The Challenge
This week's challenge included truffled mashed potatoes and this one, 1770 House Meatloaf, which you can find here or on page 129 of Foolproof. Again, props to Mary for good planning because who doesn't eat mashed potatoes with their meatloaf?!
Lea's Take:
Man, I hate meatloaf. You know, a big hunk of meat in the shape of a loaf isn't the most appetizing. This was one of our mother's staple weeknight meals because a) it's pretty easy to make and b) my dad LOVES meatloaf. As a matter of fact, now that we're all out of the house and my mom doesn't have to cook as often, I think this is one of the only things she does make anymore. Hers is a classic take on the meatloaf, with the ketchup on top. There were also a bunch of onions in there that I would pick out one by one and then douse in A-1 to mask the flavor. Ah, memories.
Anyway, all that is to say I don't make meatloaf at our house. The kids actually like it (mom's), but it's just one of those things I won't make if I don't have to. But, apparently, I had to, so here we are.
Mary had made the 1770 House Meatloaf a couple months back, before we started this challenge. Again, I wasn't impressed with the loaf of meat. [Mary: Hey, thanks.] [Lea: Yeah, sorry. But your presentation was great, as were all the sides!] I took the smallest piece I could (probably an end piece because they're the best) and loaded up on the side dishes.
But, I thought, hey, I signed up for this challenge, let's make a loaf of meat!
The recipe calls for 3 POUNDS of meat (3! for 4 people! [Mary: it's meant to feed 6-8, but whatever.] [Lea: That's still 2 pounds of meat per person. Insane.]): a pound of ground beef, a pound of ground veal, and a pound of ground pork. Actually, our vanilla grocery store had a pound of what was called a "meatloaf mix" which had all 3 types of meat. I seriously considered just buying that so I didn't have pounds of leftover meatloaf, but, instead, decided to play by the rules. [Mary: When I made this for us in the fall, I did have to buy the meatloaf mix because they didn't have the veal. Or was it the pork? I can't remember. But, see, they don't tell you what percentage of each you're getting when you buy the mix. I don't like it one bit. Thanks for playing by the rules.]
You're welcome.
OK, so, the recipe has you heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat to cook the onion and celery for a bit until the onion is translucent "but not browned" (mine browned a little - oops). Then you're supposed to set aside to cool.
Next, mix the beef, veal, pork, parsley, thyme, chives (which I didn't have and probably wouldn't have used anyway if I did), 3 eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. It also said to use Mary's workhorse to finely grind the panko. I was bad on time management, so Josh did that part for me (thanks, honey!). Then you add the onion mix and panko to the meat and, using "clean hands" (boy, I sure am glad she said that in the recipe!), mix it all together (which, I'm sure will come as no surprise to anyone, was my least favorite part).
OK, here's where I got confused and thought a video would've helped. The recipe says, "Pat the meat into a flat rectangle and then press the sides in until it forms a cylinder down the middle of the pan." I got the meat into a flat rectangle and then sat there looking at it for a minute, trying to figure out what the heck Ina meant. And then the lightbulb went off, "Aha!" and I gathered up the sides of the meat rectangle and put them underneath. I feel like she could've explained that better, but what do I know? I had a cylinder in the end and that's all that mattered. Then bake for 40-50 minutes.
But here's the best part (which, I might add, Mary didn't offer when we had this the first time) (and I can't believe I'm going to say this) [Mary: I can't either]... this meatloaf comes with a delicious garlic sauce! And it was more complicated than the loaf of meat!
To make, you put 10 (10!) cloves of garlic into a pot with oil and brown slightly. Then you take chicken stock, butter, and the cooked garlic and boil for 35-40 minutes. Again, I was really bad with time management on this one. I thought once the meatloaf was in the oven, I had a few minutes to clean up and drink my wine, but guess what? I didn't.
At any rate, the garlic sauce was a nice mask to the meatloaf, just like A-1 was to me when I was a kid.
Mary's Take:
I thought that since I had made this in the fall, I'd be ahead of the challenge and could skip cooking it this time, but, as I went over my notes, I couldn't remember what they meant...so there I was, making it again!
I mean, I like this meatloaf (no disrespect to my mama's recipe), so I didn't mind making it a second time. But I'm with Lea, meatloaf isn't my favorite. In fact, other than meat sauce...and meatballs...and restaurant hamburgers (but not homemade)...ground meat meals aren't my fave. Stuffed peppers? No, thanks. Hamburger Helper-style food? [Lea: Oooh, Hamburger Helper!] Ugh.
This time, though, I made the garlic sauce I apparently omitted last time (surely because I knew Lea and her family wouldn't want it) [Lea: Uh, Mr. Good Eater would've!]. I had a little trouble with it, though. As Lea said, first you brown the garlic in olive oil
Here was the error: I halved the recipe for the sauce because I also halved the recipe for the meatloaf, using 1 cup of chicken stock vs. the 2 called for in the recipe and it boiled down too quickly. So then I added more stock to make more sauce, but didn't take the time to brown the garlic again.
By the time it did its slight thickening, it was down to a very little amount. Like, enough for 2 slices of meatloaf. Too bad.
The Verdict
Lea: Like I said, meatloaf meh, garlic sauce mmm.
Josh: It was great. I could drink the sauce. And then the next day, he said: It is even better the second day.
Mr. Good Eater: This has no taste. Aaaand this is when I had two thoughts: 1) OMG, he has COVID! (Which he didn't.) and 2) OMG! I forgot to add salt to the meat! (Which I did.) [Mary: Good gravy, we still have a loooong way to go.]
(sigh)
Mr. Picky Pants: Yiayia's is better.
(double sigh)
PS. It took 3 days to rid the garlic smell from my house.
Mary: I do think the meat mixture is one of the better recipes I've made. John dreams about his mother's meatloaf and he said this is even better. What little sauce we had was great, even if it was a bit light on the garlic flavor. This will become my go-to recipe...but I'll make sure to make the entire batch of sauce.
Oh, and don't forget, feta goes with everything.