I still want to make American classic food during this week, but I tend to use the stove and oven rather than the grill. For our homey supper last night, I made meat loaf with roasted garlic mashed potatoes, and a lemon poppy-seed cake with strawberries.
I have been making this meat loaf recipe from The Silver Palate "New Basics" cookbook for years. I love it because it has a lot of vegetables in it, and is not too heavy on the breadcrumbs. I've adapted the ingredients to make it easier to read (i.e. 3 carrots, instead of 1/2 cup carrots). I also add some sort of topping, like tomato sauce or salsa, on top, which is not in the original recipe. For my topping last night I used Stonewall Kitchen's Farmhouse Relish, which added a nice brightness and kick to the dish, and complimented the chopped peppers in the meat loaf. It makes a lot, so there will be leftovers for meatloaf sandwiches, or a delicious shepherd's pie, the next day! The recipe for Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes is my own.
Market Street Meat Loaf
- 3 T. unsalted butter
- 1/2 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 bunch scallions, finely diced including 3 inches of green
- 3 carrots, peeled finely diced
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- 1/2 large red bell pepper, cored and finely diced
- 1/2 large green bell pepper, cored and finely diced
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- Salt, to taste
- 1 t. ground black pepper
- 1/2 t. ground white pepper
- 1/4 t. cayenne
- 1 t. cumin
- 1/2 t. nutmeg
- 3 eggs, well-beaten
- 1/2 C. ketchup
- 1/2 C. half and half
- 2 lbs. lean ground chuck
- 12 oz sausage meat
- 3/4 C. bread crumbs
- Melt the butter in a large pan, add all of the vegetables including the garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the moisture from the vegetables has evaporated (about 10 min). Set aside to cool and then refrigerate for about 1 hour.
- In a large bowl, combine the salt, 2 peppers, cayenne, cumin, nutmeg and eggs in a mixing bowl and beat well. (I use a small wire wisk). Add the ketchup and half and half and blend thoroughly.
- Add the chuck, sausage, and bread crumbs to the egg mixture. Then add the chilled vegetables. Mix thoroughly with your hands, kneading for 5 minutes.
- With damp hands, form the mixture into a large oval resembling a long loaf of bread.
- Place the meat loaf inside a baking dish, and place the dish inside a larger pan. Pour boiling water into the larger pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the baking dish.
- (my addition) Spoon or pour tomato sauce, salsa or ketchup along the top of the meat loaf
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 35 to 40 min.
- Remove the baking dish from the water bath and let the meat loaf rest for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- 8-9 medium sized red skinned potatoes (use more or less depending on size)
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 C. half and half
- Lawry's Garlic Salt
- salt and pepper, to taste
- Meanwhile, separate the cloves of garlic and place on a sheet of tin foil, with the skins on. Add about a teaspoon of olive oil and fold up to make a little packet. Place in the oven (350-375 degrees) for about 15 minutes, until very fragrant.
- Put the potatoes in a bowl (skins still on), and squeeze the soft garlic cloves until they come out of their skins, into the bowl. Using a potato masher, mash to incorporate.
- Add butter and continue to mash until melted
- Add half and half, Garlic Salt, salt and pepper, and continue to mash until creamy
