Comforting dish
Classic meatloaf takes on new meaning after passing of relative
Meatloaf is comfort food through and through./
In early September, my fatherin-law passed away. He was sick for a short time, then died in the way everyone says they want to: in his home, with his sons close by, and after drinking a big Manhattan, his favorite cocktail. He was not in pain and he didn’t suffer. But still, boy, do we miss him. I know my husband misses his daily phone calls (“Just checking in, love you Paul”) and we miss the time spent with him in his home. Pat always welcomed us, and we often descended with animals and children and friends. He remained cheerful and smiling, no matter how loud the children or muddy the dogs.
For a very long time, my father-inlaw cooked for us. He made turkey soup and goulash, always checking to be sure he made it the way we liked (“Do you guys want onions in the goulash? Should I make the soup with turkey?”) But his meatloaf he only made one way—no negotiating. Pat ’s kind of meatloaf is like America’s national dish. It ’s comfort food, through and through. His recipe has no herbs, no fancy cheese, no vegetables layered in. Sadly, we didn’t ask Pat for his recipe before he died. Paul and I tried to remember everything about his meatloaf, and recreate it from how it looked and tasted. It helped that we both saw him make it many times, and he told us a few important things ( keep reading for his secrets). I think we came pretty close.
There isn’t one thing wrong with the beefy f lavor of a simple meatloaf like Pat ’s. When you want comfort, his recipe works. But sometimes, mood and cravings call for herbs, capers and mushrooms. In those times, the variations I’ve included here are the answer. They make for good weeknight eating and excellent leftovers. One note about these loaves: my dear father-in-law, oldschool guy that he was, would not have ever cooked or eaten a Greek turkey meatloaf. Vegetarian lentil loaf ? Forget about it. I still make both for my family, but spoiler alert: Everyone prefers Pat ’s recipe.
Pat ’s classic meatloaf is just that. Meatloaf. It ’s got a few bits that
make it taste good, in a simple, homey kind of way. This is the meatloaf you make on a cold fall day and it feels good in your belly.
His meatloaf is a simple recipe, and the thing about that is finding the right simple ingredients. His first meatloaf trick isn’t so much of a secret. He stirred in a packet of onion soup mix, along with egg, breadcrumbs and cheese. But he also amped up the onion f lavor of the soup mix with deeply sauteed onions. Plenty of garlic, cooked until tender and fragrant, is right at home with the onions. I debated about what to top this meatloaf with: the traditional schmear of ketchup? Bacon? A beefy glaze? Bacon ended up the winner, which crisps in the oven. (And whoever complains about bacon on top of beef ?) In the end, I did what Pat always did and topped the loaf with plenty of thick-cut bacon strips.
Pat formed his meatloaf into a f latter shape than usual atop a wire rack on a foil-lined cookie sheet. He said cooking the meatloaf on the rack, rather than using a loaf pan, allowed extra grease to seep out onto the foil. The beef, pork and bacon give off plenty of fat when cooked, so allowing some of it to drain off isn’t a bad idea.
Greek turkey meatloaf is a dish that is made with a few ingredients that lend tons of f lavor. Important here is the kind of ground turkey you purchase. Buy ground turkey with some fat in it to prevent the loaf from being dry. Creamy, salty feta cheese, strips of sun-dried tomatoes and briny capers combine to give this recipe the taste of a classic Greek dish (though classic it is not). Lots and lots of parsley give the whole thing a fresh kick and pretty green color. Be careful adding salt, as capers and feta cheese are both salty ingredients. It ’s why we love them.
I feed a house full of meat eaters, so I like to shake things up now and then with a vegetarian meal. There’s a few things in the rotation on those days, including peanut noodles and Indian lentils. When vegetarian comfort food is in order (think something that goes with mashed potatoes), lentil loaf is the way. When you’re making an entire loaf from lentils, there’s a few things you have to do for f lavor. First, cook plenty of onions and garlic and stir in herbs and smoked paprika. Add salt into that pan, you’ll need it. When the onion mixture has cooked down, stir in the mushrooms. Plenty of cheese adds depth, and as I’m sure you know, cheese makes everything taste good. Be careful to not overcook this loaf. It only needs 25 minutes to cook through, and too long in the oven will make it dry.
Pat ’s been gone for more than a month now, and we’re still getting used to living life without him. Paul and I have talked a lot about how to carry on without his father and how to best remember him. We know that it ’s important to talk about him with our kids and talk about where he came from, what he accomplished, and how much he loved his children. We’ll also cook his goulash, turkey soup with rice, and when we really want to feel close to him, his meatloaf. On those days, we’ll raise our forks and say a toast to Grandpa Pat. Even though he is gone, it will be in the stories, the love and the food he shared with us that his memory will live on, forever.