About three years into our marriage PE introduced me to a wonderful meal. I was skeptical when he first mentioned what he was making. Doubted even more when I saw the process. Willingly took a small portion to try it. Became a believer and now crave the meal at times. What is the wonderful meal? . . . Are you ready? Meatloaf. Seriously. Meatloaf. (I don't recall eating meatloaf growing up and I know for a fact that between leaving my parent's house and marrying PE (an eight year span) I never cooked the stuff.) PE just has the magic touch with this stuff and each time he makes it the flavor just seems to get better and better. He made it the other night and I told him he was going to have to help me write up a recipe for "the blog." He kindly went slow and even measured a few things (he rarely measures anything). With the meatloaf we had Rice Pilaf.
Last night I went over to KLB's for the first of our Monday "date nights". I made Artichoke Alfredo Sauce, Red Lobster's Cheddar Biscuits (I used mozzarella instead of cheddar), steamed broccoli, and Millionaire's Shortbread. I had a great time acquainting myself with her kitchen. Hopefully I didn't misplace anything. (I am at her house for a couple hours before she gets home from work. It works out great because I can catch up on the latest episodes of Dexter and my blog posting. This is a better use of my time than driving home and back.)
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Meatloaf a la PE
from Sparky
Print Recipe
1 lb hamburger
1 lb pork sausage
2 carrots, diced or shredded
2 potatoes, diced or shredded
1 onion, diced
3-4 garlic cloves
2 eggs
2 cups oatmeal
2-3 cup ketchup or barbecue sauce, divided
Combine hamburger and sausage. Add carrots, potatoes, onion, and garlic and stir until combined. Add eggs; combine. Add oatmeal and 1 cup ketchup/barbecue sauce; combine. Spread in casserole dishes, bread pans, muffin pans, whatever you would like. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes (adjust according to pan) or until almost done. Remove from oven, pour ketchup/barbecue sauce over the top and return to oven until internal temperature reaches 160.
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Artichoke Alfredo Sauce
from Sparky
Print Recipe
4 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
2 cups whipping cream
garlic powder, salt, and pepper--to taste
2 Tbsp cream cheese
3/4- 1 cup (total) grated/shredded Parmesan , Asiago, and/or Parmigiano-Reggiano
Melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and saute until tender. Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add artichoke hearts and cook for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in whipping cream, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Add cream cheese; cook until incorporated. Add cheese and stir until melted. Server over pasta.
++You can use your own discretion regarding the cheese (add more or less as your tastes dictate).
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Millionaire's Shortbread
adapted from Food Network
Print Recipe
Shortbread:
1 stick butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for preparing pans
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for preparing pans
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
Caramel Layer:
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbsp butter
Chocolate Topping:
3/4 pound good-quality milk chocolate
Preheat the oven to 350. Butter 1 (8-inch) square nonstick pan and coat with flour, tapping off excess. Place the flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl and combine. Add butter and using fork mix in until mixture resembles peas. Press the shortbread mixture into prepared pans and bake until golden brown around the edges, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the condensed milk and 2 tablespoons of butter. Slowly bring the mixture to a boil, stirring continuously. Continue stirring over the heat until mixture becomes thick and amber in color, about 15 minutes. Pour the caramel over the cooked shortbread and spread evenly using an offset spatula. Cool to room temperature.In a glass bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate. Once chocolate has melted, pour it over the cooled caramel layer. Cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes, and then place in the refrigerator to cool completely, allowing chocolate to slightly harden but not get hard. Cut into 2-inch squares and enjoy, or store in an airtight container, at room temperature.
++I used semi-sweet chocolate chips and didn't love the taste. KLB enjoyed it though. I scraped some of it off and it did taste much better. Next time I think I will use milk chocolate. Heck, the shortbread and caramel would be just fine alone too.
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