So, let’s see. This is my first post on Garlic & Sapphires. I am really enjoying the book so far. I got really into it quite early and blew through the first 100 pages or so. It’s been sitting on my nightstand waiting to be read for the last week and a half though, not gonna lie (did you see the part about 5 classes? Yeah.). So I’m hoping to get through some more of it sooner rather than later, because I’m really enjoying it. It’s definitely quite different from our last book, but interesting and a completely different point of view.

So the first recipe I came across was Ruth’s cheesecake. Well, no offense to Ruth, but sorry. My cheesecake is awesome. It’s the only one my husband will eat, and I’m not about to mess with what he calls perfection. So that recipe was out, immediately. I kept reading and came across something I’ve been dying to make… risotto. A little backstory on this part of the book- Ruth decided she was going to review Le Cirque restaurant. She went in complete disguise, as the “unknown diner.” The treatment she received from a supposed 4 star restaurant was appalling. Servers were rude, inconsiderate, and treated her like she didn’t exist. And her food was pretty crappy, from the sound of it. Not something I’d want if I was spending $40 on a plate of risotto. She returned later as herself, no disguise, and in a packed restaurant with people waiting forever, she was greeted by the owner, “The King of Spain is waiting at the bar, but your table is ready.” Well, needless to say, this visit was all bells and whistles and the finest of everything. She still took a star away. Good for her. She took a lot of shit for that review and taking away that star, but I love a woman who doesn’t give a shit and tells it like it is.

Anyway, so she talked about her adaptation of Le Cirque’s Lobster Risotto. She mentioned being a lobster snob (as am I) and refusing to do lobster at home where so much of the lobster would go to waste. Now, she also “demands” that you use homemade chicken stock. Well, sorry lady, but a 2 year old does not allow for that kind of time or energy. I bought chicken stock. It tasted fine. If you have the time, go for it. If I had some more time, I might try to do that next time, but for the first attempt, I was happy. She also replaced the rosemary in the dish with saffron. I used rosemary. I had it at home, and it was yummy.

But, for my first attempt, I was pleasantly surprised. I made it last night for dinner, with some shrimp that was sauteed in garlic and olive oil. It was really delicious. Madeline loved it, so that was a plus in my book. Brett ate his reheated and he said it was awesome. Thumbs up for me… he’s my own food critic, and can be a pretty snobby one. I attribute that to the amazing palette he has – he can taste such subtle differences that it’s a pretty awesome gauge when I make a flawless dish. So, here you go -

Risotto Primavera

You need:
1/2 pound asparagus
5-6 cups homemade chicken stock*
1/2 teaspoon saffron strands, crumbled**
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, diced
1 smallish carrot, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup thawed frozen peas
1/2 cup Parmigiano cheese, plus extra for table
salt and pepper to taste

Then you should:
Cut the tips off the asparagus and set them aside. Dice the top half of the stalks (discard the rest) and set the diced asparagus aside.
Bring the stock to a steady simmer in a saucepan. Remove 1/4 cup, add saffron (*I used rosemary, which is fine) and set aside.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter with the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the onion and cook for about 6 minutes, until it’s golden.
Add the carrot and cook for about 5 more minutes, followed by zucchini, diced asparagus and 1/2 tsp salt and cook for 5 minutes more.
Add the rice and stir until it’s completely coated with the oil. Add the wine and cook, stirring until it has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Now slowly add simmering stock to cover the rice and cook, stirring, until it’s evaporated. Repeat this, adding, stirring, evaporating, for about 20 minutes. Then add asparagus tips, peas (I didn’t use them), and the saffron (rosemary) stock and cook for another 5-10 minutes, until the rice is soft on the outside and still has a bit of a bite at the center. Add a few more spoonfuls of stock, remove pan from heat, and add the remaining 1 tsp of butter and the cheese.

Serves 4.

Ok, so I didn’t use the peas. Honestly, I forgot they were in the recipe when I was food shopping. Oh well. Like I said, I used rosemary instead of saffron and I used store-bought stock. It was delicious. It was a great consistency and I plan on warming some up for lunch today. It would serve 4 people as a big side dish, kind of like an appetizer size of meal. Brett and I had hearty portions with our shrimp, and Madeline had a mini bit of it. I have enough left for probably 2 sides for us for dinner tonight, if you want to gauge it that way.

