| | OPEN: JANUS FILE #0269
Recently, I've been turning my kitchen into a mad scientist's laboratory again. This time, however, the results of my experimentation shouldn't leave my friends looking at me as though I have been doing the culinary equivalent of trying to discover Things That Man Was Not Meant To Know. Probably not, anyway.
I haven't been trying to find new ways to violate the laws of physics with the amount of chocolate I can put into a chocolate chip cookie. I've been doing something a little more mundane this time.
I've been playing around with a meatloaf recipe.
I think I may have mentioned this before, but I learned some time ago that I have a particular gift when it comes to cooking. I can visualize a recipe in my head, juggling various ingredients, and have a very good idea of what the end result should be before I ever step into the kitchen. Most of the time, the first attempt the first attempt turns out pretty damn close to how I visualize it, if not hitting my mental image right on the mark.
This particular meatloaf recipe was inspired by, believe it or not, an episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The episode was "Doublemeat Palace," which had Buffy getting a job at a fast food restaurant called (drumroll, please) Doublemeat Palace. They specialized in sandwiches that combined beef and chicken into a single patty.
[Sidenote: From what I remember reading, Sarah Michelle Gellar really liked the hat that was part of her Doublemeat Palace uniform. Unfortunately, she didn't get too many other opportunities to wear it. For some reason, various fast food chains were less than enthusiastic about advertising on a series they saw as parodying them, so there were only a few other references to Doublemeat Palace after that. We now return you to our regularly scheduled Janus File . . . ]
As you may have already deduced, this particular meatloaf uses two kinds of meat. I've played around with different combinations, and so far, all of them have tasted pretty good.
Most meatloaf recipes that I've seen have called for breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs as a binder. I decided to use something a little different. I don't remember where I saw it, but years ago, I saw a cooking hint that suggested using rolled oats as a binder. I tried it, partly because I was curious, but also because I didn't want to waste time turning bread or crackers into breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs. I also seem to remember seeing a suggestion of using crushed cornflakes or Wheaties, but again, there is the matter of crushing the cereal. If you really have your heart set on using breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs (or whatever other binder you prefer), feel free to do so.
Without further ado, I present today's recipe.
DOUBLEMEAT PALACE MEATLOAF
Ingredients:
Meat -- choose two of the following:
1 to 1-1/2 lb. Ground Beef
1 to 1-1/2 lb. Ground Turkey
1 to 1-1/2 lb. Bulk Sausage (choose your favorite sausage)
1 to 1-1/2 lb. Ground Lamb
1 to 1-1/2 lb. Ground Chicken
1 to 1-1/2 lb. Ground Moose
. . . or whatever other ground meat you prefer.
2 Eggs
3/4 cup Rolled Oats
Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Place the meats, eggs, and oats in a large bowl. With your hands (Wash them first!), squish everything together until well blended.
3. Wash your hands, then add whatever seasonings you like. I rarely add the same combination of seasonings twice. A few things I almost always use are soy sauce, garlic, dry mustard, and lemon pepper. If you're using a particularly spicy sausage, like a chorizo, you might not need any additional seasoning. But let your own tastes and preferences be your guide.
4. Once you've added the seasonings, squish everything together again. (I do it this way to make sure everything is thoroughly blended.)
5. Place the mixture in a 1.5 quart loaf pan. Cook for 60 minutes.
This should serve four. (Hey, I'm single, and I cook for myself.) I can get about four or five meals out of one meatloaf. This does make great sandwiches the following day.
CLOSE: JANUS FILE #0269 |
| | Posted 9/8/2008 4:58 PM - 89 Views - 8 eProps - 6 comments
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