Carla Hall's Garlicky Meat Loaf 10.26.11

Halloween goes with Vampires goes with Garlic goes with Carla Hall's Garlicky Meat Loaf!

Today Carla tackles a classic, adds a bit of seasonal humor and a Holiday ingredient.  Lots and lots of garlic! I LOVE IT!

Carla's loaf is a pretty standard recipe, with a couple of exceptions...

Oatmeal replaces bread crumbs.  She runs them through a blender to grind them up a bit.  Then she soaks them in milk to add volume (and I believe to keep the grease from the sausage and hamburger from being absorbed).  You soak the oatmeal in milk for a couple of minutes which puffs the oatmeal dust up perfectly.

There are onions, carrots, horseradish and optional celery (which I added) in the loaf, so plenty of hidden vegetables.  Not exactly Daphne healthy, but anytime you can hide vegetables in something this tasty you are a step ahead.

And speaking of Daphne, the vampire teeth she wore during the group tasting was a pretty odd way to let her off the hook for eating meat today.  I mean she tried a hot dog... Is meatloaf any worse?

But I digress...

I made a few very tiny additions to the recipe.  Inside the meatloaf, Carla calls for ketchup.  I prefer the zippier taste of BBQ sauce.

A added a dusting of ground garlic powder on the top before adding the sauce.

I also used a very spicy sausage (recipe calls for 1/2 a pound added to a pound and a half of hamburger.

I also used a remote prob meat thermometer that measures the internal temperature of the meat prior while it is cooking.  I cooked until the temp read 160 degrees.  Carla's recipe calls for a 1 hour cook time.  I had formed my loaf pretty thick, so it took almost an hour twenty minutes to cook through.

And the verdict is DELICIOUS!  As good a meat loaf as I have ever had.

the horseradish, BBQ sauce and spicy sausage combines to make a tangy zippy flavorful meatloaf.  Certainly not too spicy, not painful runny eyes heat, but certainly a better meatloaf!

The Oats did indeed make a big difference.  Moist throughout and this morning, when I made my meatloaf sandwich for breakfast, it was just as juicy!

You can find Carla's version of this recipe on The Chew website by clicking HERE.

And the daily collection of recipes from the show (click here for that), you will see among them a recipe for haunted mashed potatoes.

I took the advice and served my meat loaf with smashed potatoes with roasted garlic.  Equally delicious!  Especially adding roasted garlic paste to the mix!

A comforting meal filled with enough garlic to ward of vampires and enough vegetables to justify a family feast!

Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos's Mozzarella in Carrozza 10.25.11

Who knew???

It's a savory French toast sandwich; Italian version.  And I say, "who knew???" because apparently this is a pretty famous Italian dish.  Take a look through Google and you will see several versions.  But basically, it's a toasted cheese sandwich, dipped in egg before you fry it up.

Today featured guest stars, Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corco.  They are the hosts of the Cooking Channel show, "Extra Virgin".  Have to confess, these two celebrities were new to me.  I do not get the Cooking Channel on my cable system.  They were very entertaining.  Reminded me a bit of my own situation, with a wife who enjoys food, but has little background in cooking.

The show did feature TWO segments with the guests; which I think is badly needed whenever they schedule folks.  In the past (Paula Deen comes to mind) I always felt rushed through their stories and recipes.  I thought the interview portion combined with the cooking segment was nicely balanced.

Click HERE to get a break down of the entire episode, with video segments and recipes from this episode.

Specifically, click HERE to see the recipe for Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos's Mozzarella in Carrozza.

I made a few changes in my version, nothing drastic.

They fried their French Toast in Olive Oil.  I decided to fry mine in butter instead.

They seasoned their Mozzarella in Carrozza with salt and pepper.  During the segment they advised that several options for seasonings could be used.  I decided to add a 1/2 tsp of my "Not your Grandmother's Herbes de Provence" Spice mix.  It's a very simple make ahead mix that combines 9 different spices for a Mediterranean taste.

Th sandwich is excellent!  Has that eggy French toast taste, but it also combines with the savory spices and the richness of the mozzarella cheese.  If, like me, your experience with French toast is only as a sweet dish (Syrup and/or powdered sugar toppings), this will really excite you.

It is a simple dish...

eggs
milk
toast
cheese
"Not your Grandmother's Herbes de Provence" Spice mix
dusting of flour
Oil or butter to fry the sandwich in  

It really is a terrific idea for an interesting lunch.  I can also envision smaller sandwiches for a tea or to use an appetizers.

On the show, the hosts cut the bread using cookie cutters for a holiday treat.

Love this recipe!

Michael Symon’s Spinach and Feta Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup 10.11.11

This is one fancy toasted cheese sandwich!

It was part of an Iron Chef throwdown featuring Michael and Mario Batali (using guest judge, Marimoto).  While Mario's sandwich looked delicious (An Italian Ham and Cheese), it took some pretty exotic ingredients, fennel Salami, Fontina and pickled peppers.  Stuff I rarely if ever have in my pantry.  I hate the idea of shopping to make a sandwich.  And since I had just used up the last of my summer basil to make some pesto, I had a bit of pine nuts, the only luxury item I usually do not stock in Michael's sammy.

BTW, Marimoto whimped out and did not choose a winner of the "contest".  Sure, it's all in fun, but if the producers are going to go to the trouble of having a guest, doing the groundwork for a contest and teasing us with the tasting; just felt a little cheated.

Michael had a clever addition to his sandwich.  The assignment was to make a sandwich in 5 minutes (easy enough when you have all the ingredients mise en placed and pre-cut).  Michael, in true Iron Chef fashion, added a quickie tomato soup as a garnish for the sandwich.

