why did i cross the road? to get to the (damn tasty) chicken.

about 5 years ago, i went on a vacation to punta mita, mexico, which is about a half hour northwest of puerto vallarta. now, i have a lot of friends who've gone on vacation to this area, and love it so much that they keep going back. i myself thought it was just...aight.

was it because of the weather? no, the weather was great. was it because the beaches were substandard? nope, the beach i hung out on was pretty nice and the ocean was beautiful. was the service at the hotel bad? no way, the service was top notch. nope it wasn't any of those things. it was the FOOD. the food was just so-so. and yes, i went to all the restaurants you're supposed to go to when you're there. none of it was really all that memorable; some of it was even bleh. (this is around when i started to realize just how important food is to me. if you can believe it, i actually lost a little weight on this vacation.)

i would have lost more than just a couple pounds if i hadn't gotten so desperate on my hunt for tasty food that i stopped by a roadside bbq chicken stand on my way back to the hotel one day. there were these ladies with grills set up all along the sidewalks of the main drag in a town between puerto vallarta and punta mita (i think maybe it was bucerias), and it was here that i discovered the best damn grilled chicken i've ever had in my life.

this chicken - which was covered in some kind of red rub / marinade - was served with several freshly handmade corn tortillas, rice, and your choice of several salsas. my favorite was what i guess had have been made of habanero peppers, because it was just about the freaking hottest (but extremely delicious) salsa i've eaten.

the chicken was so good, that for the remainder of the vacation (a good 4 more days), i would drive out from punta mita to this little town to get lunch. when i would come back to the hotel, all the hotel staff would smile as they recognized the packaging the chicken was wrapped in, and say, "that's great chicken, isn't it?" and damn it was, every single time. twice i also ate it for dinner (yes, that's how good it was; but it's also a sign of how much the other choices sucked)... which didn't exactly thrill the restaurant waitstaff when i brought in my chicken and asked if they minded if i ate it at the table. (they were too nice to say no, and in fact not only brought me plates, but warmed up the tortillas and rice for me. i told you the service there was top notch.)

when i got back home, i dreamt of this chicken day and night for a solid month (seriously, not joking). i nattered on about it to all my friends until they got sick of hearing the story, and then i kept on nattering away anyway (this is why i love my friends so much). i can't say for sure how much of the chicken's tasty goodness was because i had some serious FOOD GOGGLES (kinda like beer goggles, except in this case it's when food that's only so-so seems to taste much better than it is), but i'm convinced this wasn't a case of food goggles. (but then again, i didn't get the er, benefit, of waking up next to it to see it exposed in the potentially cold, harsh light of reality.)

i would seriously go back to punta mita just so i could have that chicken. (a sure sign that food is DEFINITELY important to me.) i've spent a lot of time trying to figure out what it was marinated in; i have one more recipe to try (i have a feeling this is it), but in the meanwhile, here's one that gets pretty close (recipe below). it's a little labor intensive, but i've found most good barbecue recipes are. there's no getting around that.

[btw - one other reason i would go back to puerto vallarta / punta mita is because the baskin robbins in PV happens to carry my favorite flavor - strawberry shortcake - that for whatever reason seems to have been discontinued in the US. go figure. i went a little ape shizzle over that, too, when i was there. great diet, hunh? good thing the ice cream was too far to get every day. otherwise, it would have been: chicken and ice cream, chicken and ice cream. i probably would have come back from vacation not a couple pounds lighter, but a completely different shape...one strongly resembling a circle. :]


Mexican-Style Barbecue Chicken

2 3-lb pastured chickens, each halved

Marinade (Achiote Recado)
1/2 cup water
2 tbsps achiote (annatto) seeds
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 medium white onion, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 tbsp dried Mexican oregano
1 tsp freshly ground allspice
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup ancho chile powder
4 tsps coarse salt
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups fresh orange juice

Preheat oven to 300°F. In a small saucepan bring water and achiote seeds to a boil. Simmer seeds, covered, for 30 minutes and remove from heat. Steep seeds for additional 2 hours.

Roast garlic and onion in oven on a rimmed baking sheet for 45 minutes, turning once, until browned and soft. Discard garlic skins. Drain seeds and using a blender, puree all the ingredients until smooth.

