Since I was a young boy, back in the glory days of elementary school and middle school, I knew that I always had a penchant for cooking. In fact, I remember the moment when I took my interest in the culinary arts to the next level. Let's go back in time for a minute, specifically let's go back about fourteen years ago when I was in the fifth grade. In the fifth grade, my class was given an assignment to create a presentation about our favorite activity or hobby. Looking back, this was a challenging assignment. I mean seriously, what fifth grader knows what their #1 favorite hobby is. I mean, I knew I liked to play in my pee-wee soccer league, and I knew I enjoyed my weekly tennis lessons, but I can't imagine how challenging it must have been for me to pin-point what I liked the MOST at the delicate age of 11.
I managed to persevere, and I determined that cooking was my favorite hobby. Yes, cooking - little old me, all 4 feet and 7 inches liked to cook. And for my project, I was to pull off my masterpiece, my Mona Lisa of dishes at the time - the four-egg omelet. I had my mom buy all of the ingredients and I booked my father to direct this presentation via camcorder. Now without going into too much detail, this video consisted of me wearing a chef's hat, a long apron, cooking an omelet with several ingredients (what exactly these ingredients were, I do not remember), with my father holding a 12 lb video camera in the background. The point of this little stroll through memory lane is to establish that my interest in cooking is deeply rooted.
Now, let's fast-forward to the present day, where I am no longer 4 feet and 7 inches and I hope my ability to cook has improved substantially. Cooking has remained one of my favorite hobbies and I can safely say that if I hadn't pursued my career in law, I would have most definitely considered pursuing a career as a chef. I have read dozens of cookbooks, visited AllRecipes.com several hundred times, and I have filled my families and friend's mouths with delish meals on countless occasions. But my number one resource for developing my cooking skills is hands-down the Food Network...
Now, Bobby Flay is by far my favorite, and, in my opinion, the most skilled chef working on the Food Network today. If Emeril Legasse was still a regular personality on the Food Network I would cite him as being one of my favorites as well, but unfortunately Emeril has left the good graces of the Food Network. But Bobby Flay is my main man. His approach to cooking is so fun and natural that it makes it easy to pick up his cooking style. And it doesn't hurt that his specialty cuisine is BBQ, my favorite cuisine as well. I have ripped off so many of the dishes he has made on "THROWDOWN! with Bobby Flay" and have written down countless recipes he has created on "Grill It! with Bobby Flay." And how can you not love his enthusiasm with all of those exclamation marks in the titles of his shows? I mean, this guy has some serious pizazz and showbiz flair.
(Even Obama loves him. That's some serious clout.)
Of course, I have some other honorable mentions on the Food Network's lineup, including "Dinner: Impossible" (although Robert Irvine can be a winy pain in the ass sometimes), "Iron Chef America," "The Best Thing I Ever Ate," and quite possibly my favorite show on the Food Network, "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives." Triple-D has some of the most delicious looking food I have ever seen, and it makes me want to buy a plain ticket to some of the most obscure locations in the United States just so I can taste some of the food Guy Fieri has had the pleasure of consuming.
(And look at the smile. What a charming dude.)
While watching one particular Triple-D episode I was introduced to an awesome recipe for a meatloaf sandwich. I love meatloaf sandwiches, and this one was one of the best looking meatloaf sandwiches I have ever seen. It comes from the restaurant "The Brick" in Kansas City, Missouri.
Ingredients
Meatloaf:
- 2 pounds ground chuck
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup marinara
- 3/4 cup finely diced parsley leaves
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/3 cups bread crumbs
- Wheat bread, 24 slices
- 12 slices pepper jack cheese
Chipotle Ketchup:
- 2 (16-ounce) cans tomato puree
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 chipotle pepper, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chipotle sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, eggs, marinara, parsley, salt, pepper and bread crumbs. Mix thoroughly and put on a baking dish. Shape the meat into a loaf and cover the baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 to 90 minutes. Uncover the last 15 minutes of bake time. Remove the meat from the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes before slicing. Slice and keep warm.
Puree the tomatoes until smooth in a blender. Cook onions in heavy pan, over medium heat until softened. Add the pureed tomatoes to the onions add all the remaining ingredients, except the lime juice. Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, until thick, about 1 hour.
Remove from heat and let the mixture cool down a little before adding it to a blender. Add the lime juice and puree again.
Put 1 piece of sliced meatloaf on half of the wheat bread slices, add a slice of pepper jack cheese and top with chipotle ketchup. Cover with remaining bread slices and serve.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, eggs, marinara, parsley, salt, pepper and bread crumbs. Mix thoroughly and put on a baking dish. Shape the meat into a loaf and cover the baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 to 90 minutes. Uncover the last 15 minutes of bake time. Remove the meat from the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes before slicing. Slice and keep warm.
Puree the tomatoes until smooth in a blender. Cook onions in heavy pan, over medium heat until softened. Add the pureed tomatoes to the onions add all the remaining ingredients, except the lime juice. Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, until thick, about 1 hour.
Remove from heat and let the mixture cool down a little before adding it to a blender. Add the lime juice and puree again.
Put 1 piece of sliced meatloaf on half of the wheat bread slices, add a slice of pepper jack cheese and top with chipotle ketchup. Cover with remaining bread slices and serve.
I would like to end this blog post with one piece of advice to my readers. If you don't know how to cook or you are trying to become a better cook, I guarantee that if you start watching the Food Network for at least 30 minutes a day you will become a better chef by the end of the year. You will learn tricks and tips on how prepare certain types of foods, what types of drinks and fruits go best with certain dishes, and you will even learn which spices compliment the food you are working with the best. And think about how much you can impress your significant other or in-laws by putting together a gourmet dinner. Nothing says sexy like a man (woman) who knows what they are doing in the kitchen...
Fino a domani.
Prepstarr
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