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By Katie Blocher
Growing up, meals at my house were, well, meals. There was always food on the table, and I am consciously thankful to my parents for that. They provided my sister, brother and I more than a lot of families have, but when comparing family meals to the food I work with and eat today, the dishes served at home often seem downright funny. Please enjoy.
My family was a big advocate of the boxed meal: Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and all its powdered glory (often accompanied by sliced hot dogs), Hamburger Helper—just add meat—and the ever-popular Rice-A-Roni, “The San Francisco Treat.” To be honest, these were some of my favorites.
On a good week there was a casserole to be enjoyed over and over again as ever so healthy microwavable leftovers. Chicken and broccoli—a gelatinous combination of cream of Campbell’s mushroom soup, overcooked chicken breast and under seasoned broccoli florets; Turkey Tetrazzini—dark meat picked from the bone, a jar of Cheese Whiz (yikes!) and leftover spaghetti noodles; and of course, in true budget-friendly fashion, Tuna Surprise—canned tuna, something creamy, a mystery vegetable and noodles (bow tie if we were lucky).
One of my parents’ favorites was stuffed peppers—whole green peppers packed with shredded ham and white rice. In Southern culture this is a common dish, usually served with cheese and tomato sauce, but I’m from Maryland, which is not quite the South, so this version was not quite right. The mealy filling was dry and salty and reeked of the overcooked green pepper that surrounded it. The pepper itself was blistered and artificial tasting from an over-generous dousing of PAM. Luckily, I was never sure quite how to tackle the beast (spoon out the filling? cut the whole thing fork-and-knife style?), therefore I consumed very little of the “Southern favorite.” To this day cooked peppers are one of my least favorite vegetables and I rarely order anything stuffed.
And then there’s the meatloaf, oh, the meatloaf—a grey combination of ground beef, egg and breadcrumbs. The creation was presented to the family like an offering to a royal court—my mother’s most proud creation. Petrified in appearance, the beef was laced with chunks of still crunchy onion, slices of celery and near-raw red peppers. The only solution to stomaching this meat formation was ketchup, and lots of it!
In my last blog, I wrote about recently moving into a new apartment with a kitchen comfortable for cooking. It’s been my goal to cook dinner for myself at least three times a week, and of course I’m working to improve some of my childhood meals. Last night was meatloaf.
Meatloaf
Yields 6-8 servings
Ingredients
½ lb. ground beef
½ lb. ground veal
½ lb. ground pork
2 medium onions, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 Tbsp. dried thyme
1 Tbsp. fresh basil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 eggs
1/3 c. ketchup
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
¼ c. milk
1 c. Panko bread crumbs
Salt
Black Pepper
Method
Position rack in center of oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, garlic, salt, basil, thyme, and black pepper. Cook, stirring, until the onions are soft and lightly golden, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, use your hands to combine the ground beef, pork and veal.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce, and whisk to combine. Add the egg mixture to the meat mixture along with the cooled vegetables and bread crumbs and mix.
Transfer the mixture to a sheet pan covered with parchment paper. Using your hands, form the mixture into a rounded loaf shape.
Bake the meatloaf for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until hot in the center.
Slice to serve and enjoy a delicious meatloaf while making fun of the one that your mom used to make.
What I’m:
Reading: Push by Sapphire
Eating: Meatloaf
Drinking: Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc
Watching: LOST, season 6
Listening to: Katy Perry Unplugged
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