Not Quite Mom's Meatloaf

You might think that on nights when Bill's not home I have a bowl of cereal or something simple like spaghetti for dinner. Not so. When Bill's out, it's the perfect opportunity to make to make the foods he isn't fond of ... like meatloaf!

Bill's beef with meatloaf (pun mostly intended) is the glaze that's so often baked on top. His extreme aversion to condiments, and ketchup in particular, keeps him from thinking that's ok. And thus, he's shunned all meatloaf, glaze or no glaze. I made one pretty successful attempt at meatloaf a while back, and Bill gave it a good effort. In fact, he may have even liked it a little. But despite that, I know it's not one of his favorites. And so I frequently fight the temptation to make it.

Well not on Thursday! This was a chance for me to conjure up all of the delicious kitchen mom-eries from home. I still ask my mom to make meatloaf when I visit, and nothing's better than when she serves it with scalloped potatoes. So pairing the meatloaf from America's Test Kitchen Cooking for Two and the cheesy scalloped potatoes from the most recent issue of Cook's Country seemed like the most delicious idea I'd had all week.

Now while this dinner was inspired by mom, these certainly aren't mom's recipes. My mom shares Bill's aversion to ketchup (which might be why she loves him more than me), so she's never served meatloaf with a glaze. And her potatoes come from a box (it's not that she's not a good cook, she's just very selective about what she makes from scratch!). Feeling a bit adventurous, I went for the glaze and the made-from-scratch potatoes. And boy was it worth it!

I tweaked the meatloaf by subbing French bread for the sandwich bread the recipe called for. But knowing the French bread would be much tougher, I took a cue from my mom's meatball recipe and soaked it in milk first (buttermilk, actually). Fearful that this would yield a mushy meatloaf, I had to keep my fingers crossed. But luckily there was no need to worry ... my meatloaf turned out with a crisp and delicious crust and a tender, juicy middle. Almost just like mom makes!

Meatloaf
Ingredients:
For Meatloaf
1 (1-inch thick) slice French bread
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped fine
Salt
5 oz. white mushrooms, sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons water
8 oz. ground beef
1 egg white
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper

For Glaze
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

Directions:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Set a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet and lay a 6x4-inch piece of foil in the center of the rack. Using a skewer, poke holes in the foil at 1/2-inch intervals.

Place bread and buttermilk in a small bowl to soak. Set aside.

Heat oil in a 10-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic, thyme, and tomato paste, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in water and cook until thickened, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

Squeeze buttermilk from bread and discard buttermilk. Place bread and cooled vegetable mixture in food processor and process until smooth, about 10 seconds. Add beef and pulse to combine, about 5 pulses. In a large bowl, whisk together egg white, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Add the processed beef mixture and mix until uniform.

Press the mixture into a compact mass, then turn it out onto the foil-lined rack. Using your hands, press the mixture into an evenly thick loaf, approximately the same size as the foil. Bake until center of meatloaf registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by simmering ketchup, vinegar, sugar, and hot sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat until thick and syrupy, about 3 minutes. Spread glaze over meatloaf and bake until glaze begins to bubble, about 5 minutes. Let meatloaf sit for 10 minutes before serving.

I love it when it looks just like the picture!

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients:
2 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 oz. parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup heavy cream
12 oz. russet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Toss cheddar with cornstarch in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat oil in 8-inch non-stick, ovensafe skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add broth, cream, potatoes, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until potatoes are nearly tender, 10 to 12 minutes.

Off heat, stir in cheddar mixture and press potatoes into an even layer. Sprinkle with parmesan and bake until golden brown, 12 to 145 minutes. Let potatoes cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Meatloaf: No Ketchup Required

By now you know I have a thing for meatloaf because it's one of my favorite meals my mom used to make. Unfortunately, Bill has always claimed not to like it and so I've never made it myself. But I came to find out that Bill assumed all meatloaf was made with ketchup (and for those of you who know Bill, he has a major aversion to condiments of any kind). Well that wasn't the case with my mom's meatloaf and I knew I could make a version he would like.

In that infamous Mario Batali cookbook we use so often, I came across a recipe for stuffed meatloaf that sounded amazing. I tweaked the recipe a bit, so here's my take:

Stuffed Meatloaf

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground beef
2/3 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
1 2/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
3 eggs
Salt and pepper
5 ounces spinach
2 carrots, peeled and sliced into 4 pieces
3 thin slices prosciutto
Flour, for dusting
1 cup water
2 fresh thyme sprigs

Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine pork, beef, cheese, breadcrumbs, eggs and salt and pepper to taste. Get your hands dirty and combine everything well. Set aside.

Boil a large pot of water. Dunk spinach into water, just long enough to wilt it. Remove to a small bowl. Add carrots to same pot, and boil for 10 minutes. When done, add to bowl with spinach and set aside.

Dust a clean surface with flour and press the meatloaf mixture into a rectangle about 1/2-inch thick. Lay spinach on meat in an even layer, within about a 1/2-inch of edge. Lay prosciutto slices on top of spinach. Lay carrots on top of prosciutto. Starting from a short edge, tightly roll meatloaf, jellyroll-style. Press edges together to seal.

