Monday, July 20, 2009

I was going to do a "Tonight's Menu" a week or so ago, but I was very unhappy with the way things were going. I made some Rainbow Trout and was having problems. Even though everything tasted alright, Jenny loved it, I was not happy so I just erased all of the photos. So here we are with what I made tonight, some yummy comfort food.

On Tonight's Menu: Meatloaf with Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Asparagus

I started with pulsing a box of Garlic & Cheese croutons in the food processor until rather smooth. Normally I would just use the garlic flavor but this was the closest I found at the store. It turned out to be a good thing.


Then I pulsed a chopped carrot, chopped onion, a few cloves of garlic, fresh black pepper, thyme, chili powder and cayenne. Usually all the dry herbs and such would go with the croutons, but I forgot. Oh well.


Onto to the meat! Most of the time I use a mixture of regular ground chuck and ground sirloin, but I was at Whole Foods and they didn't have the sirloin. Yes, I could have them grind some sirloin but I didn't want to wait. What they did have was ground buffalo. I thought that might be pretty tasty, so that is what I got.


After everything is combined you can either put it into a loaf pan and then turn it out onto a parchment lined sheet pan, or if you don't have a loaf pan, like me, then just form it into a loaf on the pan.


Once your meatloaf is in a 325º oven you can make the sauce. Just whisk together some ketchup, Heinz 57, worcestershire, Tabasco, cumin and honey.


Ten minutes after the meatloaf has been in the oven slide it out and baste with the sauce. It is also a good idea to put a probe thermometer in and set the alarm for 155º. You want to put the probe at an angle about halfway into the loaf.


When the alarm goes off pull the meatloaf out of the oven, remove the probe and baste on a little more sauce. You should also cover loosely with foil and let the meat rest for about five minutes. ALWAYS REST YOUR MEAT!


Once all is said and done you are ready to plate. I served with some great sour cream mashed potatoes and some steamed asparagus.


If I had anything to do over again I would blanch the asparagus and drop it into an ice bath instead of steaming. No big deal, everything tasted wonderful and there are plenty of leftovers for a meatloaf sandwich tomorrow. Yea! Fulci even had a great time licking the plates. He looks a bit like a giraffe, don't you think?


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