So, I hope it’s less than a few weeks until I’m back with more from the book. Fingers crossed!! Happy cooking!

I was slightly disappointed come Christmas Eve. More in myself than anything. You see, I had spent all day attempting to cook with quite an eager, overtired toddler underfoot. While she was able to help with most of the desserts I was making (and the baklava was put together during naptime), I was not ready for her to cover her hands in pasta dough and run all over the house I had spent all week cleaning. Silly me did not read about the fact that I needed a potato ricer and/or food mill until the potatoes were boiling in the pot. Strike one. As we speak, Amazon is running a search for one/both of those so I can try again, as gnocchi is my dad’s absolute favorite food. I was really rushed making it as well, as it was getting late and I had hungry people waiting to be fed. Giulia’s sauce was really delicious, I thought, but my husband (sorry G!) still seems to prefer my own sauce (which is my grandmother’s recipe). My gnocchi was a little lumpy since I tried my best without a food mill. I was more disappointed in myself. I had been looking forward to making that recipe since finding it in the book, and everything else I made that day came out absolutely perfect, except the one I really wanted! So, live and learn. The consistency was right, but they were just a tad lumpy. I hope that next time (and I will definitely blog about it!) it comes out better.

As we say farewell to I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti, I feel very bittersweet. Partially because it was our first book, but I really felt myself understanding Giulia and where she came from, and I loved her story and her wonderfully positive take on everything. I feel like had we grown up closer to each other (Not like Nassau County and Brooklyn are terribly far away, but you get the point), I like to think we would have been friends. She had posted about this blog on her own twitter page (If you’re a fan of the book, or of her, follow her at @gmelucci) and on her own facebook page as well. There seems to be an unspoken camraderie of us Catholic School girls – kind of like the unspoken trials and tribulations of making it through years with those nuns. She is a fan of us, which makes this first book even more special – the fact that we were embraced so greatly by its author. I can only hope the future authors we read (and cook) enjoy our blog half as much as she has. So, thank you Giulia, for making our first couple of months with this blog SO worthwhile

I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday and enjoyed your time with your families and loved ones. We sure did!

My attempt to make Giulia’s gnocchi was to take place on Christmas Day. I planned on making the gnocchi and the sauce, as well as roast a chicken (a very simple roast chicken, like the one a la Giulia I made a while back). And my attempt was very successful. Not perfect, but very close, and successful.

Gnocchi, if you’re uninitiated to the wonders of it, is pronounced “nioki”, the ‘g’ is silent. And people who pronounce it never fail to crack me up… “I’ll have the guh-notch-y…” Here’s some interesting background on it from Wikipedia:

The word gnocchi means “lumps”, and may derive from nocchio, a knot in the wood, or from nocca (knuckle). It has been a traditional Italian pasta type of probably Middle Eastern origin since Roman times. It was introduced by the Roman Legions during the enormous expansion of the empire into the countries of the European continent. In the past 2000 years each country developed its own specific type of small dumplings, with the ancient Gnocchi as their common ancestor. In Roman times, gnocchi were made from a semolina porridge-like dough mixed with eggs, and are still found in similar forms today, particularly in Sardinia (where they do not contain egg, however, and are known as malloreddus). One variety, gnocchi di pane (literally bread noodles), is made from bread crumbs and is popular in Friuli and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. Another variety from Trentino-Alto Adige/Sudtirol is spinach gnocchi, called strangolapreti. This translates to “choke the priest.” The use of potato is a relatively recent innovation, occurring after the introduction of the potato to Europe in the 16th century.

