Shepherd's pie when the potato was being introduced as an edible crop affordable for the poor (cf. "cottage", meaning a modest dwelling for rural workers). The term "shepherd's pie" did not appear until 1854, and was used synonymously with cottage pie, regardless of whether the meat was beef or mutton. In the United Kingdom, the term "shepherd's pie" is now commonly used when the meat is lamb. In early cookery books, the dish was a means of using leftover roasted meat of any kind, and the pie dish was lined on the sides and bottom with mashed potato, as well as having
Pot pie shells, and these were called Artocreas. The Romans took this recipe and added a top to the pastry crust, making it a fully enclosed meat pie. In the United States in the 19th Century, Americans became enamored of a pie that featured robins. The settlers who came to America took their pot pie recipes with them when they moved westward. By the present century, chicken pot pies and meat variations have become a widely popular American dish. Pot pie can be prepared in a number of ways including in a skillet over a stovetop, in a baking dish in an