Friday, February 20, 2009

Sunday Breakfast


No recipe here. Just what I love to eat and drink on a Sunday morning.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Beef and Bacon Meatloaf


Oh, wow. I've never really liked meatloaf but this stuff is awesome. To Allen's credit, he made it and he follows recipes to a T so I hope when I get around to whipping it up some Sunday that I don't screw it all up. This isn't greasy (despite what you might think from the picture below) and it's moist and flavorful.

1 12-ounce red onion, coarsely diced
3 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 1/4 pounds ground beef (10% fat)
1/2 cup ketchup, divided
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
7 slices thick-cut bacon, 5 coarsely chopped, 2 halved crosswise
4 slices white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400°F. Blend onion and garlic in processor until onion is finely chopped. Transfer to large bowl; add beef, 1/4 cup ketchup, and next 3 ingredients.
Add chopped bacon and bread to processor. Using on/off turns, blend until bread is chopped. Scrape mixture into bowl with beef. Add parsley; stir gently to blend well. Transfer mixture to 9x5x3-inch metal loaf pan. Arrange bacon-slice halves crosswise atop meat, spacing apart and tucking edges down sides of loaf. Spoon remaining ketchup between bacon slices. Bake meatloaf until cooked through and meat comes away from sides of pan, about 1 hour. Let rest 10 to 15 minutes. Slide spatula under 1 end of meatloaf. Tilt pan; slide loaf out onto platter. Slice and serve.
(This is from Bon Appetite...I really need to re-subscribe because I got several great recipes out of last year's subscription!)

Bean and Swiss Chard Soup


I've tried some real stinker recipes lately (Pasta with Chicken, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Gorgonzola and Pine Nuts comes to mind, as does Scampi Fra Diavolo...meh) so this was a pleasant suprise. I found it on Epicurious.com which sometimes trips me up when I try and incorporate user reviews but I found a nice blend with the suggested changes and I've incorporated them in the recipe below. This is perfect with a grilled cheese sandwich.

1/2 pound (225 g) Swiss chard or kale, trimmed (I used Kale)
1 teaspoon coarse salt, plus additional to taste
2 flat anchovy fillets
1/4 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves or dried
1/3 cup (80 ml) olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1can white beans or drained and rinsed canned beans (I used Navy Beans)
4 cups (1 liter) chicken stock
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup (60 g) small shell macaroni
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Coarsely chop the chard. Very finely chop anchovies together with the rosemary.

In a medium saucepan, stir together the oil and garlic over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is pale gold, about 10 minutes. Stir in the anchovies, rosemary and chopped chard/kale and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring to thoroughly coat it with the oil. Stir in the beans. Cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the reserved cooking liquid and the stock. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and stir in the macaroni. Boil for 6 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Adjust the seasoning, if necessary.

Pass Parmesan cheese at the table.