I love potato gnocchi, and ever since I had first read I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti I’ve been wanting to make this recipe. And it didn’t disappoint. The sauce was incredible. I was only feeding four, but Jay and I have appetites like Ethiopian refugees, so I actually used two 28 oz. cans of whole tomatoes, but not the plain, the ones seasoned with basil. I doubled the salt and sugar but not the wine or the butter. WOW. A super simple sauce, but really tasty. Perfect with the gnocchi. I think it’ll definitely become my go-to sauce recipe. I think the added basil was a great touch. Thank you Giulia (and Marcella Hazan)! And actually, speaking of feeding four, I had plenty of sauce for more, especially since the gnocchi recipe didn’t make as much as I anticipated, or maybe I made mine too large. Woops. But that’s cool, because tonight we’re having homemade margherita pizza with the remainder of the sauce. Yum.

Now for the gnocchi, I used three russet potatoes instead of two, and added a ¼-½ cup of extra flour. Brianne told me when she made hers, she had a problem because she didn’t have a ricer or food mill, and that worried me because I don’t either (and I looked in a bunch of stores and couldn’t find a ricer, so boo to them). I Googled it, and read that using a sieve works too. So I figured if I made the potatoes just a tad softer by boiling them a bit longer, they’d be easier to push through the sieve and therefore less lumpy in the pasta. Also, I peeled them before I boiled them, thinking that without skin they’d get softer. It totally worked. Even without a ricer, the potatoes were so soft and mushy I just pushed them down with a fork and they were the perfect texture. Voila! I cooked them about 55 minutes, which was only 15-20 minutes longer than recommended. The pasta wasn’t too soggy at all, either.

The shape… well, that was a bit harder. Mine came out all kinds of different sizes and shapes, but always with the signature fork-print. Maybe if I’d taken my time, and wasn’t rushed or on a schedule, I could’ve made them more even.  Mine were more like little squares and rectangles. Next time, I would roll them into little balls and then use my thumb and a fork to make the little impressions. But who cares, really. They tasted awesome.

As far as the name of the recipe (see below), you’ll have to read the book to find out why it’s referred to as such. *smiles*

No- Nookie Gnocchi

• 2 russet potatoes
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 heaping cup flour, plus more for dusting
• salt
• freshly grated pepper
• freshly grated parmigiano

Put the potatoes in a pot with enough water to cover, bring to a boil, and cook, partially covered, until they are just tender, about 35-40 minutes. Remove the potatoes to a cutting board and peel with a paring knife as soon as you can stand to touch them, then run them through a potato ricer or food mill, spreading them out on a cutting board to cool completely.

Mix the egg, salt and nutmeg. Form the cooled potatoes into a mound and pour the egg mixture into it. Begin kneading the potato and egg mixture with your hands, adding the flour a little at a time, being careful not to overwork the dough.

When the flour is evenly combined with the potato and the dough is only a little sticky, divide it into 4 pieces.Roll each piece into a long, narrow tube like a garden snake and slice it crosswise into little soft pillows, each ½ inch wide. Rest each pillow on the tip of your thumb and impress it with the tines of a fork lightly dusted with flour, creating a ribbed surface for the sauce to cling to. Keep a bowl of flour nearby to dip the fork into, as it will become tacky- or better yet, keep some extra forks nearby.

Add the gnocchi about 10 at a time to a pot of salted boiling water. When they rise to the top, they’re done. Remove them to a serving bowl with a slotted spoon or spider and continue to cook in batches. Toss with the sauce and serve with grated parmigiano and freshly grated pepper.

Yield: about 6 dozen.

For the sauce:

(Adapted from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking)

• 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ¼ cup red wine
• 1 teaspoon salt

Put all ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat, bring to a simmer, then lower heat and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove onion before tossing sauce with the gnocchi.

And to anyone who complains about making sauce, or says they can’t make homemade pasta- BASTA. It is not that difficult at all. If I can do it, you can do it too.