I mean really, what's more "all-American" (the theme for the day) than grilled cheese and tomato soup?

I did need to fudge a bit with the ingredients to the soup.  I made mine extra thick, almost a dipping sauce for the sandwich.  Michael's recipe calls for a can of tomato puree.  I neither had any, nor have I ever seen this in the store.  So, I assumed and used a can of diced tomatoes and then used my wand mixer to puree them myself.

You can see Michael's recipe on The Chew website by clicking HERE.

Here's what I did...

1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato paste
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup cream

Heat the diced tomatoes in a sauce pan (do not drain, water and all) until the juices begin to simmer.
Add the tomato paste and mix well
Add the seasonings and continue to simmer
Add the cream to desired consistency and creaminess

The soup really did come together in just 5 minutes.  This is a gem of a recipe.  Uses ingredients I always have in stock, the cumin really shines and the thick dipping sauce I made can easily be thinned by leaving out the tomato paste.  5 minute tomato soup... I love it!!!

As to the sandwich, equally a winner!  Kind of a Greek toasted cheese.  I made the sandwich exactly as Michael recommends on the website (and in the show), click HERE.  He does saute his spinach in butter.  While indeed tasty, I think i would just use a nice extra virgin olive oil next time.

Also, pine nuts... HATE EM.  Not for the taste, but for the outrageous price.  I happened to have a small handful left from a pesto I had made a couple of days ago.  Ordinarily I never have these in stock.  Just a matter of timing that I had this luxury budget busting ingredient on hand.

Next time I make this with walnuts or pecans.  You would lose the total Greek-ness of the recipe, but move this to a lunch sandwich made with ingredients in your pantry.

And the Feta was AMAZING!

Michael Symon's Grilled Banana, Bacon, Chocolate and Hazelnut Sandwich 10.7.11

There must be a dirty word that the host's of The Chew are not allowed to say...

NUTELLA

Throughout the segment, they simply referred to the Chocolate/Hazelnut spread.  Whoa to anyone with an urge to give this a try, but are not aware.

Although personally, I think Nutella should be appointed it's own food group on the charts.  It is a name brand and believe it or not, there are other brands advertising themselves as chocolate/hazelnut, so I guess I can see the need to be coy about the name.

But come on... it's Nutella!

I do think that Michael Symon missed an opportunity with this recipe.  On the show, he advises buttering the bread before you toast the sandwich.

Much as he is such an advocate of bacon fat (the rendered grease after frying up the bacon), why not just toast the sandwich in the bacon fat.... YUM!

This is one of those recipes where everything is in the title.

It's a sandwich, so you need a couple slices of bread (I make my own, but on the show, Michael just uses a couple of slices of a store bought loaf).

Nutella spread

Bananas (sliced lengthwise)

Bacon

Assemble the sandwich and fry in a thin layer of bacon fat (or butter the bread and toast as Michael does in the show).

The Chew website does have a recipe posted, Click HERE.  Although for some reason they leave off the banana in the title and in their photo (it is in the recipe and was shown on the show).

As to the taste... this ranks as an incredible OMG !!!  Sure, it's an odd combination, hot bananas, chocolate and bacon, but it all comes together perfect.  As I said, Nutella can do no wrong.  I am filing this away for family visits.  Think Thanksgiving or Christmas morning with lots of kids and grandkids.  This is a HOME RUN!

Mario Batali's Son Leo Sloppy Joes 10.6.11

No more canned sloppy Joe mix again!

This was a wonderful segment.  Mario had received a gift from his boys of the "Batali Brothers Cookbook:, a one of a kind published book (easily done via Kodak, Lulu or even if you just go to a Walgreen's store), made by the boys (with Mom's help) of family recipes the kids actually make.  What a great idea and I do hope when it gets a little closer to Christmas this idea is explored a bit more.

Today on the show (click HERE to view the episode), it was "All American Day".  My choices were beer brats, Spaghetti Carbonara and this.  I enjoyed all the segments.  The audience participation during one of the Jonas Brothers segment was perfect.  Great way to get them to stop squealing and have a bit of fun.  The beer brats segment was also terrific.

BUT, I was drawn to this idea.  By weight, more vegetables than beef.  And using ground Sirloin instead of a higher fat percentage ground beef, this is almost healthy and certainly healthier.

I did have three concerns... First, the sirloin in place of the ground beef.  Well, once all the juices from the raw tomatoes have broken down, this was plenty wet, moist and flavorful.  No concerns.

The second, while there is jalapenos in the recipe, that is the only hot spicy item.  When I taste tested the dish, it just did not have enough kick for me.  Just prior to serving, I added a TBS of Chili powder and a TBS of Taco Seasoning that I had laying about.  This extra kick added a LOT.

But, seeing that this was made by kids, I can understand the more mild flavorings.  For me, I like the pop!

And finally, sugar???  WHY???  You break down the raw tomatoes with a 45 minute simmer.  Plenty of time for the natural sugars in the tomatoes to infuse sweetness.  There is just no need so I skipped it.  Surprisingly enough, when my wife tried these she commented that they had a sweet taste.

For a almost healthy and certainly healthier dish, I was surprised to see this and lived very well without the sugar.  But that's just me and who am I to argue with Mario or his son.

I let my wife know what I had planned for dinner.  She volunteered to buy the chips, which is a rare treat for us.

To see the recipe, click HERE to see "Mario Batali's Son Leo Sloppy Joes".  You will never open that can again!