Brainy Meatloaf Dinner on the Porch...

Meatloaf, a porch dinner delicacy...

When most people think of meatloaf they think dry ground beef in a football shape due to added oatmeal, crackers, bread crumbs, egg, milk, steak sauce, and or ketchup. Some try to beat the 'dried out' version by adding broccoli. But, meatloaf doesn't have to be like that.

You can use of course good ground sirloin but if you don't have then use ground pork or even turkey or a combination. I have made meatloaf from all three combined and alone. The secret to juicy tasty meatloaf is to Not put in oatmeal, crackers, egg, milk or too many bread crumbs. The key to juicy tasty even delicate meatloaf is to use a small amount of bread crumbs, heavy cream and either Worcestershire sauce of a bit of beef stock along with fresh dried herbs, salt and garlic powder.

To begin, blend 1 pound of ground pork (today's choice of ground meat) with 1/4 cup of heavy cream and 1/2 cup of bread crumbs. Add to that dried herbs: sage, rosemary, mint and oregano. Sprinkle in salt and garlic powder. Mix by hand, then add 2 tbs of beef stock and mix again by hand.

Set the oven to 350, drizzle olive oil onto a glass baking dish and lay in the shaped meatloaf. Top with 1 tbs of the beef stock, a good sprinkle of additional herbs and bake for 40 min. About half way through, add a handful of dried plums. For a side, blackened zucchini in olive oil with a squeeze of lemon juice, a pinch of salt and 1 tsp of clarified butter.

Just before serving the meatloaf, prepare a creamy dill sauce to top. Melt one pat of butter in a small skillet along with some of the fat juices coming off the meatloaf dish (remove carefully to take a spoonful out of the glass dish). Pour in about 4 tbs of heavy cream and a few sprigs of fresh dill.