As many of you may know, I just recently started working (go me), after all too many career changes and YEARS in school. I do enjoy my work very much, however I have yet to make it over the “what do you mean I wont be home by 3 Oclock” hump. Since Matt and I have been married, I have essentially cooked dinner for us almost every night (barring weekends when we usually head to the restaurants). And I have thoroughly enjoyed this. The truth is I’m a bit of a homebody. Most of my days revolve around 2 things, what I will eat for lunch and what I will  eat (make) for dinner. Since I started working, this has all gone out the window and sadly been replaced with delivery. Last week, after a hell of a couple of days (my dog, grandmother, and mother ALL had surgery! everybody is fine…except for my stockings, but that is another story)  I decided to try and seek Matt’s help and Giulia’s epicurean guidance to be able to make a quick meal. I opted for the veal cutlet and salad from early on in the book, remembering that it looked like a cinch to make. Matt headed to Trader Joe’s for requested ingredients (veal) and Matt returned sans veal and with “chicken tenders”. Please be advised, Matthew clearly looked for veal, but TJ’s did not have any. This might be a good time to mention that meat in general kind of makes me want to barf. I was vegeterian for all too many years, and when i did start eating meat again, Chicken was the first down the hatch…and first to make its way back up. Not a great combination with “chicken breast tenders”. Giulia’s recipe called for veal or chicken cutlets..oh well this would have to do.

My next hurdle was frying. I bake with butter and oil all of the time, however, for some strange reason, actually saying I will “fry” something seems unhealthy. Sure, 1/2 pound of butter in my cookies could be seen as good for you fat, but throw it on the stove with some meat, and that is unhealthy. I was so stressed out though, and sometimes, you just need some trans fat! I did wind up breading and frying the cutlets according to Giulia…and it was well worth it. I did doctor  it up a bit, but it was very crisp and suprisingly light. I am making it again this evening (with real chicken cutlets) and some garlic spinach.

Giulia’s Breaded Cutlets

2 Eggs, lightly beaten, seasons with salt

3/4 C. bread crumbs seasoned with salt, pepper, and 1 Tbs. Parsley (I actually used italian style bread crumbs)

1 pound this cutlets

2 Tbs. Olive Oil

1 Tbs Butter

Lemon

Put the eggs in a wide rimmed bowl and put the bread crumbs on a plate. (I added a little but of milk to the eggs). Dip the meat into the eggs and then into the breadcrumbs.

In a skillet heat the oil and butter until melted and bubbly. Add the breaded cutlets and cook approximately 4 minutes on each side. You may have to do this two times. Refresh the trans fat in the pan if necessary! Pat cutlets with a paper towel and serve!

I made this with a really easy Spinach.

1 Bag baby spinach (pre cleaned is easiest)

4 cloves sliced garlic

1 shallot, sliced

1 tbs each butter and olive oil (the butter is so not necessary but sooooo good!)

salt and pepper

Heat olive oil and butter in a pan until bubbly. Add garlic until slightly browned, add shallots and let cook until soft and a bit carmelized. Add spinach, salt and pepper until spinach wilts. Enjoy!

I am making this again tonight, it was so perfect. If you want to be healthier, you can eliminate all butter, use three egg whites and skim milk for the eggs, and whole wheat bread crumbs.

Saturday we enjoyed some time with my dad back in PA- which brings me to some happy news He had gotten me a pair of faboosh boots for my birthday that were waiting on my doorstep when I came home on Friday… but when he showed up, Christmas gifts in tow, we decided we’d all tear into them and not wait. I am so glad I didn’t! I got my mixer!!! wooooooo! My poor husband looked at me like I was a freak – I was flipping out. I don’t think he’d seen me jump up and down like that since I found out I was pregnant LOL!

She’s fantastic, she’s beautiful, I have a crush on an inanimate object. Meet her! Since every mixer has a name, I knew I had to think of something perfect. So, without further adieu, please meet the newest addition to my kitchen – Betty!

Isn’t she gorge? Love her!

Anyway, back to the blogging! Brett’s dad came up today to visit and I had said he could choose what I made for dinner. His choice? Haddock. Now, honestly, I’m not really a super fishy person – I love love shellfish, but I just don’t eat other fish all that much. So, what do I do? I turn to Giulia, whose book has fast become my failsafe when I’m in the mood to make something and don’t know what. She has quite a few seafood recipes in Spaghetti, but this one I found to be simple enough for who I was cooking for. The recipe uses sole, but I found it to be yummy with the haddock. The guys loved it! And I used my baby for the first time – to make angel food cake for dessert!

Incendiery Sole*

*I used halibut. Any firm, white fish should taste good in this recipe, but beware that the cooking times will vary slightly.

