Meatloaf & Mash

I've neglected this blog. Somehow, I just wasn't inspired to cook or post. Plus lots of travel got in the way. Hope this is the beginning of resurrecting this site. And here goes...



I was watching FoodTV two days ago. In it, Ina Garten was feeding some guys fixing a windmill. The food was good and easy. To date, I've only made meatloaf, if I remember correctly, once. This is my second try and I love her recipe. Granted, it's more laborious than the usual meatloaf but it's so worth the trouble.

The original recipe for meatloaf is here and the one for the buttermilk mash is here.

I did a little tweaking on the meatloaf --

1. I used lean ground sirloin instead of turkey (I've had turkey meatloaf before and I still like the texture of the beef version).
2. I added lots of sliced white mushrooms to the sauteed onions
3. I used homemade bread crumbs (only because I have 2-day old baguettes so I just cubed them then threw them into the food processor)
4. I added a bit more Worcestershire sauce (it tasted a lot better - with a kick!)
5. I placed them in loaf pans (and only because I hate the mess afterwards -- this recipe yields 2 loaf pans; I also tried to get fancy and half of the mixture was put in individual tiny loaf pans for better presentation.)
6. I put a pan of water in the oven so the tops of the loaves will stay moist and not cracked.
   

I didn't mess with the buttermilk mashed potatoes recipe much except to use a fork for mashing (easier and less to wash) and I had to add a bit more salt and pepper. It was so good and creamy. By the way Ina said never to use a food processor for mashing as it will make it chewy. Whatever that means.