Appetizing Muse

 

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Simply Delicious Meat Loaf

Posted Tue, 09/13/05

 

I assume everyone who receives a Sunday newspaper also gets Parade Magazine. In the "Simply Delicious" section by food editor Sheila Lukins, a recipe titled Lenny's Meat Loaf was featured. The dish comes from Leonard Schwartz, former chef at Maple Drive, Tony Bill's restaurant in Beverly Hills (now closed).

 

Lenny's Meat Loaf

3 TBS butter

3/4 C each finely chopped onion & scallion

1/2 C finely chopped carrots

1/4 C finely chopped celery

1/4 C chopped green bell pepper

1/4 C chopped red bell pepper

2 tsp. minced garlic

3 eggs, well beaten

1/2 C ketchup

1/2 C half-and-half

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Salt & black pepper to taste

2 LBS lean ground beef chuck

12 ounces ground sausage

3/4 C fine fresh bread crumbs, toasted

 

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet, then add the onion, scallion, carrots, celery, bell peppers and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the moisture from the vegetables has evaporated, about ten minutes. Set aside to cool; then cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least one hour. In a mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, ketchup, half-and-half, cumin, nutmeg, cayenne, salt and black pepper. Add the ground beef, sausage and bread crumbs. Then add the chilled vegetables and mix thoroughly with hands, kneading for about five minutes. Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Form the mixture into a loaf (approximately 12x5x2-1/2 inches); place on a baking sheet. Bake until cooked through, about one hour (or 160-degrees F on a meat thermometer). Let rest for twenty minutes before slicing. Serve.

I closely followed the ingredients listed for the most part. However, I decided to increase the ground sausage to one pound. The bulk of the work comes from preparation, while the cooking time is just over one hour. The meat loaf turned out quite well, although I'll stick to the prescribed amount of sausage next time. The meat loaf was very moist, but made a bit greasy by the extra sausage.

 

This was our side dish:

 

Barley Mushroom Pilaf

1/2 C sliced fresh button mushrooms

2 tsp. olive oil

1 C pearl barley

3 C chicken or vegetable broth

2 TBS chopped green onion

1/4 tsp. crushed dried rosemary

2 TBS grated fresh Parmesan cheese

 

Heat olive oil in saucepan; add mushrooms and sauté until limp. Add barley, broth, green onion and rosemary. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for forty-five minutes or until barley is tender and liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over pilaf and serve. Recipe makes four servings.

Thanks to Barley Foods for the recipe.

 

 

Tags: Entrees; Mushrooms; Side Dishes  Send Comment >