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1/3 cup olive oil
1 heaping cup bread crumbs
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbs chopped parsley
Freshly ground pepper
2 pounds sole or flounder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Combine butter and oil in a wide shallow bowl; season the bread crumbs with salt, parsley and pepper and spread on a plate. Dip the fish in butter and oil, covering thoroughly, then dredge through the breadcrumbs. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, until the crumb topping is slightly brown.
Serves 4-6.

This was delicious. I served it with my homemade mashed potatoes (yes, I used Betty this time for those!). You can find that recipe here.

Now, this isn’t from Giulia’s book. BUT I feel like I should post this because this isn’t a recipe you come across very often and it’s beyond amazing. I’d been looking for an exceptional angel food cake recipe for Brett’s birthday this past September. Of course, I turned to Marilla to enlist her help. She found this recipe from one of her baker friends, and my husband refuses to eat any other angel food cake. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
12 large egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

NOTE: Note: For those not use to making angel food cakes Don’t get any yoke in the whites, if you do throw out and start over. I always separate the egg in a glass first. Then if no yoke pour into measuring container.

DO NOT GREASE PAN!

Heat oven to 375°.
Sift the cake flour and 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar; set aside.
Combine the extracts in a small bowl; set aside.
Beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until it forms peaks.
Add the other 3/4 cup of sugar slowly, then beat on high until stiff peaks form.
If you have a mixing guard for your mixer bowl now would be a good time to attach it.
Beating on LOW, add flour mixture and extracts slowly.
Make sure you fold in the sides and bottom of your mixing bowl. You can fold in flour mixture by hand but this way is faster. Spoon into an angel food cake pan.
Move a knife through batter to remove air pockets.
Bake 30-35 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly with finger.
Invert pan onto a tin funnel to cool completely.
To remove the cake from your pan run a knife around the rim of the cake pan just to get the ‘crust’ away from the pan. Then firmly spank the sides of your pan. You could use a knife but this sometime tears the sides of the cake. Invert onto your serve plate then take the knife to the now top which was the bottom of your pan and gently cut cake away from the pan insert.

Enjoy!!

Food Club Pork Roast

6 garlic cloves

¼ cup fresh rosemary

2 teaspoons salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 (4 ½ – to 5- pound) rib section center-cut pork loin (have the butcher bone the meat and then reassemble the roast with string)

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ cup white wine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mince the garlic and rosemary by hand (or better yet, in a food processor).  Mix them in a small bowl with the salt and freshly ground pepper.  Rub the meat with olive oil and then the garlic-rosemary mixture.  Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Place pork flat side up on a rack in roasting pan, then pour white wine over it.  Roast in center of oven until a thermometer registers 140 degrees, about 90 minutes.  Remove from oven and let the meat rest on a cutting board, tented with foil, for about 20 minutes before slicing.

Discard string, separate bones from the loin, and slice meat to desired thickness.  You may cut the ribs and serve them, too, or save them to add them to a tomato sauce.  (Pork ribs add richness to sauce.)Yield: 6 servings

Overall I was really happy with how dinner turned out and most importantly Shaun loved it! Don’t get me wrong there were a few hiccups along the way. I managed to spill a good amount my macaroni and cheese when I was putting it in the oven and created a huge mess. Oh and let us not forget how I almost chopped off a finger cutting the garlic! I guess I got a little arrogant with my recently acquired knife skills while using Shaun’s precious Wusthof knives.

I also decided to take a stab at “Nana’s Blueberry Muffins”. As you guys know we have a gluten allergy in the family so I decided to make these muffins gluten free. Please keep in mind that I have never baked a thing in my life. I am lucky I know the difference between a whisk and a spatula! I told Shaun earlier in the week that I wanted to bake so he was nice enough to get me a set silicone bake ware in a pretty red. Instead of regular flour I used “Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour “. I also added a little bit of vanilla extract, nutmeg and cinnamon. I wasn’t sure how gluten free flour was going to make the muffins taste so I wanted to spice them up so to speak. Don’t ask me how much of each spice I added because honestly I just eyeballed it. I know it sounds stupid for someone who has never baked before. I just added as much spice as I’ve seen my Dad add to his muffins. Growing up my Dad always made us a special breakfast on Sunday to give my Mom a break in the kitchen. No joke my Dad makes the best blueberry muffins!!

