Secret Ingredient Meatloaf

Meatloaf

Remember recently when I announced my mission to find the perfect meatloaf recipe? Well, my first foray into the land of the loaf is going to be hard to top. My internet friends, Juan Garcia & Laetitia Bertrand, turned me on to this meatloaf and its secret ingredient. Want to know what it is? Of course you do. It's prunes! Or, if you don't want to admit to cooking with prunes in front of your kids, adopt the industry's new lingo and call them dried plums.

Whatever you call them, I'm convinced that they're responsible for making this meatloaf world class. Well, that and the chopped bacon that goes in as well. This is seriously good stuff.

I was on my laptop writing while Shane was eating, and I kept getting distracted. After a bit, I realized that Shane was moaning intermittently and involuntarily.

The conversation went:

Do you know that you're moaning?

Mm?

You're moaning.

Mm.

Maybe I'll dub this Moan-Worthy Meatloaf. But again, what's in a name? All that matters is that you make it.

*Note* Next time I'll chop my vegetables a bit finer to avoid the speckled loaf look, but other than that, I wouldn't change a thing. Neither would Shane.

Secret Ingredient Meatloaf. Enjoy!

Meatloaf sandwich with tater tots

Gladys' (Nanny's) Famous Brownies with Fudge Frosting

Nanny's Original Brownie Recipe with frosting!

I had the pleasure of getting to know Meredith Crandell online for quite a while before meeting her in real life. So, when we finally did meet, I was prepared for her to be pretty (such beautiful skin!) and vivacious and even funny, but I wasn't prepared for her to be as freaking hilarious as she is. It's one thing to read someone's tweets and think they're funny, but it's another thing to witness their perfect comedic timing in action. I came home from her house thinking that she missed her calling as a comedian or comic actress, but at least she works with kids, so I know her hilarity won't go unappreciated.

Meredith is also incredibly nice. So nice, in fact, that when I lamented ever finding a great brownie recipe, she shared her Nanny's famous recipe with me and even gave me permission to post it here. I could not be more grateful. And Shane, the brownie lover in our house, is really grateful. These brownies are awesome, certainly among the finest I've ever had, and definitely better than any recipe I've made at home. Did I mention that there's frosting?

Thank you so much, Meredith. You are one of those bright, shining people who make everything around them just a little more special. I bet you got that from your Nanny. So, we're grateful to her for that, too.

And without further ado:

Gladys’ Original Recipe for Brownies

Melt one stick of real butter with 5 tablespoons cocoa. 

Mix all of the following ingredients together with the butter/cocoa mixture: 

2 eggs,

1 cup sugar,

½ teaspoon of salt,

½ teaspoon of baking powder,

1 teaspoon vanilla, 

and ¾ cups flour 

Add nuts if desired (Meredith uses pecans and breaks them up a bit). 

Gladys didn't specify a pan size, but Meredith uses the original pan, and she said: I compared it to my 8x8 square dish. It's that same width and just two or three inches longer.

To make things even easier, I tried the brownies in my 8X8" square dish, and that worked great.

Cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them though; you don’t want them to get too done. Depending on your stove, you may want to cook them for just a bit longer. 

Frost with fudge frosting made of: 

1 cup sugar,

2 tablespoons cocoa,

1/3 cup milk 

Bring to soft boil. Don’t stop stirring. 

Here’s the tricky part. You know when the icing is done when you can drop some of the icing in a cup of luke-warm water and the drop stays intact.

(Mary's note: Or just insert a candy thermometer and let the mixture reach 235-240 degrees. This is known as the soft ball stage in candy making.)

Once it’s done, add ¼ stick of butter and ½ teaspoon of vanilla. 

Let frosting cool, then beat until creamy.

Meredith says: I let the frosting cook while the brownies bake so everything is ready about the same time. And that’s it!

Gladys Jewel Martin Wiggins

Gladys Jewel Martin Wiggins was born in Cameron, Texas in 1926. Just like her Czech and Polish mother, Gladys was an amazing cook. As a kid, for me, the best part of my birthday was getting to pick which home cooked meal my nanny would bake for me. But nothing compared to her amazing brownies. To this day, I have never tasted another brownie that even comes close to comparison. Her youngest son, my Uncle Mark, said that if she just put her brownie recipe on her tombstone, people would come from all over the world to do a rubbing. After my nanny passed away, I decided to keep her tradition alive. I tackled her tricky brownie recipe, and after a year of practice mastered it. Anytime my family visits me, I'll make nanny brownies, which they claim taste just like hers, and we reminisce about the past. My nanny was one of my very favorite people in the world. She was smart as a whip, hilarious, independent, head strong and stubborn. With every bite of these brownies, I still feel her love. -Meredith Crandell

Pot roast with potatoes and carrots

Roast with potatoes and carrots

It doesn't get much better than waking up to the smell of a roast cooking, which is why I like this Slow Cooker Pot Roast recipe. You can use homemade mushroom soup instead of canned, if you like. And beef bouillon with dried onions could replace the dry onion soup mix. Whatever you do, though, don't forget to throw in one or two bay leaves. Roast just isn't roast without bay leaves, in my opinion.

For the potatoes and carrots, you can either roast them separately to avoid discoloration, or you can throw them into the slow cooker a few hours before the roast is set to be ready. They'll taste great either way.

