Monthly Archives: February 2011

Meatloaf

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There are about as many different ways to make meatloaf as there are people to eat it.  Here’s how my family made meatloaf when I was growing up, and how I still generally make it today.

1 lb ground chuck

1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal

1/2  cup stuffing mix

1 tablespoon Worcester sauce

1/3 envelope onion soup mix

1 egg

Combine all ingredients.  Shape into a loaf.  Bake in a loaf pan at 350F for 1-1¼ hours.

I’m currently working my way through the new Good Housekeeping Cookbook and came across a Cajun style variation on meatloaf.  I took a cue from the ingredient list and added 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoons each of dried thyme, nutmeg, cayenne, and ground black pepper to my standard recipe.  If you enjoy spicy, you’ll probably like the result.

What do you put in your meatloaf?

Dishing on the Dish

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What do you look for in a cookbook?  I want to see more than just a list of ingredients.  For me, the most engaging cookbook is one with gorgeous photographs and a bit of narrative.  The science-geek in me can get totally sucked into anything from the folks at America’s Test Kitchen, who walk me through the entire process of refining and perfecting classic recipes.  Will an extra egg white make all the difference?  Maybe using cake flour instead of white?

This year I’ve noticed an upsurge in cookbooks that share family stories as an accompaniment to the recipes.  These anecdotes often give a sense of what the dish will taste like, serving suggestions, and a peek into the character of the recipe’s creator.  Sound appealing?  Then checkout some of these cookbooks:

In the Kitchen With a Good Appetite by Melissa Clark:  A New York Times columnist offers a collection of stories about food along with comments on her own experiences in making the 150 recipes that she presents, classifying the dishes into such categories as things with cheese, the farmer’s market, and my sweet tooth.

One Big Table by Molly O’Neill:  Presents a celebration of America’s culinary traditions that features such favorite recipes as Beacon Hill Chestnut Stuffing, Acadian Mussels, and California Avocado Soup.

The Pioneer Woman by Ree Drummond: The author shares homespun stories on adjusting to life on a ranch in the country and offers a number of recipes, including cowboy calzones, ribeye steak with whiskey cream sauce, Patsy’s blackberry cobbler, and Iny’s prune cake.

Southern Plate by Christy Jordan: The founder of SouthernPlate.com collects more than 125 recipes that have been passed down through several generations of her family, in a book that also includes the family stories behind the recipes and full-color photos.

Sugar Cookie Cutouts

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2/3 cup shortening

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

4 teaspoons milk

2 cups sifted flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Thoroughly cream shortening, sugar, and vanilla.  Add egg; beat until light and fluffy.  Stir in milk.  Sift together dry ingredients; blend into creamed mixture.  Divide dough in half.  Chill 1 hour.  On a lightly floured surface, roll to 1/8” thickness.  Cut in desired shapes with cutters.  Bake on greased cookie sheet at 375F for 6-8 minutes.  Cool slightly; remove from pan.

Makes 2 dozen.

Nutty Cream Cheese

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Recipes for cake are wonderful testaments to the generations of bakers before us. Most cake recipes have been handed down from great-grandmothers to grandmothers to mothers, and passed between friends and family.  The Nutty Cream Cheese Cake recipe is an award winning cake that my mother found in the newspaper, in the early seventies.  We have been making this rich cake, for special occasions ever since.   Bake this winner, then light the candles and sing!

Nutty Cream Cheese Cake

1 cup butter

2 cups Sugar

4 oz. cream cheese

4 eggs, separated

½ cup water

½ tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp. rum flavoring

1 cup buttermilk

½ tsp. salt

2 ½ cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Line 3 -8 inch pans or 2-9 inch cake pans with wax paper.  Cream butter, sugar and cream cheese together; add egg yolks one at a time; beating after each addition, add flavorings, water and buttermilk beat at medium speed until mixed.  Sift all dry ingredients together and add to mixture. Beat egg whites until stiff.  Fold in egg whites, and bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees.  This is a moist cake.  Frost with Butter Pecan Frosting.

Buttered Pecan Frosting

8 tsp. butter

4 oz. cream cheese

1 -2 Tbsp. evaporated milk

1 lb. 10x sugar

1 ½ cup pecans

Cream together 5 Tbsp. butter, cream cheese and 10X sugar.  Add milk to bring frosting to desired creaminess.  Brown pecans in 3 tsp. butter. Frost between each layer, and sprinkle with buttered nuts.  Frost the top of cake and sprinkle with nuts.