I Love You *This* Much

Happy belated Valentine's Day everyone!  Mr. Smith and I don't tend to celebrate V-day very much  - no gifts, chocolates, or flowers for us!  But, I still wanted to do something sweet for him.  Yesterday I got pretty ambitious and wanted to make a special meal for Valentine's eve.  I found a recipe for Italian meatloaf that I've been wanting to try forever in this month's Fine Cooking Magazine.  I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but DANG that was good meatloaf. Definitely the best I've ever made (...or had, for that matter).  I closed the meal with homemade chocolate lava cakes.  Needless to say, it was a happy Valentine's Day!

Note: Fine Cooking has this awesome tool online where you can make your own meatloaf!  That's all I did, but I didn't use their online tool, I just made it up as I went along.  Check it out when you get a chance!

Italian Meatloaf

STEP 1 - The Aromatics:
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped carrots

3/4 cup white wine

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add all ingredients except the wine and saute until softened and beginning to brown (6-8 minutes).  Add the wine and simmer until almost dry (4-5 minutes).  Transfer to a large bowl and let cool.

STEP 2 - Soak the Bread:

4 oz. sliced french bread

1 cup whole milk (if you don't have whole milk, any milk will work, but whole is better)

In a shallow dish (I used a 9x13" clear baking dish) soak the bread in the milk, flipping once, until soggy (10 minutes).  Lightly squeeze a handful at a time and place on a cutting board.  Finely chop and add to the bowl of aromatics.

- the aromatics & the soaked bread -



STEP 3 - Mix the Meatloaf:

2 lbs. ground bison

1/2 lb. lean ground pork

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. fennel seeds

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 tsp. black pepper

1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

1 Tbsp. dried thyme

1 handful fresh basil

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup shredded parmesean cheese

2 Tbs. honey

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line the bottom of a 9x13" baking pan with parchment paper.  Add the meat and eggs into the bowl of aromatics & bread.  Scatter all other ingredients (except honey) on top.  Use your hands (I use disposable gloves) to gently mix ingredients until just combined. 

Transfer the meatloaf mixture to the baking pan and form into a rectangular-ish block.  Drizzle honey over the entire thing as evenly as possible.

- ready for the oven -

STEP 4 - Bake the Meatloaf:

Bake meatloaf until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the meatloaf registers 160 degrees F (about 1 and 1/2 hours).  Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.

- how delicious does that look? -

STEP 5 - Serve!

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (I used jarred)

1/4 cup shredded parmesean cheese

Slice into 3/4 - 1 inch pieces.

- look at all that good stuff in there -

Put the slices on a plate (I did two per person) and spoon that tomato sauce over the meatloaf and sprinkle it with cheese!  Voila!



- I served it with some blistered green beans... we were happy campers -

 The meatloaf didn't even really taste like classic (kinda boring) meatloaf.  It was like the best Italian meatball you've ever eaten, in loaf form.  The honey carmelized on the outside and gave it a sweet, sticky crust and all of those spices and herbs in the meatloaf really gives it that fresh-from-Italy taste.  YUM!  I hope you enjoyed reading this recipe as much as we did eating it!  Don't get bogged down with all the steps - just make it.  I promise you'll be glad you did.

~ Mari

P.S. I made a mess. ;)

Bison Bolognese

Pasta is my favorite thing to eat. Period. Here at the Smith household, we eat a pasta dish once or twice a week. And none of that "whole wheat" grainy pasta crapola. We have real, carb-filled pasta goodness. The trick is to vary the sauces from week to week so we don't feel like we're eating the same thing each week. This week, I was in the mood for Bolognese sauce. If you're not sure what it is, basically it's an amazingly delicious meat sauce with wine and cream. How can you go wrong with vino and cream? But, it can clog those arteries... so, I thought I would go for a healthier version of this classic dish by using a very lean (and tasty) meat - Bison!

Bison Bolognese

2 slices raw bacon

1 yellow onion

2 carrots

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 sprig fresh rosemary (1 tsp. dried)

1 lb. ground bison meat

1 cup pureed sweet potatoes (optional)

1 cup dry red wine

1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes

1.5 cups chopped fresh tomato

salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup half & half

First, get your ingredients prepped: chop the rosemary, chop the garlic, and... dice the onion.

Grate the carrots.

Chop the bacon.

Heat a large thick-bottomed sauce pot over medium high heat. Put the bacon in, and render it away!

Next, add the olive oil, onions, carrots, rosemary, and garlic. Saute until the onions become transparent.

Now, add the bison meat and saute until browned.

Now you're ready for some booze! Add the red wine and canned tomatoes. Reduce to low, cover, and allow to simmer for 40-50 minutes. Once the sauce has reduced and it smells amazing (it will... I promise), taste it. Add salt and pepper as you like it, and dump those yummy fresh tomatoes in there. Here is where one would add the sweet potato puree. If you don't have any sweet potatoes, don't worry. It just adds creaminess and body to the sauce.

Let the sauce cool in the pot for 10-15 minutes (stick your finger in there and if it's still hot... wait a bit longer for the next step). Pour 1/2 cup of half & half in your pot and stir it up.

Now, try it. YUM. If it's not the best pasta sauce you've ever had...add more half & half. Haha. But, it should be pretty amazing as it is.

Just add pasta, grated parmesan, and fresh basil and you've got a delicious (and not QUITE as bad for you) meal fit for any pasta lover!

Enjoy!

~ Mari

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

So, sweet potatoes are delicious and nutritious. They are also one of my favorite foods. Also, who doesn't like French fries? So, I consulted someone that I seldom consult: Paula Deen. Nothing wrong with Paula, but I would never have dreamed that she would have a healthy sweet potato fries recipe. Surprise! She did. So, I tweaked it a bit... and here's what I made!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

3 large sweet potatoes

extra virgin olive oil

salt

black pepper

sugar

cinnamon

allspice

paprika

onion powder

First, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Then peel the sweet potatoes. Next, use a mandolin (or cut them by hand like moi...hehe) to cut the potatoes into French fry shapes (potato sticks). Place the sticks into a large bowl and drizzle olive oil over them. Toss the sticks to coat them with the oil.

Sprinkle the potatoes with 2-3 Tbsp. of salt, 2 Tbsp. sugar, and enough of the other spices to coat the fries. Don't overdo it, but make sure that the spices are on there enough that you can see it.

Spread the potato sticks onto a sheet pan (make sure that they aren't overlapping too much so that they cook evenly). Stick them in the oven and allow them to cook for about 25-30 minutes. You'll know when they're done if the edges are a little crispy and caramelized. Granted, these aren't going to be super crispy fries, but they taste DELICIOUS and are much better for you that fried fries.

Let the fries cool for 5-10 minutes. They are good to go now, but what are french fries without ketchup? And since tomato ketchup would not be the greatest with sweet potatoes, I made a maple butter sauce. All I did for the sauce was mix a little whipped butter with pure maple syrup.

And voila! They're done! Ryan and I ate them with homemade bison burgers. Yummers.

Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

~ Mari