Enrique (Henry) Valdez's Gumbo

Enrique (Henry) Valdez's Famous Gumbo

I know the best people. My beautiful friend from high school, Cindy Valdez Manus, shared a portion of her father's famous gumbo with me over the holidays. Apparently, Enrique (Henry) Valdez, has all kinds of kitchen skills. He also sent me some homemade venison tamales that I'll blog about later.

Just look at this gumbo. And as good as it looks, I swear that it tastes even better. I've never had the knack for making great gumbo, so I'm always impressed when others pull it off. What strikes me most about Henry's gumbo is how deeply satisfying it is on every level, with a round, rich mouthfeel, just a hint of spiciness, the perfect amount of salt, which can be tricky when using sausage, and a nice balance between meats and vegetables.

Now I'm going to have to learn how to make gumbo, because I'm hooked! Or maybe Henry will start selling gumbo as a cottage industry. I'd buy it all the time. :)

A huge thanks to Henry Valdez for giving me a warm and cozy meal that was much needed on a winter night. Through your food, so lovingly prepared, your affection for your family is obvious. Everyone should have such a father!

By the way, I cooked up some Texmati rice to go with the gumbo. I also made a gremolata of parsley and raw garlic as a condiment. Props, too, to The Chickpea Chickadee, as I unabashedly stole her gumbo presentation for my photo. Remember, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

Grilled Cheese with Roasted Tomatoes and Pancetta

Grilled Cheese with Roasted Tomatoes and Pancetta

With Christmas finally behind us (Phew!) it's time to buckle down again and focus on losing some of this holiday pudge. I see many salads and light meals in my future, but honestly, it's a relief to get a break from all the sweets and heavy dishes. 

Needless to say, this sandwich isn't one of those lighter meals. Back around Thanksgiving, I tried to recreate 24 Diner's much lauded grilled cheese with roasted tomatoes, and managed to make a darned fine copy.

It's called M's Grilled Cheese on the menu, and it's described as: Sourdough, cheddar, fontina, and roasted tomato.

I bought sourdough wheat bread, roasted a few Romas rubbed with olive oil and salt, used sharp cheddar and fontina, then I also added some crispy cooked pancetta to satisfy Shane's request for meat. The result was a simple and satisfying meal for a cozy night in. Next time, I might add some other grilled vegetables or maybe even a little olive tapenade. Roasted garlic would be nice, too.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. Here's to a new year full of wonderful possibilities.

Split Pea Soup

Split Peas

I'm a soup fanatic. To me, it's the ultimate food, a symbol of home, comfort, and safety, yet also economical, easy to make, and often quite healthy. What's not to love?

I'm a fanatic of kid's movies, too, and lately I've been obsessed with Richard Hartley's soundtrack for this flawed but fun version of Alice in Wonderland. (It's available to Watch Instantly on Netflix, if you're interested.) I had to buy the soundtrack via iTunes, because Gene Wilder's version of the Mock Turtle's Beautiful Soup is just irresistable. I swear I'm like a child with this soundtrack. I listen until the end and immediately start over from the begining, never tiring of it.

I'm explaining this, because while making this split pea soup, I kept listening to Beautiful Soup on repeat and singing along at the top of my voice. Shane can vouch for this fact, having heard me croon: Byoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-tee-ful Soup! over and over again. His own headphones went in pretty quickly.

Split Pea Soup

Anyway, split pea soup is one of my favorite fall foods, and I make a super simple version:

Split Pea Soup

1 onion, small dice

1 carrot, small dice

1 knob of butter (1-2 T)

Sweat vegetables in melted butter until carrots are bright but not too soft and onions are translucent

Add ham stock

Add about 1.5 cup rinsed split peas

Cook until peas dissolve, then purée or leave unpuréed. I like my split pea soup the consistency of baby food, but it can certainly be more soupy. Add milk or cream, if you like a creamy soup. I put a dollop of crème fraîche on top. Enjoy!

Ratatouille

Ratatouille

This traditional Provençal dish is one of my ultimate Autumn comfort foods. I was inspired to make it again recently, thanks to this short story by my friend, Ditty.

The best thing about a dish like this is that it allows for so much variation, including omission, and it can easily be made vegetarian and even vegan. In fact, I think most recipes for it are vegetarian.

I tried this recipe, because I wanted to use fennel in the dish, and though it's simply divine, it is a time consuming version, when you take all of the chopping into account. If you're not sure whether you like ratatouille enough to put in the time and effort, you might look for a simpler version to start off with. And you might want to halve the recipe, too, so you don't end up with a huge casserole that you don't like.

Since it does make quite a bit for just the two of us, I portioned some out and froze it for chilly Autumn nights when I don't feel like cooking.

Ratatouille

I recommend making garlic toast and piling the vegetables on top bruschetta style. You can even eat it cold. In fact, some people prefer it that way. Straight out of the fridge.

Here's the recipe.

The only change I made was to use a 28-ounce can of San Marzano tomatoes instead of tomato sauce, because I prefer a thicker ratatouille. I just poured the tomatoes into a bowl and crushed them using my very clean fingers, before adding them to the pot. Or you can buy crushed tomatoes to begin with, but I often find pre-crushed tomatoes too watery.

I also put bread crumbs with rosemary over part of it for Shane. The topping gets nice and crunchy in the oven. You could use gluten free bread crumbs, too.

Enjoy!