As with every dinner I make, the first ingredient is always wine. Whether it's in your glass... or on the stove. For this particular night, a cabernet glaze was going on the meatloaf... and a pre-dinner Riesling was in my glass. Two-fer is always better than one!
Since the theme for the weekend was rain... I decided that comfort food was on the menu Friday night.
This meatloaf is not your '50s style loaf. It is also not from Alice's Brady Bunch kitchen. It is, in a word, fantabulous.
This is also something that the kids love. With cheeks full, my eldest mumbled, nodded his head vigorously and stabbed the loaf on his plate as if he were afraid it might run off, "MMMmmmmm MOM!"
Meatloaf with Cabernet Glaze
I got this recipe from my current recipe bible, Food & Wine Cookbook 2009, and because I'm ornery, changed it. Only slightly, and only to please my husband, who wanted a "real meat", not "baby meat" meatloaf.
The recipe called for ground veal, lamb and pork. Two "baby meats" and one sort-of-not-so-manly-meat. So, I replaced the lamb (sorry, Gary) with ground beef. I have made a similar recipe with the lamb, and it was divine. So you make your own choice here. Lamb is incredibly rich and heady, so if you want a fancy, even more fantastic meatloaf, that is the meat to use.
What You'll Need for a Night of Comfort:
3/4 lb ground beef (or lamb if you are dressing to impress)
1/2 lb ground veal
1/2 lb ground pork
-1 whole onion, diced
-4 minced garlic cloves
-olive oil (recipe called for sauteing onion in butter, but I prefer olive oil)
-1/2 cup milk
-1 cup breadcrumbs
-2 eggs (recipe called for one), whisked together in a small bowl.
-2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
-2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
-pinch of cayenne pepper
-pinch of nutmeg
-2 teaspoons salt
-3 teaspoons pepper
-3/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Saute the onion and garlic until transparent, put in a large mixing bowl. Add all of the above ingredients, and get your fingers dirty (my daughter loves "mushing the meaties") mixing it all together with the ground meat.
Mound into a roasting pan (9 x 9 or so) and put into a 350 degree oven. Set timer for 30 minutes, then baste top with the Cab Glaze (ingredients below) Bake until internal temp reaches 150.
Cabernet Glaze
If you like a nice saucy meatloaf, make twice
as much, and you'll have enough for sauce
-1 1/4 cups red wine (I used Cab)
-1/4 ketchup (called for sugar, but with the molasses it is too sweet)
-1 tomato, finely chopped (I used diced tomatoes from a Trader Joe's can)
-1 teaspoon unsulfured molasses
-pinch of allspice
In a saucepan, put all of the ingredients, and bring to a slow boil while meatloaf is cooking for reduction and thickening. When sauce starts to thicken, put it on a small burner and simmer on low.
When your 30 minute timer goes off, baste the top of the meatloaf with some of the glaze
Continue cooking until temp is 150.
Serve with:
Asparagus Risotto
(Trader Joe's frozen section)
Busy Moms don't have time for scratch
Risotto on a week night, for cryin' out loud!
Spinach, Pear & Rogue Creamery Blue Cheese Salad (Next Post!)
Cabernet!
No comments:
Post a Comment