Home Sweet Home

I love traveling, but I also miss the comforts of home. Especially my kitchen. The timing of this trip wasn't amazing though, because we got back just in time for the New Year. Which means my usual prep work for Rosh Hashanna has gone right down the toilet. No fancy holiday feast for us. And there's so much going on with my family right now there's no fancy holiday feast for them either. And for any of you who have any Jewish friends, you'll know that there is no holiday without a fabulous meal. We're postponing our fabulous meal until this weekend, and enjoying it with friends, in our home.

Instead of wowing you with a harvest feast to end all harvest feasts, I'll send you over to Cara, who is sure to have something droolworthy posted soon. Here however, I'll leave you with one of Thatboy's favorite meals. Meatloaf.

Personally, I've never been a meatloaf fan. I think it's the combination of the name and the concept. I mean...a loaf....of meat.... Really, it's not that different from a hamburger, except for the loaf shape, right? But for some reason it's just not my thing. So as usual, I avoid making it for as long as I can. When I do make it, I tend to make a turkey meatloaf, which to me is a little more appetizing (again, I can't explain this). While Thatboy originally balked at the idea, he's actually grown to love and defend turkey meatloaf.

Based upon a discussion I had on my cooking board, I thought I would try a different kind of meatloaf. The lovely and talented women told me that a lot of meatloaf mixes combine three different meats - ground beef, ground pork, and ground veal. Each meat is supposed to contribute a different attribute to the meatloaf (flavor, tenderness, color, etc. etc. etc.) I figured I'd give it a whirl. But there is one aspect of the meatloaf which I just can't veer from. Thatboy will put up with all my variations as long as there is a ketchup crust on top, so you can see the beautiful red cover of this meatloaf.

For me, this meatloaf was good and very flavorful, but it's still a meatloaf in all it's glory. Thatboy liked this a lot. But he does love his meatloaf. The funny thing is, even though he liked this, he told me he prefers my turkey meatloaf! L'Shana Tova everyone.

Meatloaf

• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
  
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 lb. ground pork
  
• 1/2 lb. ground veal
  
• 8 oz. tomato sauce
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup ketchup

1. Preheat to 350. Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery and garlic and sauté 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs and milk, stir until blended and let stand for 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add the onion-celery mixture to the breadcrumb mixture and stir until blended.
   
4. Add the beef, pork, veal, tomato sauce, and egg and fold together gently until blended.
   
5. Transfer the mixture to a loaf pan. Spread the ketchup evenly over the top. Bake 1 1/2 hours.

Serves 6.
Each serving has:

Calories		475.4
Total Fat		30.1 g
	Saturated Fat	11.1 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	2.2 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	13.5 g
Cholesterol		166.7 mg
Sodium		516.6 mg
Potassium		694.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate		13.9 g
	Dietary Fiber	1.4 g
	Sugars	4.1 g
Protein		35.5 g