My lack of finesse in the kitchen is pretty well documented here on Persephone, with pictures and everything, but I managed to pull off something delicious completely by accident, and I had to share. I made a meatloaf, the most boring dish made out of ground beef in a sea of boring ground beef dishes, and it was spectacular.
It all started because I didn’t have any salt, as I had recently dumped all of it on the porch so I could leave my house without pratfalling my way to a concussion. I already had two pounds of ground beef, the egg and breadcrumbs smooshed together, so I improvised with a spoonful of pickle brine.
Feeling like I had nothing to lose, I tossed in some pulverized rosemary, a little sage, some fresh ground pepper and a little ketchup. I mashed that all up, then wrapped the loaf around a dill pickle and put it in the pan. My mom always put a dill pickle or a hardboiled egg in the middle of her meatloaf. I think that was a seventies thing. The hot pickle was always my favorite part.
I let it bake for about an hour, until it was brown all the way through and my meat thermometer went to the “well done beef” setting. It was perfect. Brown and crispy on top, juicy and delicious inside. The sage and rosemary flavors were subtle, and it was about the juiciest meatloaf I’ve ever eaten.
I had to share, after posting all my kitchen disasters, that every once in a while I can pull off something tasty.
Do you have any accidentally delicious recipes? That you might want to share with your friend Selena?
12 replies on “Selena’s Kitchen WIN!”
What an interesting idea! I’ve never heard of meatloaf wrapped around a pickle, but you know, it kind of makes sense. I mean, pickle slices are the most om nom nom part of a cheeseburger in my opinion…so I can see how it would totally work.
I don’t eat meat but I may have to try this with some fake ground beef crumbles (yes, I have made meatloaf with them, don’t judge me!).
How do you make meatloaf with meatless ground beef crumbles? I love meatloaf, but haven’t had it since I was veggie because I thought it wasn’t possible to make veg…
It’s a little tricky. The way I do it is to let the crumbles thaw out so that they are a little moist. Then I add an egg and something else wet to bind it (usually a little barbecue sauce, or tomato paste or whatever I have on hand). Then I season it up, add the breadcrumbs/cracker crumbs and chopped onions and peppers and seasonings and pack it on in the baking dish. I come from the deep south where meatloaf is usually packed into a glass baking dish. I know that in other parts of the country it is formed into a bread-like loaf. I don’t think the veggie crumbles could stand up to that. But then, that statement is just waiting for someone to prove it wrong!
I guess if you are vegan using the egg to bind the mixture wouldn’t work.
That sounds good. This one isn’t really an accident, but my mom always puts apple sauce in her meatloaf.
Interesting! My mom made a glaze for pork chops out of unsweetened applesauce that I loved, I bet it adds a lot of flavor and tenderness.
I love that meatloaf is cheap and forgiving, and even boring ordinary meatloaf beats frozen pizza, my normal specialty.
I always glaze meatloaf in the Georgia redneck style of equal parts ketchup, barbecue sauce, a pinch of brown sugar, dash of hot sauce, dash of mustard and minced garlic. Its really sweet and yummy.
Let’s hope I have similar experience with my recipe for this evening. It’s an “Italian sausage” and lentil stew, only I’m substituting Italian sausage with some Merguez that’s been sitting in our fridge for a few days now. Maybe a few handfuls of rosemary and Italian seasoning will put things back on track a bit…
I’m beginning to think rosemary can fix anything. I’m going to try growing some on my windowsill this spring to test my theory.
YAY for kitchen wins! Also I love that you used your table salt on your steps.
Ooooh I always forget that meatloaf is an option for cheap foodstuffs, since my mom never made it (long story of passive-aggression on my dad’s side of the family; the first time she made it for him, he was like “Whatever I did, I’m sorry!” because his mom used to cook it when she was angry at his dad. His dad hated meatloaf, but was a cheapskate, so never wasted food… which meant that he had to suck it up and eat the meatloaf.)
I could probably use tomato paste instead of ketchup, right? Because I really really really hate ketchup.
I’m sure that would be fine. I’ve used BBQ sauce before in a pinch, too. I say try it and see how it works.
Tomato paste works with meatballs, so I’m sure it would work with ‘loaf!