Day 5: Back in the Saddle

Today, the first part of my day was spent helping my mother-in-law get her classroom set up. She is a beloved High School English teacher, and is known far and wide for her superior instructional skills. It is always nice to stand in the glow. So I helped her repair and mount a mural that she has had in her classroom for many years. It is an excellent mural of remarkable artistic value. It did however have a former life as a backdrop in a "Christian-Fantasy-Movie." Well. I just don't even know what to say about that.

The second part of my day was spent with my husband, who came home early from work so he could attend our daughters' guitar lessons. Now, while he is an

admirable and attentive father, he was also impelled by his curiosity. You see, I have been regaling him with tales of the guitar instructor who in no small way resembles the character Garth Algar of Wayne's World fame. He is the older, and perhaps no wiser, image of Garth. He looks like him, he talks like him... So Fulghi (my nickname for my husband, see: cast of characters) had to come see for himself. He also got to see how much fun it is to wait for an hour while the kids take turns with their guitar lessons, because I bailed on him and went to the store to procure the ingredients for this evening's experiment. Sucker.

So, on to tonight's experiment. I was originally going to cook The Barefoot Contessa's Turkey Meatloaf (pg.138) tonight, but upon review, I decided to go another way. Ina's meatloaf is an homage to traditional-flavored meatloaf, and honestly, although I'm sure it is very tasty in every way, I just wasn't feeling the whole ketchup-crust-on-the-top thing. And, since I am such a fan of my own meatloaf, and it is similar in many ways, I decided to go forth and produce my own creation for your gastronomic pleasure. Previously, I had done everything by sight, so I made sure to measure all ingredients so that the reproduction of said meatloaf would be more accurate. So I give to you now, the citizens of this blogosphere....

The Trophy Wife's Turkey Meatloaf

9x13 casserole dish

Oven at 350

The first thing I do is build a bed of vegetables on the bottom. For this I small-dice:

1 1/2 c yukon gold potatoes

1 1/2 c carrots

1 1/2 c onion

I toss the vegetables with 1/3-1/2 c olive oil and 1 t salt and 1/2 t pepper and spread them in the bottom of the casserole dish. Like this:

The meatloaf is made by combining:

2 c oats

2 cloves garlic pressed through a garlic press

3-4 eggs

1 1/2 c finely chopped onion

1 t salt

1/2 t pepper

2 - 2 1/2 c barbeque sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray's)

2 1/2 lbs. ground turkey

Eggs and barbeque sauce depend on how wet/dry you would like your meatloaf to be. Make a loaf out of this mixture, and place on top of vegetable layer. Spread an additional 1/2 cup of barbeque sauce on top and place in oven until a meat thermometer meets the desired temp. About 1 1/2 hours.

Before:

After:

With this lovely concoction, I served Parmesan Smashed Potatoes (pg. 158.) I used Yukon Gold potatoes instead of the called-for Red-Skinned. I have four words: Warm, Cheesy, Creamy! Yummy!

Fulghi says "a dinner like that just makes me love the world."