Meatloaf And Blog Etiquette

I was leaving Steen, over at Side Order Of Ham, a comment, a really long comment, and then it went bye bye...never to reappear. AAARRRGGGHHH!!! It occurred to me that someone was trying to tell me something and that it might be sorta rude to pontificate in such large doses on someone else's blog.

So here's the post I was writing about and here's my comment...in my own space:

I agree about writing down recipes. I now write in my cookbooks when I make changes to a recipe (which is almost always), or if I think I should change it next time.

Too bad about the phantom meatloaf. He was probably just making it up.

The best meatloaf ever is The Italian Meatloaf from the second Silver Palate Cookbook. You make your meat mixture, pat it out into a rectangle and cover it with sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil leaves and smoked mozzarella. THEN YOU ROLL IT UP and place it on a baking sheet or roasting pan and bake it. OMG. It is the truly awesome. And as you cut it, you get these gorgeous spirals of delicious things studded into each slice.

When I make just a normal run of the mill meatloaf – 1 grated carrot, 1 grated zucchini, 2 or 3 slices of whole wheat bread zapped into crumby submission, a bunch of meat, a big squirt of ketchup and one egg - I form it into a loaf and…if you tell anyone I said this, I’ll deny it…I spread a half can of condensed tomato soup on the top and bake it. It’s really good and I don’t normally condone condensed soup under any circumstances.

Now, now...don't be scared of baking. The key is practice, practice, practice. And if you could bake next to someone who knew something that would help too. What's the worst thing that could happen anyway? You have a lot of mess to clean up. Plus baking bread IS hard. There are so many variables.

I love mushrooms too and subscribe to Michael Chiarello’s philosophy. Cook them hot and don’t touch them after they’ve been turned in the oil until they're browned and crusty. THEN turn them. Yum. Gotta go and get me some.