Rinse chicken, then place in large sealable plastic bags and pour in marinade, making sure chicken is completely coated. Marinate chicken overnight.

Preheat oven to 250°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil. Remove chicken from marinade (discard marinade). Bake chicken skin side up until cooked through. Cool completely.

Preheat grill on low. Oil rack and place chicken, skin sides down and grill chicken, turning once or twice, until skin is crisp, about 45 minutes. Serve chicken with rice, salsa, guacamole, and fresh corn tortillas. If you do serve it with an especially hot salsa, then make sure to provide your diners with a few cold beers to chase away the hot! Ok, who are we kidding - even if the salsa is the pansy kind, serve it with beers anyway. Serves 4.

it's like buttah

so i realized the other day that i never talk about fish. part of the reason is we don't eat it all that often; but a big reason we don't eat it that often is i wasn't all that sure where to get the sustainably-caught kind.

well this most unfortunate situation was effectively brought to an end this past weekend, when as i was buying strawberries from yerena farms (to replace the ones i had - *SOB* - accidentally wasted the night before), i noticed the booth next door was a fish supplier called shogun fish company. [interesting that strawberries and fish are booth neighbors... hmmmm, must speak to farmers' market coordinators... (yeah, sure, i'll get on that right after i pay my PG&E bill on time)] i peeked inside and saw a lot of great fish: sushi-grade ahi, halibut, rock cod, salmon, petrale sole...and, could it be?!? my stars, it was! BLACK COD!!!

i quickly mentally edited my plans for monday night dinner, snatched up two 6-oz-ish fillets, and tremulously handed over some of my wadded up cash to the lady (she wasn't so happy about that. *sigh* oh well.). you'll have to pardon me for going a little nutso over the fish (too bad the fish lady wasn't as understanding), but for the record, fresh black cod isn't available in the places i usually shop for food, or if it is, it isn't fresh - it's frozen.

now those of you who know fish are probably going, "HUNH?! she got excited by BLACK COD? how low brow!" well, for your information, black cod by any other name is called sablefish, or, although not entirely accurate, also known by most fine diners as "butterfish." yup, that's right, you can all lower your haughtily upturned noses and realize your snobbery has no place at the house of froon.

i have to tell you, one time i discovered a "friend" of mine didn't like butterfish, and i believe, coincidentally or not (i do not recall, senator), we fell out of touch soon afterwards. i haven't spoken to him since. i kid, i kid. (about the fact that i had a friend who doesn't like butterfish. but hello, NOT about what i would do if i realized i DID have a friend with such incredibly bad taste. a girl has to have her standards.)

anyway, our favorite way to consume black cod / sablefish / butterfish is when it's miso-glazed (ever had it at nobu? they have the *best* black cod EVERRRRR! they serve it in lettuce cups with crispy noodles. yummy yummy!). below is a great, extremely simple recipe (also works very well with chilean sea bass, just marinate it for a couple hours, although this would obviously entail not subscribing to the "locavore" philosophy) that you could most definitely make for a weeknight dinner. don't skip the mashed potatoes, either - they make this dinner really spectacular!

enjoy!!


Miso-Glazed Butterfish

1/4 cup light yellow miso
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sake
2 tbsps brown sugar
2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
dash of hot red pepper paste

4 6-ounce butterfish (black cod) fillets

Preheat oven to broil with rack about 8" from broiler. In a large bowl, whisk first 7 ingredients until well blended and no lumps remain. Place cod fillets in bowl and turn once to coat.

Transfer fish to a rimmed baking sheet and place in oven. Broil until opaque in center, about 8-10 minutes, depending on thickness. Serves 4. Serve with sauteed baby bok choy and wasabi mashed potatoes (recipes follow).