I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree cause the muffins turned out great!

Nana’s Blueberry Muffins

Butter, softened, for greasing muffins tins

1 3/4 Cup self-rising flour

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup milk

6 Tablespoons melted butter

1 Egg

1 Cup Blueberries

1 Tablespoon Butter (Optional)

1/4 Cup Sugar (Optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter the muffin tins. Mix flour and sugar, stir in the wet ingredients, then add the blueberries. Spoon batter into muffin tins, filling each cup 3/4 of the way full. Bake 15-20 minutes, cool for ten minutes, and put on a cooling rack. While the muffins are still warm, melt 1 Tbs. of the butter and place in a saucer. Put the 1/4 C. sugar in a separate saucer. Dip the muffins into the butter than roll in the sugar.  This step is optional but I highly recommend it.

Yield: 9 Muffins; recipe can be doubled.

I am pretty excited to hang out with the women of CTB on Wednesday and celebrate the blog and completion of the first book! I am however not looking forward to making the gnocchi we all agreed to make. Although I think the only reason I am not looking forward to it is Gnocchi seems complicated to make. And let’s not forget the fact that I have never ever had this dish before. It is going to be hard to make something without a reference point but I am up for the challenge. Worst come to worst if I burn it, there is always frozen pizza to save the day! Wish me luck…

It was early to bed for the rest of the house tonight.  I ate one of the delicious cupcakes I made last night while pondering what to make myself for dinner (they ate leftovers from Thanksgiving). I settled on a reheated stuffed artichoke and a batch of Giulia’s pastina.  I have to say, it’s perfect comfort food.  My mom always made it for us as kids, but not this way. I have to say, this is much better.  Something about snuggling up under a blanket  with a nice bowl of that is the perfect way to end the weekend.

Pastina

1/4 cup pastina
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp butter
1 tablespoon freshly grated parmigiano
Freshly ground pepper

Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan, add pastina and salt, and cook until most of the water is absorbed, 3-4 minutes. Turn off heat and add the egg, letting it cook on the hot pasta, then add the butter, cheese, and a little pepper. Serves 1.

Dolores Fraser’s Meat Loaf
2 pounds ground beef
1 envelope Onion Soup Mix
3/4 cup bread crumbs
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup ketchup
oil/butter for greasing pan
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well with your hands. Form into a loaf and bake in a 13 x 9 pan greased with some oil or butter (I used Pam). Frost with 2 tablespoons mustard mixed with 2 tablespoons ketchup. Bake for 1 hour. *Don’t be alarmed by the fact that it’s red when you take it out – that’s the frosting. The meat loaf is done.*

I mixed this recipe up a bit – my husband hates ketchup with a passion. I halved the ketchup and added 2 tablespoons of A1. I also added an egg, as I usually do in my own meatloaf recipe. I added a clove of minced garlic, because, lets face it, everything’s better with garlic.

For the frosting, I substituted Mr. Mustard (spicy brown mustard) and used 1 part ketchup 1 part A1.

Thumbs up on this recipe. My husband is NOT a meat loaf fan in any way, and he devoured this. It was nice and moist, and the garlic and onion soup mix gave it a nice zest over mom’s boring meat loaf. I made it with some simple steamed broccoli and my homemade mashed potatoes.

Homemade Mashed Potatoes
4 Russett Potatoes, cubed.
1 stick butter
1/2 cup 1% milk

Heat large saucepan of water over medium-high heat. Add potatoes, bring to a boil. Let boil roughly 20-25 minutes, when potatoes are tender with a fork, drain the majority of the water. Turn burner off and return pot to burner. Let some of the remaining water soak into the potatoes, approx. 5 minutes.

Melt 1 stick of butter and add milk over low heat in small saucepan. I do this because I find if I add cold butter and milk, the potatoes get a little gluey, and this keeps them creamy. I put them in my stand mixer with the butter/milk mixture and blend on medium-low speed. I add a clove or two of garlic and serve. Yum!

All in all, even with my additions/changes to this meat loaf recipe, YUM!