Let's Make . . . Mom's Birthday Dinner!

The Birthday Girl rockin' her new Snuggie!



I am a classically trained chef. I can pretty much cook anything. I am not bragging - I seriously can throw down on most things and do it well. As my mom's birthday approached, I was prepared to go to yet another steakhouse (mom is seriously into meat and potatoes) but she said she wanted me to cook her dinner. As I rubbed my hands together in anticipation, I asked what she wanted. . .visions of caprese salads, gnocchi al pesto, Bistecca alla Fiorentina swam through my mind and taste buds. .. "I want meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas." *insert sound of slide whistle here".

oh.

man.

Okay, fine. Simple is good. I have made quite a few meatloaves over the years - fancying them up with ground bacon, ground pork, ground veal, sauteed mushrooms, pancetta wraps, etc. But I think my basic one is pretty damn good. It's simple and delicious. So while this blog post is in no way groundbreaking, it is beautiful in it's simplicity.

As I prepared the pie crust for the inevitable birthday "pie" my mom always request, I was thrown for a loop when I called to ask her what kind of pie she wanted.

"I don't want pie, I want a carrot cake, please."

Oh. No problem. Pie dough freezes beautifully.

Lainie's Simple Loaf of Meat
(please note this makes quite the meat zeppelin - the recipe is intentionally large to accommodate the requisite meatloaf sandwich that is a MUST the next day - you can easily halve the recipe)

Olive oil
1 large onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 bunch flat leaf Italian parsley, stemmed and finely chopped
3 1/2 lbs. ground beef (80/20 is best. . any leaner and it will be dry)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
4 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs (fresh is best - but if you don't have fresh, store bought will do but I will cry. . you don't want to see me cry, do you?)
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup ketchup
2 T. tomato paste
3 T Worcestershire sauce
1 good squirt sriracha (back in the day I used tabasco, but Rooster sauce is the new tabasco)
Salt & pepper

Heat olive oil and add onions, sauteing until translucent. Add garlic and season mixture with salt and pepper, stirring over low heat - make sure the garlic does not burn. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add chopped parsley. Add onion/garlic mixture to the parsley in the bowl and mix together to wilt the parsley. Let the mixture cool. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly with your hands. . .really working all the ingredients together. Fry up a small patty and taste for season. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Turn the mixture into a roasting pan and shape into a loaf - it ain't pretty but it will be delicious.

Glaze:
1 cup ketchup
2 T. tomato paste
Squirt of Sriracha (not too much - even if you love the stuff, it goes a long way here)
1/2 cup brown sugar


Whisk the glaze ingredients together until sugar is incorporated. Top the meat loaf with the glaze, covering it evenly.

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Remove from oven and let rest at least 15 minutes before serving.

naked!

glazed!

cooked!



Elaine-O's (aka the best mashed potatoes in the world)
I know that's a tall statement but these are pretty damn good - they aren't fancy like the potato/butter/cream puree you get at a restaurant. These are homey and somewhat homely - lumpy in a good way.

4 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 sticks butter (I ain't playin')
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
salt and freshly ground pepper

Cook the potatoes in highly salted water until very tender. Drain well. In the same pot you cooked the potatoes in, melt the butter and add the milk to heat through. Return the potatoes to the pot. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, salt & freshly ground pepper. Mash well being careful no to overwork the potatoes as they will get gluey. Taste for season, adjust if necessary.

Hella Elaine-O's!


Peas
So my intention was to buy fresh English peas to shell and cook but the ones I found at two different stores were disappointing. I ended up getting frozen organic ones and I was happy with them. The only thing I do to peas that might be a little different is that I cook them, drain them and then I brown some butter in a pan - just until it gets the slightest tint, I add the peas back, add a little salt, pepper and a tiny pinch of sugar and saute them in the brown butter - the brown butter adds a nice, nutty nuance to the peas.
Grub!


Mile High Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a recipe I have been making for years. It is adapted from the Silver Palate Cookbook and what attracted me to this recipe was the fact that it uses pureed carrots instead of shredded ones. It is supremely moist and delicious. I also amp up the spice profile quite a bit as the original recipe only has cinnamon in it. I also add golden raisins because I like them in this cake. Other than cooking and pureeing the carrots, this cake comes together really quickly.

3 cups flour
3 cups sugar
1 t. salt
1 T. baking soda
1 T. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground cloves
1 1/2 cups corn oil
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 T. vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
1 1/3 cups pureed carrots (about three)
3/4 cup drained crushed pineapple
1 cup golden raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and line two 9-inch pans with parchment paper.
Sift dry ingredients together into a large bowl. Add oil, eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Fold in walnuts, carrots, coconut, pineapple and raisins. Place in prepared pans (they will seem alarmingly full but the cake does not overflow!) - bake 35 to 40 minutes until the edges have pulled away from the sides and the centers are set. Cool and frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting
I CANNOT stand frostings that are powdered sugar based. They taste sandy to me and I can always detect the cornstarch in the powdered sugar. This is my own version and it's smooth, creamy and tangy.

3 - 8 oz. packages cream cheese
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1 T. vanilla
Juice of 1 lemon

Beat the cream cheese with the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy and the sugar has dissolved into the cream cheese (about 7 minutes), add the butter, vanilla and lemon juice. Beat until smooth. If the frosting is too loose, let it rest until it's spreadable.

Split the cake layers in half. Frost and fill all layers.

cake!