She also showed me her studio where she makes her fantastic pet portraits in pastels. So we spent the afternoon discussing food, animals, holidays and family, and I headed home with my very own copy of Holy Trinity’s 1980s cookbook Baba’s Kitchen Secrets.

It is inspiring to meet so many people who are still welcoming new people and experiences into their lives and I hope that in my own way I always remain able to do the same.

Recipe:

Shepherd's Pie ingredients including ground beef, Idaho potatoes, green pepper, onion, and Campbell's soup on counter.

0.25 Cups onion, chopped
0.25 Cups pepper, green, chopped
1 pound beef, ground
1 can soup, vegetable, condensed
mashed potatoes, seasoned
dashes thyme, if desired

Brown beef, onion and green peppers until tender. Stir in soup, salt and thyme. Spoon into a one quart casserole and place potatoes in mounds around edge of casserole. Bake in 425 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Baba’s Kitchen Secrets by Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church (1981)