Not Your Mama's Meatloaf

I hate it when I buy a new cook-book, make one recipe and then allow it to collect dust on the shelf, so I decided to make another recipe out of Kelsey B's cookbook! This time I went with something I've never made before - Meatloaf! It turned out delicious and mostly everyone at girl's night said they liked it; however I thought it would probably be a bit too sweet for some's idea of meatloaf. It definitely was an interesting deviation of "Mama's meatloaf," but although I liked it a lot I'm not sure everyone would. Try it, no reason why not -- it's worth tasting and seeing if you like it! If you are a fan of sweet marinades then this is sure to float your boat. Bon Appetite!

Not Your Mama's Meatloaf
from Celebrated Chefs


Serves 6
1 tbsp. unsalted buter
1 1/2 cups diced sweet onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 slices white bread, torn into pieces
1/4 cup whole milk, more if needed
1 egg
2 tbsp. finely chopped flat-leaf parsely
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tsp. finely chopped fresh sage
1/2 tsp. finely chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. ground lamb
1/2 lb. ground lean pork
1/2 cup diced cherry or grape tomatoes

Red Wine Glaze
1 cup full-bodied red wine
1/2 cup diced cherry or grape tomatoes
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. molasses
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 350* F

2. For the glaze, combine the red wine, tomatoes, sugar, balsamic vinegar, molasses, cinnamon, and allspice in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Boil until reduced by 3/4 and the glaze is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tendor, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Set aside to cool.

4. Put the bread in a large bowl and add the milk; let it sit until absorbed, adding a bit more milk if the bread is not evenly soaked. Add the egg, parsley, salt, sage, thyme, black pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne and stir until evenly blended. Stir in the cheese.

5. Add the cooled onion mixture, ground meats, and tomatoes to the bowl. Stir until thoroughly blended. Transfer the mixture to a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan, packing it down evenly.

6. Pour the glaze evenly over the meatloaf to coat. Bake until cooked through (thermometer will read 160* F in the center), about 1 hour. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting into slices to serve.