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Friday, October 31, 2008

Foodie Friday - But I Won't Do That

This has felt like such a serious week around here. I promise a little more light-heartedness next week. I would hate for y'all to think that I'm just all serious all the time.

But by know, I do hope you know that I am serious about food.

I'm also fairly serious about politics. And that mainly goes back to my being opinionated and, well, letting everyone and their DOG know my opinions.

But I recognize that you didn't come here today to get an ear-ful of my conservative ramblings, so... moving on.

Today's topic is a family favorite of ours. Meatloaf.


An enthusiastic bunch, are they not?

And I'm talking about meatloaf like this...

Not Meat Loaf, like this...


Meatloaf (the food) for some reason makes me think of "Americana." You know, gathering around the table for lunch on Sunday after church. The good ol' days.

Oddly enough, this is not a dish that my mom made with any regularity... or at all. But I LOVE IT!

Especially from Boston Market. Do you have those where you live? Oh, they make a good meat loaf and serve it with kind of a marinara tomato sauce on top. Yummy.

So I had, for a while been on the look-out for a good meat loaf recipe. Then my good friends at Cook's Illustrated came through for me a couple of years ago.

What's interesting about this recipe, is that it is all beef. Most meat loaf recipes are a combination of ground beef, pork and veal. But, recognizing that not all home cooks have access to all these types of meat from their local grocer, the cooking geniuses at Cook's Illustrated developed this recipe using all ground beef.

There are a couple of interesting and unexpected ingredients (like unflavored gelatin)... but trust me. They have their purpose and it is worth the effort to try this recipe.

The recipe is quite long, so I decided to not post it here as well. You can find it at my recipe blog... here.

What makes you think of what we picture as the "good ol' days?"

Oh, and Happy Halloween, y'all.

4 Comments:

elizabeth said...

Speaking of Boston Market meatloaf, I found a copycat recipe online and that's the one we've been using for a couple of years now. Love it!

Pam said...

The good ole days? hmmm... eating raw pie crust after my Mamaw cut the extra off the pie. YUM!

Kim said...

Yum! We love meatloaf, too, but my favorite is the meatloaf sandwich I have with the leftovers (licking my lips just thinking about it).

Back in the day we ate a lot of beans and cornbread. We was poor but I didn't care 'cause I loved "soup beans" :-)

Shortly after scoring my first real job at age 14, I spent almost an entire pay check on 80 lbs. (yes, you read that right, EIGHTY pounds) of dried pinto beans.

By the way, you gotta have a well seasoned cast iron skillet to make cornbread that's crusy on the outside and moist on the inside. Mmmmm, good! Guess I know what we'll be having for supper one night this week!

Donna @ Way More Homemade said...

Kim - I do agree... there's no more important tool in the kitchen than a well seasoned cast iron skillet.

Elizabeth - you gonna share that recipe?