Place a rack in a roasting pan and pour water into pan. Place thyme sprigs under rack. Place meatloaf on rack. Bake 45 to 60 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.


I have to say, for a first attempt and a pretty unique take on a classic, this was delish! It got a bit too brown on the outside and formed a drier, thicker crust than I would have liked, which leads me to believe I baked it a few minutes too long. (Although I also think I should have used a fattier beef - I picked sirloin, but something like ground round might have been a better choice.) On the inside, it was moist and tender and yummy! I really liked the addition of the spinach and carrots, but Bill wasn't a fan so I'll have to attempt an unstuffed version next time.

I matched my meatloaf up with mashed potatoes (of course!) and buttermilk biscuits. And here's a mashed potato trick I learned from Betty Crocker today: For garlic mashed potatoes, add 3 cloves of garlic to the pot while your potatoes are boiling, then just mash them along with the spuds when they're done!

While it's fresh in my mind, I'll add my buttermilk biscuits recipe, too. I actually got this recipe from my friend Irene, who sent it to me after seeing all of my cooking posts on facebook. I used to rarely take the time to make homemade biscuits, but this recipe has converted me! I make them ALL THE TIME because they're so good. They originally came from Taste of Home, but I like to call them ...

Irene's Famous Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup buttermilk

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (I used to do this with a fork, but on one of my recent Bed, Bath and Beyond shopping sprees I bought a pastry cutter. It's a good investment, trust me.)

Add buttermilk and stir until moistened and dough comes together. Turn out onto a floured surface and roll about 1/2-inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter, re-rolling scraps as necessary.

Baked on an ungreased baking sheet 10 to 12 minutes or until golden.


Once you try this recipe, you'll never make biscuits from a mix again. Enjoy!

Food Memories

Growing up, dinnertime was always the best time of day. In our house, a day didn't pass without all three of us sitting down to dinner together. And it wasn't a box of Hamburger Helper either. I'm not claiming that my mom was a master chef, but she's a damn good cook. I could rattle off dozens - maybe even hundreds - of meals my mom made that give me warm fuzzies now. But instead of doing that I'm going to try to pick my top 5 foods that bring back amazing memories.

5. Lasagna
My mom's lasagna isn't anything fancy - she doesn't even use ricotta cheese. It's nothing more than layers of her homemade meat sauce, noodles, mozzarella and parmesan. Kraft parmesan, at that. But there's something about this super simple recipe that is oh-so-good. I'm sure the magic is in the sauce. Or perhaps it's the way my dad always served it. If one of my friends was over for dinner, the 9x13-inch pan yieled an exact 4 servings. Very large servings.

4. Meatloaf
I've had a really intense craving for meatloaf lately, as you can probably tell from my multiple mentions of it. Part of this probably stems from my raging desire to prove to Bill that not all meatloaves (or is it meatloafs??) are created equal. He has this crazy notion that everyone bakes their meatloaf with ketchup on top, which is absolutely absurd to me. In fact, I didn't even know people did that until after I moved out of my parents' house. It's simply not a part of my mom's recipe. Her meatloaf is like a giant, plain meatball. Delicious.

3. Raisin Muffins
Admittedly, my mom's raisin muffins start with a base of Bisquick. As a rule, I limit my use of Bisquick because my baking skills are beyond that. But there is something so incredibly delicious about hot, flaky, raisin packed muffins (topped with melted margarine!) for breakfast. My mom made these on the weekends and I could have downed a whole pan. These are going on my to-do list on Saturday morning.

2. Italian Sausage and Fried Potatoes
You can probably see a trend developing - my mom's recipes are simple. So, no, she did not make her own Italian sausages. But this meal was one of my very favorites. She'd fry Italian sausages and serve them alongside VERY thinly sliced, pan-fried potatoes. They were just soft enough not to be chips, and just crispy enough to be chip-like. Hard to describe, but worth being recreated. Another memory that stands out about this meal: Italian sausage night equaled filet of sole night for my dad. I'm not sure what he had against sausage, but my mom and I definitely had something against fish.

1. Meatballs
I already waxed poetic about my mom's meatballs in Monday's post. But that's exactly what makes them my number one food memory. I can taste them just thinking about them. It's a recipe that came from my grandmother that everyone in my family has tried desperately to recreate. But my mom has been the only one successful. And I'm getting pretty close!

I'd include all of the recipes for the things listed above, but they don't actually exist in writing (well, maybe the raisin muffins do, but we'd have to check the back of a box of Bisquick!). That's the beauty of most of these dishes - they're the meals my mom made so often there was no recipe required!

As many of my friends can attest to, my mom always put on quite a spread ... and that wasn't just for company, it was an everyday occurrence! If you've ever wondered why I cook for an army when I host a dinner party for four, there's your answer.

One of the reasons making delicious, home-cooked meals is so important to me now is because Bill doesn't have these same kind of family food memories. I tease him that he had Cheez Whiz and Ritz Crackers for dinner as a kid, but he claims it was more like Hungry Man and Stouffer's :) I'm trying to make up for all of those frozen lasagnas now, so that dinner is more than just another meal.

I have so many more food memories to share. In fact, I should probably dedicate a post to my grandmother's recipes, as well! But in the meantime, I want to hear your food stories!