Grandma's Meatloaf

What is more comforting on a cool winter night than roasted fingerling potatoes and rosemary with a nice big slice of meatloaf? Not much.

This easy and utterly delicious recipe is inspired by a recipe of my grandmother's. While she grates her onions, so you can't detect the texture, I instead opted to sauté a finely diced onion and then combine it with fresh herbs for a new twist. You could cheat and top the meatloaf with ketchup, like many "easy" meatloaf recipes suggest, but the cloyingly sweet topping is nowhere near as delicious as a homemade topping.

Serve with those crisp-roasted potatoes and some roasted broccoli. Comfort food at its finest!

Easy Meatloaf

1 pound ground beef
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped fine
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Italian parsley, finely chopped
One 8-ounce can pureed tomatoes
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In the same sauté pan, combine the tomatoes, vinegar, mustard, and sugar. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened, about 10 minutes.

Combine the ground beef and breadcrumbs in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil and add the onions. Sauté until translucent over high heat, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add to beef. Season with salt and parsley. Mix well.

Press meat mixture into a loaf pan. Top with ½ cup sauce. Place in oven and bake 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, baste with the juices and add ½ cup more sauce. Continue cooking for another 10 minutes and baste again. Cook for about 10 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes. Cut into slices and serve with an additional spoonful of sauce.

Servings: 6
Makes: 1 loaf
Total time: 45 minutes

DIY Wedding Cakes?

I was recently featured on The Daily Basics with a piece on whether or not to make your own wedding cake. Hey, it's a great way to save money, and add your own flair to your big day. And if you love to bake (and frost cakes, like me) it might be the right fit for you!

Check the story out here!

Broiled Salmon with Strawberry Sauce

Making a healthy dinner doesn't have to take forever. Typically when I cook, it's once a week and I usually take on a challenge that will take me about 2-3 hours rather than 15-30 minutes. Those dishes will then last me through the week so all I have to do is come home, warm something up, pour a glass of wine, and manger!

Come summer though, I don't want to spend 4 hours cooking inside on a sunny Sunday (and I've also been away). So, I often have to come up with some quick-prep weeknight dinners. And broiling salmon, even when it's 90 (OK 101? Not so much), isn't bad (or won't set off my smoke alarm like broiling burgers does). 

There is nothing I love more than a simply broiled salmon topped with a slightly sweet, slightly salty glaze. Yes, even in the winter. While I typically glaze my fillets with maple syrup and a bit of soy sauce, fresh strawberries cooked down with a bit of strawberry jam makes for a delicious topping that can be made in mere minutes.

Serve with a side salad or, as I did, with sautéed zucchini ribbons tossed in pesto.

Broiled Salmon with Strawberry Sauce
1 cup strawberries, trimmed and diced into 1/2-inch chunks

1/4 cup strawberry jam

2 salmon fillets, about 4 ounces each

Salt, for finishing

Fennel seeds, for finishing (optional)

Preheat broiler to high. Meanwhile, combine strawberries and jam. Cook either over high heat on stove top until the strawberries begin to break down or cook uncovered in microwave for 90 seconds. Set aside.

Place fillets in an oven-proof pan. Top each fillet with 2 tablespoons each of sauce. Season with salt and fennel seeds. 

Broil about 1 inch away from element for 6-8 minutes, or until the fish is nearly cooked through. Serve immediately drizzled with more sauce.

Serves 2

Total time: 20 minutes

Roasted Tomato Chicken Salad: What to Do With the Last of the Summer Tomatoes

I got my paws on the last of the heirloom tomatoes this past week. And what else to transport me back to a bit of summer goodness than a chicken salad like this.

Summer isn't summer without fresh cherry tomatoes of all colors picked still-warm from the sun from my family's garden. My favorite way to prepare them... Slowly roasting them with a sprinkle of salt in the oven. It's foolproof — if the tomatoes are a bit too watery, like they are this summer, roasting them concentrates all the flavor, adding a subtle textural element that is perfect in green salads, omelettes, or, as I've done here, in a chicken salad (or chicken salad sandwich).