Sauteed Baby Bok Choy

6 baby bok choy, sliced crosswise into 1/2" pieces
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute for about 2 minutes. Add bok choy and saute until wilted, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4


Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
4 tbsps salted butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup whole milk
2 tbsps wasabi powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add potatoes and cook until fork tender, about 12 minutes. Pass potatoes through a ricer (or mash with masher). Add butter, milk, and wasabi powder and mix until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.

strawberrygate

this past weekend got off to a somewhat bad start on friday night.

kevin and i were going to dinner the next night with the ventursons and the webellos down in saratoga, and i had volunteered to bring dessert. as we all know, strawberries are in season, and i remembered i had once made a strawberry cheesecake that mikey (venturson) had really liked. mikey is one of those guys who rarely gets effusive about food, so when he went bonkers over this dessert, it burned into my brain, so i decided to make said strawberry cheesecake.

in and of itself, this was not the problem. i went to whole foods on my way home from work, got graham crackers (after spending about 10 minutes reading several different boxes to see which was the least chemically egregious...the crazy part is who knew so many companies make GRAHAM CRACKERS - not that i spent 10 minutes reading the ingredients... ahem), cheeses (cream and mascarpone), and then went on my merry way and began the cheesecake-construction project.

first, the crust came out perfectly - beautifully golden brown, perfectly level. never had i made a crust so perfectly. NEVER.

the strawberries from the farmers' market were also perfect. they roasted perfectly. i actually managed to wait until the cheeses and eggs were actually at room temperature (usually i'm too impatient and just use the ingredients even though they're still a little cold) and they blended incredibly smoothly and perfectly; i leveled the different layers of cheesecake, well "perfectly" is a word that comes to mind.

i got an unusually good, tight seal with the tinfoil around the springform pan. i used my relatively new (smaller, manageable) roasting pan, perfectly timed the water coming to a boil, and when the hour was up, found a perfectly set, lightly golden, not-a-single-lump-in-sight cheesecake.

now comes the bad part.

i got out the roasting pan from the oven and set it by the sink. i then got two oven mitts and carefully raised the perfect cheesecake. i then carefully set the cheesecake on the built-in rack we have in the sink. and then less than 1 second later, my weekend got shot to shizzle.

somehow...i don't know how... [unsteady, wobbly voice] but the cheesecake tipped over into the (TINY!) area that isn't covered by the rack and...and... ...and the whole, perfect cheesecake upended into the drain. *sniffles* *hiccup* kevin heard me shout in dismay and anger "oh FUDGY FUDGE!!!!!!!" (except, puh-leeease, i didn't say "fudgy" OR "fudge") and ran to the kitchen to see me standing extremely still and staring at the sink drain. (some random thoughts that ran through my head as i stood there, perfectly still: "it's midnight. no stores open that have good strawberries."; "oh fudge, that was like $40 worth of ingredients LITERALLY FUDGING DOWN THE DRAIN!!!!!!"; "hmmm, i wonder if the flyers are going to be able to pull if off tomorrow." [haha, yeah RIGHT! i totally wasn't thinking that. but i bet kevin was.]; "this isn't really happening, is it? is it?!?!")

i then literally threw in the towel (kitchen ones) and declared, "i can't deal with this," and stomped off to the living room, sat down, and stared blankly at the tv (not even sure it was on... hmmmm). this is when i'm reminded how good i have it: kevin just started to clean up. i managed to mutter a "thank you."

poor kevin. he tiptoed over to me a few minute later and asked if anything was salvageable. i bit out a "no" and then in an attempt at making it clear i wasn't upset with him: "thank you for taking care of it." he then tiptoed away and finished cleaning. he tried to ask me what happened, but i was having none of it. i bluntly told him i didn't want to talk about it, and sulked my face off for the rest of the night.

i wasn't really even ready to talk about until we were actually at dinner the next night. i pretended it was a funny story, but lemme tell you something: there ain't nothin' funny about what happened on friday night. my perfect cheesecake got perfectly ruined by a very imperfect mwah. what's that dumb saying: "waiting for the other shoe to drop"? well, i WASN'T WAITING for the other shoe to drop, so why did it have to... and into the SINK?! why? WHYYYYYY?!?!?!

anyway, below is my beloved strawberry cheesecake recipe. i adapted it from a martha stewart recipe from a couple years ago - my version is much more "strawberry-er" and lighter yet creamier (yes, it's possible). i really love this cheesecake. and if i can get over what happened friday night, i'll be making this soon, because strawberries are going to go away soon and not come back for a whole year! :( don't be intimidated by the multiple parts to the recipe - it's actually really easy to make.


