"My Love Letter to Meatloaf"

Dearest Meatloaf,

                I would like to hereby apologize to you for not giving you the credit you deserve. I wanted you to know that I realize now how truly amazing your beefy goodness is. I would date you if I thought there was a chance you wouldn’t cheat on me.  

Thank you for the good times, the bad times, and for adding more minutes to my daily exercise regime.  You are worth it!

Might I also add, that my decision to wrap bacon slices around you is not the only reason that you are sexy, but it helps.

Thanks for doing what you do,

Julie

Speaking of wrapped in bacon,..This is me, driving down the road, dressed as bacon.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I wanted to post a recipe that would bring warmth to your heart. It’s more than the traditional Valentine’s surf n turf menu; it’s an old fashioned standby. Fancy food is like a new love, so exciting, fresh, and impressive. Then when the “newness “ fades , the REAL true love takes over. The love that is warm, comforting, unconditional, and accepts your obsession with late night cookbook reading while you watch Sex and the City reruns, and the fact that if the right song comes on, you will dance like an idiot

·         Caution: I write recipes the same way I teach guitar, with tons of details and notes, because every little secret and hint can help!

    

    Sexy  Meatloaf

                               

                                        It’s a hunk of burning love

        I adapted this recipe from a meatloaf recipe from "The Pioneer Woman", and from one of the greatest cooks in the world, Paula Meador. Her meatloaf converted me into a meatloaf lover, and after trying over a  thousand times, I still can't make it as good as her.

This would also be a good “base” recipe for..

1.       Meatballs- meatball subs on toasted bread with marinara sauce and melted provolone, spaghetti and meatballs, or in a crock-pot simmered in your favorite sauce as an appetizer for a Superbowl party

2.       Burgers or sliders- brush glaze over burgers when they are almost ready, to keep the sauce from burning

3.       My favorite…drum roll please…

      MEATLOAF SANDWICHES- Take leftover meatloaf slices, sandwich between grilled bread ( buttered and toasted in a skillet) and top with American cheese OR top with my favorite—LOADED MASHED POTATOES.  (your favorite mashed potato recipe with added shredded cheese such as cheddar, smoked cheddar, or pepperjack, crumbled bacon, and sliced green onions) Yes, I took it too far…

Okay here is a chef secret… very important, very worth the time….ready? 3…2…1….

                                      

                                              THE FAMOUS TESTER PATTY!!

When your mixture is ready to form into a loaf..STOP… take a tiny piece, press it into a patty, and COOK IT IN A SKILLET!! This is the only way you can test and make sure you have the right amount of salt and seasonings, and it is a quick preview of your masterpiece.  Please do this!! I will come over and do your dishes if you will do this.

Ingredients for loaf mixture:

2 pounds ground chuck

6-10 slices of bacon

4-6 slices of white bread, torn into pieces,  soaked in 2 cups of milk

3 tablespoons (or more) of Worcestershire

2-3 eggs, beaten

½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, add more if you are feeling extra Italian ( I keep a block in the fridge at all times , and grate with a microplane)

2 tablespoons fresh italian parsley, minced (please use fresh!)

1 large onion – small diced

I bell pepper- small diced

4 garlic cloves minced (reserve one clove for glaze)

¼ cup ketchup- your fanciest J

Salt and freshly ground pepper

And I use tons of either Lawry’s seasoning or my new standby-Tony Chachere seasoning mix! It’s special

                                              Amazing Glaze

                                           How sweet the sound

2 cups Ketchup

2 tablespoons Grey Poupon-   roll down your window at a stoplight and you might get lucky!

4 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons or more TABASCO sauce ( I use a tablespoon)

2-3 tablespoons Worcestershire

Salt and pepper

(your other half of  the sautéed bell pepper, onion, and garlic will be added here)

Directions:

 “Mise” (pronounced “meez”) out your ingredients. In chef terms this means -get all your ingredients out to save yourself some time!

1.         Sauté your bell pepper and onion in a little bit of butter (bacon grease works well here) until they have a little color, add garlic, and sauté another minute. take half of the mixture out and set it to the side.

2.       Grab a big bowl; take all your jewelry off since you will be using your hands for this, and send jewelry to me.

3.       Squeeze your moistened bread until most of the milk is out (don’t be too careful) and add bread to your bowl

4.       Add beef and the remaining ingredients of loaf mixture. (I "accidentally" poured some of the glaze mixture in the meatloaf also. I was a rebel with a cause.)

5.       How easy was that?

6.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and make your tester patty

7.       Taste taste taste!   Add more seasonings if needed… ( I always end up using a little garlic powder or onion powder here for more flavor. Don’t ask me why)

Glaze

1.       Add all ingredients to a small saucepan, and simmer gently until everything is melted together. This will be the color of love.

Here we go!

Form meat mixture into a loaf shape, and place on a FOIL LINED baking pan. (I don’t use a meatloaf pan because I want the entire meatloaf to get roasted with all that caramelized  flavor. A meatloaf pan is handy to shape your loaf in, and then you can flip it into your sheet pan, and look like a rockstar)

Cover meatloaf with bacon slices, tucking the bacon underneath the bottom of the loaf so it doesn’t curl up when it starts to crisp.  Spoon glaze over meatloaf, don’t be shy. Reserve the rest of  the warm glaze for serving, just  make sure not to cross contaminate by adding your raw meat spoon back into your sauce.

Bake in the oven at 350 for at least an hour- 1 ½ , depending on the size of your loaf. I like to make smaller loaves so it doesn’t have to cook as long, and I don’t have to wait as long to eat. Bake your meatloaf in individual portions in a muffin pan if you want.  It would be quick and easy that way.

--Serve with Over the top mashed potatoes, loaded mashed potatoes, potato puree (my favorite, just add extra milk to your mashed potatoes and you have a quick puree) and a green vegetable of choice. I love canned baby peas with bacon grease sautéed onion or shallots,or if I’m lucky enough to still have some, my Grandma’s canned green beans.

Love Peas and Bacon Grease,

Julie