Roasted Tomato Chicken Salad

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup sherry
3 cups cherry tomatoes
10 cloves garlic, peeled
Olive oil
Sea salt, to taste
1/4 cup mayonnaise, plus more if desired
4 cups arugula
Pitas, halved for stuffing (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In an ovenproof baking dish, combine the chicken, stock, and sherry. Place on the top shelf of the oven and bake until chicken is just cooked through, about 40 minutes, flipping halfway through the cooking process. Remove the chicken from the oven, flip again, and let cool in the liquid.

Meanwhile, toss the tomatoes and garlic with just enough olive oil to coat the mixture, and season lightly with salt. Place the tomatoes on a Silpat-lined baking sheet and cook on the lower shelf in the oven. You can cook the tomatoes in the oven with the chicken. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the tomatoes crack and begin to shrivel. Turn off the oven heat and leave the tray of tomatoes inside for 15 minutes, then remove.

Once the chicken has cooled, shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces with your hands. Toss the chicken in mayonnaise and season with salt. Add the tomatoes and stir together lightly. Place a scoop of the salad mix onto a bed of arugula tossed in more oil and serve. If desired, you can also stuff a halved pita with arugula and a cup of chicken salad.

Spicy Beef Summer Rolls

I'll begin with a note - these are not accurate summer rolls in that they are filled with all the delicious ingredients you might find in a traditional summer roll. Nope. No fish sauce. Lots of chiles, but I've messed with the pure Thai origins, adding cumin to my ground beef (because I'm obsessed) and added a spicy red curry mayo as opposed to something salty like fish sauce to the filling. They're far from traditional, but warning: REALLY good.

After a long day at school or work, nothing beats a cool and refreshing summer roll to take the edge off. And why order some from your local Asian restaurant when you can make them at home?

I've paired a slightly spicy ground beef mixture with greens and a curried mayonnaise for layers of flavor, but once you have the wrapping technique down, the fun part of making these is experimenting. Try using fruits like mango and papaya inside or opt for shredded chicken tossed in a peanut sauce that is homemade or store-bought.

Spicy Beef Summer Rolls

1 pound ground beef

Ground cumin, to taste

Ground cayenne, to taste

1 fresh chile, thinly sliced (optional)

Salt, to taste

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon red curry paste

1 package of 12-inch rice papers, for rolling*

Coleslaw mix or shredded lettuce, cabbage, and carrots, for stuffing

Chopped almonds (optional)

½ cup sweet chile sauce

2-3 tablespoons yuzu jam

Heat a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the ground beef. Add the cumin, cayenne, and chile, if desired. Season with salt. Cook until just seared through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and curry paste until well mixed.

Soak the rice papers in hot water for about 20 seconds, or until tender. Remove from water. Spread the rice papers with the mayonnaise mixture. Layer with lettuce or coleslaw mix, and almonds, if desired. Add 2 tablespoons of the beef mixture. Fold over the sides of the rice paper and roll up like a burrito. Repeat until all the beef has been used.

In a small bowl, combine the chile sauce and yuzu jam and set next to the rolls for dipping.

*Note: If you can't find 12-inch wrappers, any size will do. Just be sure to leave a 1-inch border for the 6-inch wrappers, and about a 2-inch border for larger wrappers to ensure the filling doesn't break through.

My (New) Morning Coffee

It's one of the best ways to wake up in the morning. You curl your hands around the large mug, just properly sized to fit in your palms when you cup your hands together, warming your fingers around the bowl. The steam arising from the liquid's surface dances across your still bleary-eyed state. You close your eyes. Inhale. The rich, sweet, nutty, slightly chocolate-y, just a smudge of (dark) fruity, and undeniably coffee-y (and for me, a bit creamy). It's your morning cup o' Joe.

Where would we be without coffee?

