The Leaning Tower of Meatloaf
For dinner we’re eating an unconventional take on (s)mashed potatoes and a fairly conventional version of meatloaf. The meatloaf was made with ground turkey and filled with onions, red bell peppers, parsley, worchestersire, and some pureed chipotle in adobo (for a smokey flare). It was finished classically- by topping it off with ketchup before baking. The meatloaf was served on top of fresh basil pesto smashed red potatoes and the plate was garnished with drops of pesto.
A: okay, so i had this novel concept: pesto smashed potatoes. Unfortunately, they weren’t quite what i had hoped for. Not to say they were bad… just not some yummy buttery decedent potatoes. what’d you think of them t?
T: I pretty much agree with you. They were good. But, some things are classics for a reason. Plain old garlicy and/or cheesy and/or gravy-y taters are hard to beat. Not to say that the pesto smashed potatoes were bad. Also, I think the other kinds of mashed/smashed potatoes I mentioned might have gone better with the meatloaf.
A: Sadly, I agree. In my mind the pesto smashed potatoes were going to rock. actually, i just had a ton of basil i needed to use and wanted to make something different. But i really did think they were going to rock. I’ve been craving some of “mom’s” good old-fashioned meatloaf for a while, so even though i wanted to change up the meatloaf to make it fit the potatoes… i really really wanted to be feasting on some classic meatloaf.
T: interesting. What would you have done to the meatloaf to make it go better with the pesto potatoes?
A: well… i would have used basil in the meatloaf instead of parsley. i would NOT have used ketchup on the top, i would have replaced that with a homemade marinara. I probablly would have added some fennel and feta inside the meatloaf itself too.
T: Oooh feta. You could have just said “feta” and I would have had the same response.
A: feta…
T: Ooooh. Say it again.
A: feta…feta…FETA
T: AAAHHHH! … I like feta.
A: da… feta is gouda!
T: not quite sure how to respond to that one. 😛 Yes, da feta is gouda. I was just thinking, what’s up with Ketchup vs Catsup? How is ketchup spelled, and where did Cat Sup come from?
A: well… seeing as how you have the world at your fingertips, via the world-wide-web, i suggest you spend the evening looking that up and give me a report on it in the morning. Since I have NO clue.
T: Better yet, we could let one of our super-intelligent readers do it for us! Is it Ketchup or Catsup?
A: if all you’re asking about is the spelling… i would go out on a limb here and say that it’s ketchup or catsup depending on what part of the world you’re in.
T: True. Europeans and Australians have their ways of spelling things…
A: and we have our ass-backwards way of spelling things.
T: now, Amanda. I agree that our government does a lot of shitty things, but that doesn’t mean that the way we spell things in this country is wrong.
A: touche, T, touche. we just have our own spelling culture.
T: that’s right, and it’s no worse than any other spelling culture out there. I’m proud to spell like an American.
A: uh…. uh… duder, i think we need to abandon this conversational ship before she sinks any further. please?!?
T: I’m going to stay on this ship until it’s on the bottom of the ocean.
A: while i would like to keep you around for a bit longer… it is your life… do as you will!
T: Ok, it’s at the bottom of the ocean now. What do we talk about next?
A: well, we’ve hit up how the potatoes were a bit off, so what’d you think of the meatloaf itself?
T: I thought the meatloaf was great. It tasted very much like mama would have made. Except in my case “mama” was Ghee, my grandmother.
A: yeah. i don’t really see your mom getting her fingers all dirty mushing up meatloaf for you. Some yummy fried chicken, yes… meatloaf, not so much.
T: she did get her hands dirty in raw meat many times while I was growing up. I think that’s something she was glad to give up, though.
A: my mom never had to give it up! she never cooked when i was growing up.
T: what about those green beans and tomatoes? and, … MAMA’s MEATLOAF??!
