Meatloaf ~ A Delicacy at the Brainy Gourmet's House

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.

Potatoes ~ Au Gratin or Not...They are Delicious!

In a recent post, I suggested that readers start cooking 'blindly' (without a recipe) making potatoes au gratin, i.e; after all, its just potatoes, butter, heavy cream/sour cream and cheese. Bake it and eat it. All those ingredients are simple basic ingredients which should always be in your pantry/fridge.

If au gratin is not to your taste but you happen to like potatoes and want to begin cooking the Brainy way - without a recipe... then just fix potatoes. Wash em, peel em, boil em, bake em, fry em, mash em, or whatever... potatoes as a side with any meat/fish or served as a meal all by themselves... can be truly scrumptious!

or just a bowl...

Fresh Dried Herbs Make Any Dish Brainy!

Long time readers know that my favorite herbs are: rosemary, mint and oregano. Its the blended taste of savory and sweet that is beyond delicious. These herbs are very easy to grow. And because I grow them myself, I have quality assurance. 

Yes, herbs are relatively hardy and easy to grow and you don't need acres. You can grow them in pots on your deck/patio or in your kitchen window. Just clip fresh (don't wash), lay them on a perforated pizza pan and within 24-48 hours, they are dry. 

The temperature of the oven should be around 80 degrees, a good temperature for slow drying the delicate leaves of mint and oregano. As for the rosemary, a bit higher temp of 100 is preferred giving the sprigs between 48-72 hours. There is no point to pick a lot unless you have a lot to harvest. I pick and dry as I need. Its simple, its fresh, fast and frugal!

In a variety of combinations (a pinch more or this or that one), these herbs are great for any meat, fish, vegetable or pasta dish. And, best of all, Rosemary especially is known for its potential health benefits... it's an aromatherapy for the brain!


Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a fragrant evergreen herb native to the Mediterranean. It is used as a culinary condiment, to make bodily perfumes, and for its potential health benefits.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/266370.php

Brainy Asian Cooking!

Italian cooks are brainy cooks. They never run out of ideas or these basic ingredients: tomatoes, garlic, rosemary and basil, pasta, olive oil and Parmesan cheese. Asian cooks are brainy too and they never run out of: rice or rice noodles, soy sauce, fresh ginger and garlic. And for those that like spicy Asian - sweet chili sauce.

*Check Brainy Archives for these dishes! www.brainygourmet.com

Italian Steak with Green Peppers and Onion!

Steak dinner on the terrace...

With Italian cooks, everybody has their 'steak' recipe or way of cooking it. I am not talking about a New York Strip, T-Bone, or Filet... I am just talking about the kind of steak most Italian home cooks will make. Italians love sirloin. Its tender and can be used in a variety of ways.

For this dish, you will need to buy: one sirloin sliced very thin. You can often find a 'rolled' sirloin. One that has been cut thin and rolled up and packaged. Along with the steak, one onion and two green peppers... preferably from the garden given the this time of year.

To begin, unroll the sirloin and pound each one, coating with garlic powder and a pinch of sea salt. Then take two bowls: one for the egg, milk and balsamic vinegar wash and the other for the herb infused bread crumbs. Prepare these bowls; the first, using two eggs, 1/2 cup of milk or better yet buttermilk and to that 4 tbs of balsamic vinegar, whisk. The second, just pour out some bread crumbs and sprinkle in Italian herbs.

Chop one onion and the two peppers to be sauteed in olive oil. Push aside or remove when browned. In the same skillet, adding a bit more olive oil, pan fry the 'breaded' steak. It does not take long to sear each side. We like them medium rare so cooking time is short.

Bring back the onion and green peppers when ready to serve. A side of potatoes and garden fresh tomatoes are best. I like olives on the table and a decanter of balsamic vinegar on the delicate meat....

~ Tutti a Tavola!

Brainy Good ~ Mediterranean Chicken!

The secret to really great Mediterranean chicken is not only the olives in the sauce but in the way you cook the chicken. To begin: use bone in, skin on chicken thighs. Pan fry in a large skillet as many thighs as you need skin side down on high heat in olive oil with garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and fresh dried herbs: rosemary, oregano, sage and mint. Once the skin side is nicely browned, turn over and reduce heat to med.; cover for 5-6 min, adding a bit more olive oil if needed.

 Move the chicken aside or remove temporarily while you add one whole chopped onion and one whole chopped roasted red pepper. Brown together, then add one med. can of diced tomatoes or fresh about 2 cups along with either 1-2 cups of diced zucchini or eggplant.

Bring the chicken back in and for extra flavor, toss in fresh sprig of rosemary. Cover and let simmer for about 35 min on low heat. In the meantime, prepare wide egg noodles, linguine or Spinach infused fettuccine pasta.

When that is all that's left... it was really good!



~ Tutti a Tavola!

Summer Kitchen using Simple Fruits/Veggies of the Season

First a Brainy Reminder ~

The Brainy Gourmet has always been about flavor and frugality. The idea is to show that meal preparation at home can be simple and delicious. You don't need to scrutinize over a recipe and buy expensive ingredients that you may never like or want to use again. On the right margin of this blog, you will find the basic pantry list followed by an extended list.

Get started with the basic pantry list. Begin by making creamy home-style potatoes au gratin without a recipe. Really, its a no brainer. Wash, peel and slice yellow gold potatoes, layer in a baking dish with butter, salt (a pinch only) heavy cream and grated cheese. Bake! If you can do that, you can do all the brainy dishes. And, if potatoes au gratin is a bit too ambitious yet, then aim for summer fruits and veggies.

For today's dinner menu, consider a summer kitchen grill using fruits and veggies of the season as sides. I for one love apricots. You can pan fry in butter or coconut oil until seared and just caramelizing; they can be used to top any grilled meat. I also recommend stir fried root veggies or garden fresh zucchini sticks.