Now, I'm not a coffee junkie. In fact, I really shouldn't be drinking it, according to Dr. D'Adamo. But I work hard, am active, and sometimes I just needed some added help to get out of bed in the morning. I take one mugful, in my large Gmunder Keramik cup from Austria, and savor it with half and half (guilty pleasure!) but more often vanilla almond milk. It's my one vice, aside from wine, and I abstain from it any and every other hour of the day, as it prevents me from sleeping otherwise. I've tried a bunch of brands out there, some "fresh" from my corner coffee shop, others from Italy. They smell fresh, or taste good, but I've found that sometimes there lacks a harmonious balance, a conversation at the least, from these sensory pleasures we derive from coffee...

'Til I recently re-met Peet. 

Family members used to send my parents Peet's Coffee years ago, before I graduated college and was still uninitiated when it comes to the morning coffee habit. I recently re-discovered it, specifically Cafe Domingo and Cafe Solano, two new medium-bodied varietals from this artisanal roaster... and I've fallen in love. In one of two ways. Click here for a $3.00 coupon!

1. With Banana-Walnut Muffins

These moist muffins are delicious split in half and warmed in the toaster. Smear with a smidge of salted butter, if you wish. The rich, chocolate notes in the coffee complement the chocolate in the muffins, and bring out the nuttiness of the almond flour and walnuts. So simple, yet so satisfying when you are looking for a (relatively) healthy breakfast on the go.

2. With Pumpkin "Pancakes"

I've had a slew of pumpkin flesh to deal with recently - from soups, to pastas, and now... breakfast. Being gluten-free, I've had to be a little creative when making something sweet and delicious as an alternative to traditional pancakes. This is the thing, and when paired with a mug of Cafe Solano coffee, a bit fruity, with a hint of nut and sweet flower petals, the pumpkin really shines.

Disclosure for my dear readers. I received the Peet's coffee as a part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, not knowing how it would be received. All suggestions here are my own,  free of outside influence. 

Pumpkin Pancake

I love pancakes. I can't deny it. But ever since going off gluten and dairy (oh, and corn - a once-essential ingredient in my pancakes, per my darling father), they have kind of cramped my style (dietary requirement??). 'Til now.

To say I've been drowning in pumpkins is an understatement. I had 5, until I roasted one for soup, glittered another, painted yet a third with chalkboard paint, made a fourth into pasta, and saved the last - a mini white one - for decorative purposes. So, what to do with three cups of pumpkin puree when you're sick of soup, can't handle any more pasta for the time being, and just want something comforting like the filling of a pie (save the crust, and effort)? Make pancakes, of course.

The first time I did this was a lazy Saturday morning. I had 9 miles in my future, and a raging sweet tooth. And a "carb" craving. Ha. Can't have carbs as I'm sure you can. But I was determined to make a pancake, and thank goodness I had fresh heirloom pumpkin puree, and eggs, in my fridge. I'll do it my way.

This is a most delicious gluten-free, dairy-free pancake recipe, with the sweetness of vanilla, almond milk, and cinnamon, just like a pie, but with a bit more substance (minus the blood sugar crash). I like eating this with warm, homemade applesauce, or sliced bananas, toasted walnuts, and maple syrup. Try it, then tell me what your combination du jour is!!!



Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pancakes

1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup cooked pumpkin flesh
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon grapeseed oil
Salt, to taste (I use a pinch)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine flour and baking soda well. Add pumpkin. Stir in egg, vanilla, and oil. Season with salt, vanilla, and cinnamon. Set aside.

Heat a 9-inch cast-iron skilled to hot. Add 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil til shimmering. Pour in the batter, reduce to medium heat, and cook until the sides are set, about 8 minutes. Carefully flip and continue cooking for about 5 minutes.

Flip onto plate and serve with preferred garnishes, like warm applesauce, toasted coconut, roasted nuts, and a hearty drizzle of maple syrup. Enjoy.

Makes one large pancake, serving one.