Green Chili Meatloaf
2001-07-23 @ 12:57 a.m.
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To my knowledge, I have never made meatloaf the same way twice. I don't mean in a row, I mean in my life. But the girls got so excited about the meatloaf I made last night, I may have to try.
We welcomed Jake and Sara home last night. Actually, they got home yesterday morning in time for breakfast (we had a special bacon day for the occasion). But they were so tired from a very early flight and sleep deprivation caused by partying frat boys next door to where they were Saturday night, that breakfast was more of a time for sustenance to fill their bellies so they could sleep for the rest of the day. At supper they were a little more rested, and we heard more stories from their trip.
Meatloaf is such a homey, one might say comfort, food that it seemed perfect for the occasion. Especially with sides of mashed potatoes and green beans (from the garden). I had planned to make fried green tomatoes, but some critter stole almost all of our green tomatoes left on the vine (eight or nine of them). I knew I should have picked them sooner.
When I decide how to make meatloaf, I usually pull out the meat and the basics (eggs, tomato sauce or paste, bread crumbs, onions, celery, salt and pepper) and then decide what flavor I want to build around. This time I had a pablano chili pepper in the fridge that needed to be used. So I decided to make it with the pepper and ground cumin.
Here are the ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1 small to medium onion, chopped small
1 stalk celery, chopped small
about 3/4 cup bread crumbs
about 1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 eggs
1 green chili; roasted, peeled and chopped (or one small can chopped green chilis)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to your taste
ketchup and mustard
I use celery in meatloaf because my mother did. I think she did it as a way to hide vegetables in our food. But I like the celery in meatloaf so I still use it. I usually use Progresso bread crumbs (or Vigo - cheaper and just as good), although I have been known to toast and crumble my own. This time I used the tomato sauce I made from our garden tomatoes. I won't have that luxury much longer.
To roast the chili pepper, I cut the stem end off and held it over the flame of my gas stove with tongs. (But don't tell Badsnake or Jake lest they accuse me of trying to burn the house down.) The part of the peeling that turns black scrapes off easily. I just leave the rest of the peeling on. I read that roasting the peeling draws out the sugars in the pepper and makes it more flavorful (or something like that).
Mix everything together except the ketchup and mustard and put it in a loaf pan (sprayed with cooking spray if it isn't nonstick). I cooked it for about 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Then I mixed together about 1/2 cup total of ketchup and mustard (about 1/4 cup each). I drained the liquid off the top of the meatloaf (There's always liquid on top of my meatloaf that keeps it from crisping. Since I like the top to get a little crisp I try to get rid of it. Sometimes I have to spoon it off; sometimes I can just turn up the pan and let it run off into a little bowl.) Spoon the ketchup and mustard mixture on top of the meatloaf and spread it around. (Badsnake really likes the ketchup and mustard on meatloaf. I think this must be something her mother did that she liked. So I include this step at her request.) Put it back in the oven for another 30 minutes or so. I turned the heat up to 400 for about the last 15 minutes for more crispness.
I make mashed potatoes from actual potatoes. It isn't that hard, really. It just takes a little more time. To me it's worth it. Depending on the condition of my potatoes, I may or may not peel them. I like dirty mashed potatoes (with the peelings on - I do wash them). If I don't peel them, I just cut out any bad spots, chop them into small cubes and boil until the potatoes are soft. (Yesterday's potatoes had been around for a while, so I peeled them.) Drain the potatoes and mash them with butter, milk and salt. You have to be willing to eat a few potato lumps since I mash them by hand with a potato masher. I've tried using a ricer and I think it makes them too mushy. When I'm doing a meal like this, I usually start with the potatoes. When I get them on to start boiling, I start working on the meatloaf, when the meatloaf is in the oven, I can do the beans. If the potatoes get done before I'm ready to mash them I just let them sit in their water to stay warm until I'm ready for them.
Wine - We had Wit's End Shiraz with the meatloaf. It was a choice between that and a Rhone Valley Hermitage. Jake chose the Wit's End based on the name. It is an incredibly beautiful Shiraz from Australia. But it's also rather expensive. Any good full-bodied Shiraz or Rhone wine would have gone well with the meatloaf. The spiciness of the wine matches with the spiciness of the meatloaf.
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