Strawberry Cheesecake

Crust
1 1/2 cups finely ground graham crackers
2 tbsps sugar
4 tbsps unsalted butter, melted

Filling
2 lbs strawberries, hulled
2 tbsps raw honey
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb, 3 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 lb, 3 oz mascarpone chese, room temperature
2 medium eggs, room temperature
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

Crust
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and the melted butter in a small bowl. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan to make an even layer. Bake until crust is firm to the touch and has just darkened, about 10 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack, and let crust cool completely.

Cheesecake
Lower oven to 300 degrees. Put strawberries in a medium bowl and drizzle with honey. Toss to coat. Place strawberries in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until strawberries turn deep red, about 1 1/2 hours. Transfer strawberries and honey syrup to medium bowl and mash. Let cool completely.

Raise oven to 325 degrees. Place cheeses into bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar and salt. Scrape bowl and then add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each. Scrape bowl and then beat in vanilla bean seeds until no cheese lumps remain, about 5 minutes.

Mix in 5 cups of cheese mixture to mashed strawberries and stir well. Pour strawberry mixture into crust and smooth with an offset spatula. Carefully pour plain cheese mixture on top of strawberry layer, also smoothing with an offset spatula.

Wrap outside of springform pan in 2 layers of foil and set in roasting pan. Fill roasting pan with boiling water until water reaches halfway up the sides of the springform pan and bake cheesecake until set, about 1 hour. Carefully remove pan from water bath and set on a wire rack to cool. Chill cake at least 4 hours, up to overnight. Serves 10-12.

meatballs!

when i joined marin sun farms' meat csa back in march, i signed up for "package #3," which is one of the smaller boxes: every month 2 lbs of steaks, 4 lbs worth of roast/braise meats, and 5 lbs of ground meat. i thought for sure i would have a problem figuring out what to do with the 4-lb roast every month, but in reality it hasn't been one at all since we have regular weeknight dinners with the sweenlinghouses.

in fact, the actual problem has been what to do with all the ground beef. there's just two of us at the house of froon, so eating our way through 5 lbs of ground beef every month is no easy feat. adding to this is the reality that most cookbooks i own don't really have much in the way of ground-beef recipes. you'd think it was a low-brow ingredient or something. hunh. wait a minute... ok, so now it's all starting to make sense. hmmm.

well, i don't really know what cookbook writers have against ground beef. maybe it's one of those things where they're supposed to act like it's not worthy, but at home, where they're away from prying eyes, they eat mounds of mounds of it. (real appetizing visual, right? :) kinda like what i'm convinced people who SAY they don't like pigs in blankets actually DO when they come face to face with said tasty morsels at parties (eat mounds and mounds of them, in case you were wondering. but i know you know this, since i've already shared with you my theory.).

the reality, as far as i can tell, is all of us meat eaters love ground beef. no, seriously. don't be such a snob. show me a carnivore who says s/he doesn't love a juicy burger and i'll show you a big fat liar. ok, maybe not LITERALLY "big" and/or "fat," but definitely a liar. c'mon, admit it, you've stood in the massively long line at an in n' out, marvelled - probably while also expressing annoyance - at how long it was, yet found yourself still standing in it anyway, all in the name of being able to get your grubby little paws on one of those perfectly-wrapped, egg-bun encased numbers. yummmmm. and if you *won't* admit it: LIAR! [+ accusatory finger jab!]

anyway, i digress. i wasn't trying to point out all the liars among us (and how many of you are out there? show of hands, please.). the point i was trying to make is there is a serious shortage of ground-beef recipes; this is somewhat unfortunate for mwah, since i happen to have an oversupply of ground beef. that said, i do have a few that i love; meatloaf, as you already know, is one of them. spaghetti with meatballs is another; recipe below.

personally, i recommend when you make this dish that you make lots of meatballs (reflected in my recipe) because you can use the "extras" for tasty things like, say, meatball subs. GENIUS! which, by the way, is what i had for lunch today (meatball sub, not a genius.). even yif really liked it, and let me tell you: he is one PICKY eater. honestly, i never thought i would say this, but p must be a very patient, er, "lady." (i'm SO going to regret complimenting her. i just know it. ;)