A: heheheh okay, you caught me there!!! there were only two things my mom cooked when i was a kid, really really dried out and over-cooked herb-baked skinless chicken breast (no oil added for baking) and MEATLOAF! one of them was quite tasty and the other one turned me off of white meat. any guesses which is which?
T: Ok, yeah, but what about the green beans? You gotta give mama credit where credit is due, yo!
A: okay, the third and final item my mamma made (aside from hamburger helper) was this lebanese tomatoes and green beans dish that one of my grandmother’s border’s (who happened to be lebanese) taught her to make. So thank you “man who taught my mom how to make one more decent dish”! (btw, i love you mom)
T: girl you lucky I ain’t slapped ya, the way you talk bout yo sweet little mama. hmmph. (tyler bobs his head left and right)
A: boy! you met my momma! i think i’d call her a fiesty little mamma! (and sweet, of course) lucky for me, my sweet little momma “doesn’t like blogs” and won’t read a word of my trash talking! 🙂
T: you got me there. Ok, so I give the meatloaf a 4.45/5 and the potatoes a 4.1/5. That averages to approximately 4.3. But that seems a little low, so overall I give it a 4.35/5. What about you?
A: okay, i give the meatloaf a 4.3/5 and the taters a 3.8/5. If i’m going to rate them together i would have to give them a 3.95/5. I should have not given into my whim to have classic meatloaf if i wasn’t making classic smashed potatoes. The two items just didn’t work that well on the plate together even though they were both good…..sooooo… i just can’t bring myself to give the meal overall a score above a 4.
T: heard that. BTW, I’d like to give a quick shout out to Sam Adams, the patriot brewer, for making his tasty Octoberfest beer. It’s quite good. It’s smooth, has a nice warm flavor- somehow gives off the essence of pumpkin- which is fitting for the season. I think I’ll have one right now.
A: Cheers Sam (Adams of course)!
T: I bet Sam is proud to spell like an American.
A: nice.
Funny that- I made pesto mashed potatoes ot the weekend for the first time and I thought exactly the same as you. It was Ok but nothing like a nice creamy, buttery mash.
The meatloaf looks great though.
I have actually never made the same meatloaf twice..even if I tried to…I don’t measure and just take ingredients and toss in with the meat..
The potatoes though, have always remained the same…I only use butter, a little milk, salt and white pepper…
well they look beautiful! the taters. the whole dish is so pretty. a+ on presentation as always. delicious i can just tell, i might need seconds )
I have to agree about the Sam Adams Octoberfest. It’s really quite good – although not nearly as good as that meatloaf looks to be.
Ros, thanks! and yeah, i guess there’s a reason that pesto mashed potatoes aren’t huge. just okay doesn’t cut it for me… buttery creamy yummy mashed potatoes remain where it’s at!
Cathy, i know what you mean. I just don’t like to measure things. frankly, i don’t even precisely measure when i’m writing up a recipe. this time around the meatloaf was filled with more veggies than normal and it got the chipotle kick (because i had extra puree sitting around in my frige).
Why thank you, aria! there are most certainly seconds available if you would like some! one of the best reasons to make meatloaf is all those leftover meatloaf sandwiches…. with some plain yellow mustard…damn it. 😉
Anna, you are too kind 🙂 depending on my mood i might argue which i thought was better: the beer or the meatloaf. even though i’m at work, right now the beer would probably win! (hey, it’s overnight! normal people are drinking now 🙂 )
Hi!
Isn’t pesto a strange, compelling mixture! It seems to weave into many things at our home, and my husband has now learned to appreciate its versatility. Thank you for a wonderfullly entertaining and informative blog – hope to visit again! Ciao
That looks gorgeous and quite healthy too. I should try to make that
atexascat, thanks for stopping in and for your wonderful comments! pesto is a strange and glorious mixture indeed. hope to see you around again soon!
charles, it was both (pretty and healthy). it was also incredibly easy to make, just meatloaf and mashed potatoes really… you should totally go for it.