We've been bugging for it for a very long time now. It's been about a year since we've last had Momma's Meat Loaf. Julie finally swayed Dan by playing the birthday card. Dan fell for it! It's very unfortunate, but Julie ended up being sick this evening as well as Toffer! Oh well - SUCKS to be them.
Dan's Menu:
Beer Bread
- Momma's Meat Loaf
- Scalloped Potatoes
- Corn
- White Cake with Old Fashioned Brown Sugar Icing
Beer Bread
This is one of those breads you get in a kit at Christmas Time. It comes in a bag and all you need to do is add a beer to it. The end result was a light crusty loaf with lots of flavor.
Momma's Meat Loaf (Mrs. Kostyra's Recipe - Yeah, Martha Stewart's Mother!)
Although many meatloaf recipes use just beef, you can add veal and pork for a more tender, juicier loaf. Use an ample amount of breadcrumbs, too -- not for frugality's sake, but to give the meatloaf its distinctive texture and prevent it from becoming too dense. To supplement your meatloaf, add finely chopped vegetables, which will lighten the texture and provide more flavor; try a combination of garlic, onions, carrots, celery, and parsley. Many recipes also call for ketchup, which lends a sweet and tangy taste to the finished meatloaf, while giving the meat a slightly rosy hue.
Ingredients
Serves 8 to 10
- 4 slices white bread, torn into pieces
- 2 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut into eighths
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 stalks celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup ketchup
- 3 teaspoons dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon coarse salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Directions
- Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place bread in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade; pulse until fine crumbs form. Transfer to a medium bowl, and add ground beef.
- Place onion, garlic, celery, carrots, and parsley in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade; pulse until fine. Add to meat mixture, using hands to mix well. Add egg, 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 teaspoons dry mustard, salt, and pepper; use hands to combine thoroughly. Place in an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-by-2 1/2-inch loaf pan.
- Combine remaining 1/2 cup ketchup, remaining teaspoon dry mustard, and brown sugar in a bowl; stir until smooth.
- Brush mixture over meatloaf; place in the oven with a baking pan set on the rack below to catch drippings. Cook until a meat thermometer inserted in the center reads 160 degrees, about 90 minutes. If top gets too dark, cover with foil, and continue baking.
Scalloped Potatoes a la Martha Stewart
This recipe for scalloped potatoes is from the April 1998 issue of Martha Stewart Living.
Ingredients
Serves 14 to 20
- 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced paper thin
- 3 cups milk
- 1 clove garlic
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 5 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees with a rack set in the lower third of oven. Combine sliced potatoes and milk in a large saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, and immediately reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until potatoes are just tender, about 3 minutes.
- Place a colander over a large bowl and drain potatoes, reserving milk. You should have 2 cups of thick, starchy milk. If potatoes have absorbed more than 1 cup of milk, add enough milk to bring the reserved milk volume to 2 cups.
- Rub a 3 1/2-quart oval baking dish with garlic and butter. Arrange sliced potatoes in the baking dish; season with salt and pepper. Dot with remaining butter and pour over reserved cooking milk and cream. Sprinkle cheese over top.
- Transfer baking dish to oven and bake until cheese becomes deep golden brown and milk has reduced and thickened, 80 to 90 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately.
Corn:
Frozen or Canned - Heat and serve as per package directions
White Cake with Old Fashioned Brown Sugar Icing:
Cake - Become great friends with Betty Crocker and simply follow the recipes on her box! Jude knows her quite well.. well at least her box!
Old Fashioned Brown Sugar Icing - All I can say is that his is an old family recipe. I can tell you that it's a boiled icing and very sweet. Marg, Dan's mother found it recently as she was perusing old family cookbooks. It's a gem and she surprised Dan with it not too long ago and Dan said it brought back memories of his Nanna!
As always, dinner did not disappoint any of us. The meat loaf was flavorful as always and Dan always add a bit of hot peppers to it to spice it up just a little bit as he tends to like it spicy! I helped myself to two servings of meatloaf since I've been deprived for so long! The potatoes turned out nicely. I'm sure Dan really appreciated the fact that I had a mandolin slicer and knew how to use it. Dan would still be slicing those potatoes into paper thin slices had I not come to the rescue. We had those suckers sliced thinly in no time. If you are going to get a Mandolin, I got mine at Williams Sonoma. Spend the money to get a good one, it's worth it and will save you lots of time prepping.
We watched the Biggest Loser! Oh the Drama! I thought the Green team was going to cut the Red Team.... Midgy has a temper! We all know were her daughter gets it. And if little Miss Red thinks she's pulling the wool over our eyes, we all know she's playing the game! I wonder why she lost so much weight this week and her husband only dropped 6 pounds.... Uh Huh - make that target on your back just that much bigger!
Well next week - It's Julie's turn! Nobody panic! We all have 911 on our speed dials! I'm wondering what she'll warn our tummies with!