Spaghetti with Meatballs

Tomato Sauce
2 tbsps olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 28-oz can whole, peeled tomatoes
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
2 tbsps tomato paste
2 tbsps chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
2 tbsps sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Meatballs
1 1/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 medium onion, very finely chopped
6 tbsps basil, finely chopped
2 medium eggs
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1-lb hot Italian sausages, casings removed
1-lb ground beef

1-lb spaghetti
Grated Parmesan cheese

Tomato Sauce
Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion and sauté until onion turns translucent, about 5 minutes. Add rest of sauce ingredients, except salt and pepper. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens and reduces by about 1/2 (1 1/2 hours or so). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm.

Meatballs
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, mix breadcrumbs and milk together and let stand for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the meatball ingredients and blend well (using your hands is easiest). Form into 1 1/2" meatballs and place them on a baking sheet and bake until meatballs have browned on edges and are cooked through, about 25 minutes.

While meatballs are baking, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add spaghetti and cook until al dente. Drain pasta then mound in 6 dishes. Top each with meatballs and sauce. Pass Parmesan cheese so people can garnish as they desire. Serves 6, with enough extra meatballs and sauce for a sandwich or two.

cheese, glorious cheese!

for those of you who don't know me very well, you should know i love cheese. and by "love" i mean if possible, i would eat as much as i could every single day. now, i have my share of delusions, but fortunately, thinking i still have a fast metabolism isn't one of them. good thing, too, because one day i would wake up and wonder how the fudge i had "somehow" turned into a sphere.

anyway, because i actually have a grip on reality in this one aspect of my life, i limit how much cheese i eat - probably with one meal every few days or so. ok ok, so sometimes it's more often than that; after all i've never met a cheese platter i didn't like. *sigh* being "over-30"... never mind lines, wrinkles, and grey hairs (btw, i found a couple the other day. i pulled them out - grey hairs, i mean, not lines or wrinkles - but i have a baaad feeling that solution just isn't going to scale.), it's the FOOD you have to give up that really sucks. *sniffles*

self pity aside, one of my favorite ways to consume cheese is via mac & cheese. over the years, i've tried lots and lots of recipes. and when i say "lots" i mean LOTS. oh the hardships i've endured. the pain.... the suffering... if you only knew. (NOT) i've decided after all this experimenting that a really sharp cheddar truly is the best when it comes to mac & cheese. and believe me, i've given it a serious go; i'm an equal opportunity lover when it comes to cheese - sizes, colors, shapes. if you're cheese, i already love you.

below is my favorite recipe, developed over the years. i'm not going to pretend it's low fat or anything, so don't go eating this every night and then wonder why YOU'RE turning into a sphere. all that aside, this is a great dish to make for a weeknight dinner, because it's fast and easy to make. i like to serve this with steamed broccoli on the side. after all, why not try to squeeze in a little healthy, right? deeeeelish!


Caroline's Favorite Macaroni & Cheese

3 cups small elbow macaroni
1 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
6 tbsps unsalted butter
4 tbsps flour
1 cup whole milk
2 cups chicken stock (substitute vegetable stock for vegetarian version)
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1 green onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups coarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese

salt and white pepper to taste

Melt 2 tbsp butter and in a small bowl mix into fresh breadcrumbs. Set aside. Bring a pot of salted water to boil in a medium saucepan. Cook pasta until al dente and drain. In a medium saucepan, melt remaining butter over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion and cook until onion is softened and turns translucent. Then add flour and whisk until mixture turns golden, about 3 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk and then broth. Continue to whisk and bring roux to boil. Add green onions and whisk until they turn bright green, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add cheese; stir until melted.

