Brussels Sprouts and Smoky Onions on Cheddar Toast, from Food and Wine, January 2010
1 pound brussels sprouts, thinly sliced lengthwise
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
4 slices of good bread, toasted
4 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 350¬?. In a saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the brussels sprouts until they are just tender, about 5 minutes, then drain and pat them dry.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 5 minutes. Add the paprika, cover and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the onion is tender, about 10 minutes. If the onion starts to dry out, add a little bit of water to the pan. Add the brussels sprouts to the skillet and cook until they are tender throughout, about 5 minutes. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper to taste.

Arrange the toasts on a baking sheet and top with the slices of  cheddar. Bake them for 2 minutes, or until the cheese is melted to your liking. Serve the dish by mounding the brussels sprouts and onions on top of the cheesy toast.

I got such an urge last week and found this wonderfully adult tasting meatloaf recipe. Instead of squirting tons of ketchup into the meat mixture, this recipe has the surprise ingredient of chopped prunes instead. Sounds disgusting is what I bet you are thinking, right? If so, you are wrong. The prunes add a nice sweetness to the meatloaf that tastes so much better than cloying effect of the normally used ketchup. In fact, while we were eating dinner, I had Carlo guess what the mystery ingredient was and after a few mouthfuls, he still had no idea. He named pretty much all of the other ingredients in the dish, but was stumped at what was the pi?®ce de r?©sistance of the dish.

Anyway see for yourself just how good prunes could taste (seriously, who knew?), and stump your loved ones by making this meatloaf and have them guess the mystery ingredient. This recipe for meatloaf makes enough for 8 large slices of meatloaf at $1.60 per serving.

Meatloaf, adapted from Gourmet, February 2008
1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs (from 2 slices firm white sandwich bread)
1/3 cup whole milk
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium celery rib, finely chopped
2 medium carrot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 pound bacon (about 4 slices), chopped
1/2 cup pitted prunes, chopped
1 1/2 pounds ground beef chuck
1/2 pound ground pork
2 large eggs
1/3 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Before you start preparing the mixture for the meatloaf, preheat your oven to 350¬?F with the rack placed in middle.

Start the meatloaf by soaking the bread crumbs in milk in a large bowl.

Then cook the onion, garlic, celery, and carrots in the butter in a large heavy saucepan over a medium heat for about 5 minutes and stir occasionally. Cover the saucepan and reduce the heat to low, then cook everything until the carrots are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, allspice, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of pepper. Add this veggie mix to the soaked bread-crumb mixture.

Finely chop the bacon and prunes in a food processor, then add to the vegetable mixture along with the beef, pork, eggs, and parsley. Mix everything together with your hands.

Coat a 9- by 5-inch oval loaf pan with a light spray of olive oil and pack the meatloaf mixture into it. Once you have shaped the meatloaf, turn the loaf pan upside down in the middle of a 13- by 9-inch shallow baking dish or pan and remove the loaf pan. The meatloaf should retain the shape of the loaf pan, but will be able to cook in the pan so the three exposed sides get a bit crispy while it all cooks.

Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of meatloaf registers at 155¬?F, about 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Once the meatloaf reaches the ideal temperature, remove it from the oven and let it stand for 10 minutes before serving.

After cooking the meatloaf, a lot of drippings remained in the baking dish, so I asked Carlo to make a gravy from them to top the meatloaf. He drained the drippings into a small saucepan and whisked them with a little bit of flour to create a roux. Then he added some water until he had the right gravy consistency and kept on whisking over a low heat.

The meatloaf tastes great smothered with gravy and a side of creamy mashed potatoes. It also tastes pretty amazing the next day on a sandwich too.

Cheddar BLT Burgers with Tarragon Russian Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon grated onion
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
2 tablespoons sweet relish, or more to taste
1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
12 ounces thickly sliced bacon
1 1/3 pounds ground beef chuck
1 1/3 pounds ground beef sirloin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 6 slices
6 hamburger buns, split and toasted, or you can use any other type of bread like we did with brioche
6 iceberg lettuce leaves
6 slices of tomato
6 slices of red onion

In a medium bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the ketchup, red wine vinegar, onion, parsley, tarragon, sweet relish, and Worcestershire sauce. Cover it and place it in the fridge while you prep the burgers.

In a large skillet, salt and pepper the bacon and then cook it a moderately high heat, turning the pieces over once until the bacon is crispy, around 6 minutes or so. Drain the bacon on paper towels to get rid of any excess grease.

Light the bbq grill and let it heat up. While it is heating up, place the butter on the grill in a small metal dish to let it melt.

Gently mix the ground chuck with the ground sirloin (or plain ground beef if that is all you have), and thoroughly salt and pepper the meat. Divide the meat into six equal portions and form the patties in your hand, each one around 1 1/4 inches thick.

Place the burgers on the grill and brush them with some of the melted butter. Grill them over a high heat for 9 minutes to achieve a nice medium-rare burger. Turn them once during the grilling and brush the other side with a bit more butter. Place the cheese on top of the burgers right before they are fully cooked and let the cheese melt.

You can also put the buns or bread on the grill too and brush with a little butter to add a nice crunch to your burger as well.

To serve the burgers, spread the Russian dressing on the bottom of the buns and top with lettuce and tomatoes. Set the burger over this and top with the onion and slices of bacon to enjoy a really good and juicy burger.

The only “bright spot” of this daunting day was finding this recipe for a Tunisian Tuna Sandwich in a Metropolitan Home magazine in one of the doctor’s waiting room. This week after Carlo regained his appetite, I made it and we both enjoyed the salty tang of the sandwich. This recipe makes enough for 2 large sandwiches at $2.23 each, a fraction of what you would pay at a fancy sandwich shop.

Tunisian Tuna Sandwich
1 medium Yukon Gold potato, peeled, cubed (1/2-inch pieces)
2 large eggs
2 5-oz cans water-packed, albacore tuna, drained
1/4 cup capers, drained
1/2 cup chopped parsley
juice of 2 lemons
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
salt and pepper
2 demi-baguettes or rolls
Harissa

Boil the cubed potatoes in salted water until they are tender, and then drain and let them cool. Cover the eggs with cold water in a small saucepan and cook them over a high heat for 12 minutes, then cool them in a bowl of ice water. Once they are cool, peel and slice the eggs.

In a large bowl, combine the tuna, capers, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil and mix with a fork. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I just kept on adding lemon juice and a bit of olive oil until the mixture tasted how I liked it. Lastly fold in the potatoes into the sandwich filling.

Gently toast the cut baguettes or rolls, and pull out the the soft insides of the bread. Spread the bottom side of the bread with a generous amount of harissa and top with a sliced egg. Then add the tuna stuffing on top and drizzle with a bit of olive oil to finish off the sandwich.