MDF Down Home Meatloaf …redefined

MDF Down Home Meatloaf 

One of the best feel-good foods is our next go-to sandwich, the humble old fashioned meatloaf sandwich.  We would venture to guess, that just about every family has a recipe that has been handed down from generation to generation of this down-home classic.

With so many variations, this American staple may be customized to your liking, there are so many choices, such as the addition of oatmeal, crumbled cheese, hard-boiled egg, and even a blanket of bacon to keep the loaf moist, flavorful and tender, the options are endless.

Our mighty meatloaf is open-faced, packed with high-quality meat, our MDF ketchup, a rustic toasted roll, and if that wasn’t enough, we have crowned it with a fried egg.  It couldn’t be more comforting or satisfying.

The secret to making this recipe, is to keep the mixing and handling to a minimum, keeping the loaf moist and tender.  Our tasty tangy ketchup adds to the moistness and the concentrated flavor is hearty, thick and chunky.  Next, we added crisp peppery rocket leaves and juicy ripe heirloom tomatoes for a pop of freshness.  Then a farmer’s egg, which just takes it over the top, the runny yellow yolk, for us, makes it our ultimate comfort food.  The prep to plate for this tried-and-true classic takes no time at all and is worth making over and over.  Adding this recipe to your collection is a must.

MDF Down Home Meatloaf Sandwich

Ingredients:

• Rustic style roll (we served our’s open faced and used the the bottom of the roll)
• Generous slice of MDF Meatloaf (recipe below)
• MDF Glaze (recipe below)
• Rocket leaves to taste
• Thick slice of Heirloom tomato
• 1 egg
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Butter bottom of roll and place butter side down on a griddle or medium heat skillet to toast.
2. Brown meat loaf slice on both sides in 1 teaspoon of olive oil in skillet or on griddle until heated through.
3. Fry sunny side up egg.
4. Place meatloaf slice on toasted bread, top with MDF ketchup to taste then add tomato and rocket leaves.
5. Top with fried egg.
6. Season with salt and pepper.

Options for other toppings:

Fried onions, cheddar cheese, Monterey jack cheese, pepper jack cheese, sliced jalapenos, dill pickles, or bread and butter pickles.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 
cup yellow onion, minced
• 3 
cloves garlic, minced
• 1
 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1/2
 pound ground beef
• 1/2 
pound ground pork
• 1/2
 pound ground veal
• 1/2 
teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2
 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1
 egg, beaten
• 1/2
 cup milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a large bowl, mix onion, garlic, Worcestershire and bread crumbs together.
3. Combine ground meats with breadcrumb mixture.
4. Season the meat mixture with salt and pepper.
5. Add the egg and milk combine thoroughly, but don’t over work the meat.
6. Use a greased loaf pan as your mold, (or use your hands to free form) fill it, lightly packing then turn the meatloaf out onto a lined baking sheet.
7. Bake for approximately 90 minutes, glazing after 10 minutes, 30 minutes and 60 minutes.  Until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F and the meat loaf is cooked through.
8. Once cooked, remove from the oven and let it cool, about 90 minutes.

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup MDF Ketchup
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and spoon over the meatloaf after 10 minutes cooking time and again after 30 minutes and again at 60 minutes.

Recipes by Rj of Urban Table

Photo Styling & Art Direction by Traci of Urban Table

Photography & Art Direction by Heather of Heather Gill Photography

Modern Day Forager

Celebrating Our Grandmothers

Granny, grandma, grandmother, nana, nona. Whatever you called her we are celebrating her and time honored traditions this week.  For us at MDF, our grandmas centered around cooking, eating and family.   Their recipes were always lovingly prepared and harken back to a simpler time.  Everything depended on what was at hand, available and fresh in the garden and nothing was ever wasted.  No shortcuts were ever taken and many of the meals we have all grown so fond of, came out of the kitchen because of necessity to stretch a meal or a dollar.

Our grandmothers stories, recipes and wonderful anecdotes enriched our lives and awakened our love for food and feeding people.

Over the coming days we will share with you some charming stories, treasured family recipes, steeped in tradition and what we like to call “grandma-isms or  our version of grandma sayings.”   We would love to hear about your grandmother.  What do you remember about her?  Do you make recipes that she made for you as a child?  Please connect with us in the comments section or on our Facebook page.

vintage place mat photo by Bob’s Your Uncle

Modern Day Forager

Stone Fruit Week Wrap up…

Stone Fruit Week Wrap up…

I want to start this week’s wrap up off by giving you a glimpse behind the curtain at MDF and no I am not the wizard, that job falls squarely on the shoulders of Traci and Heather. There is a whole lotta love,  I mean thought, at least one meeting, (yes there’s food) several days of planning, recipe writing, recipe testing and then at least one, usually two days of food styling and photography.

When it came to the planning meeting for this week, stone fruit as our subject matter was a no brainer. Summer and stone fruit go hand in hand, for that matter stone fruit is summer in your hand.  If you never make a single one of these recipes, please at the very least take a bite out of as many of these drupes as you can get your hands/mouth on.

We started the week off with an intro to stone fruit and then on Tuesday we featured Nectarine Salsa, I am incredibly proud of this recipe, not only does it taste great, it highlights the nectarine and is a wonderful representation of how I like to cook. (Let the ingredients shine, equal balance of sweet and savory, presence of heat and several textures.)

Next we took a journey down south with a totally different take on the crumble… Our Peach and Cardamom Crumble takes advantage of a white peaches less acidic and sweeter taste paired with the herbal and citrus characteristics of cardamom to create a truly memorable dessert.

On Thursday we brought you Roasted Chicken with Pickled Cherries and Radish Sprouts… a sample of what happens when Traci and I start freethinking about a flavors.

“What does it pair with, what can we do to enhance its core qualities, what sounds wrong but tastes so right?”

Friday brings another dessert inspired by the south but with our MDF name all over it. The Caramelized Plum Tartlets are a great example of how to incorporate several textures into a dish thats featured ingredient is high on flavor but low on crunch.

For those of you wondering where the cocktail is, let me refer you back to cocktail week for the Crazy Jane … ok, ok I can’t help myself. A classic is begging to make an appearance here:

Apricot Bellini

Add 2 tablespoons of *apricot puree to a glass of chilled sparkling wine (Those of you that follow us, know we prefer Prosecco)

*Apricot Puree

4 apricots, pitted

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest

1 teaspoon sugar

Place all the ingredients into your food processor and process until smooth. Force mixture through a sieve with a spoon then store in an air tight container in your refrigerator.