Preheat broiler. Stir in macaroni to cheese sauce and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper then spoon into 4 individual gratin dishes. Sprinkle crumbs on top and broil until crumbs are golden brown and cheese is bubbly, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately; be careful, dishes will be HOT! Serves 4.

the secret is in the sauce

every thursday, we try to have dinner with our friends matt and katie sweenlinghouse (sween + garlinghouse... now that they're engaged we can give them a proper last name :). we take turns with hosting, and whoever hosts does the cooking. and, of course, since this is the sweenlinghouses we're talking about: before, during and after dinner, we drink plenty of wine and/or beer.

our actual hit rate has been more like two thursdays a month, which is still pretty good if you ask me. (and you were asking me, right?) we didn't actually have dinner with them tonight (...), but we did last thursday. well, ok, so actually only *I* had dinner with them; kevin couldn't go b/c he had to work late. (excuse me, but do you MIND not looking at me like that?!? a girl has to eat!)

anyway, last week was a little impromptu, so even though we had dinner at katie and matt's, i cooked b/c i had already had a pork leg "scheduled." (i plan our food for the week on the friday before and buy all the ingredients over the weekend.) below is the recipe from dinner. you really can't go wrong with it, as it's marinated overnight in a pool of deliciousness, which is then turned into an even delicious-er sauce. we ate it with crispy roasted baby red potatoes and baby carrots, but of course feel free to serve it with whatever sides you prefer.


Honey & Dijon-Mustard Roasted Pork

1 bottle of amber ale
1 cup Dijon mustard
3/4 cup honey (I like orange blossom raw honey from Marshall's Farm)
1/2 cup olive oil (try Stonehouse)
3 tbsps chopped fresh rosemary
4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 4-lb boneless pork leg

1 cup half & half
salt and pepper to taste

Place first 6 ingredients into a medium bowl and whisk until blended. Pour marinade into a gallon-sized ziploc bag, place pork inside bag, remove air and seal shut, making sure pork is immersed in marinade. Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Reserving marinade, transfer pork to rack in roasting pan and roast until meat thermometer registers 150°F. Let rest for 15 minutes.

While meat is resting, strain marinade into medium saucepan; add half & half and any juices from roast pan. Boil until sauce reduces to about half, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Slice pork and arrange on serving platter. Serve with sauce on side. Serves 6.

two out of three ain't bad

i'm not ashamed to admit that i love meatloaf. (no, i don't mean the singer, i mean the dish.) there are some who will deny that they, too, enjoy a good meatloaf, but i'm willing to bet big money these same people are the ones responsible for all the missing "pigs-in-blanket" appetizers at parties. it's an eternal mystery how no one will admit to liking those tasty morsels, yet they're always the first disappear. hrm, hrm... now, either i'm eating way more than i realize OR others are also gorging themselves. (ok, so i'm willing to entertain the idea that maybe it's BOTH) *i*, on the other hand, have NO problem fessing up to my love for pastry-wrapped mini hot dogs.

but we were talking about meatloaf.

meatloaf - despite its somewhat yucko name (i mean, really, i don't blame anyone for not finding the word "meatLOAF" very appetizing) - is actually a very tasty food. and leftovers always make for yummylicious sandwiches for lunch later in the week. (mmmmm, meatloaf sammishes, mmmmm) the key to a good meatloaf is to make sure it stays moist. the two ways to do this are 1) make sure your wet : dry ingredient ratio is in balance and 2) don't overbake it. much like you can ruin a great batch of brownies by overbaking, you can do the same to meatloaf.

below is my favorite meatloaf recipe. *sigh* every time i make it, i'm reminded of the apartment i lived in for both my junior and senior years in college (111 dryden rd, for those of you who're familiar with ithaca, ny). it was here that i really started to try to cook things other than desserts and realized i actually enjoyed it. and to think, this was only last year. haha, folks, just kidding. hard to believe it's been over 13 years. (just nod your heads and agree. that's right, it's very hard to believe. now, tell me how young i look. excellent, excellent. ;)


Caroline's Meatloaf
1 lb ground beef (I use meat from Marin Sun Farms)
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup fresh salsa
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 deg. Combine all ingredients into bowl and mix until well combined (just use your hands, it's the most efficient). Place mixture in a 1-lb loaf pan and shape to fit evenly. Bake for an hour, or until meatloaf registers 160 deg with meat thermometer. Serves 4; serve with salsa instead of the usual (boring) gravy or ketchup. If you're lucky, there might be enough leftovers for a sandwich or two!