Bag'o Meatloaf

I had a revelatory moment in the kitchen. I was thinking I would like to have a meatloaf sandwich. The problem was...I didn't really want to have eat the meatloaf before it became the sandwich. Then it hit me. Why didn't I just make a planned over meatloaf and cut out the "dinner" part of the meatloaf experience.



Since I cook a lot on Sundays, it seemed natural to stick a meatloaf in the oven and then just throw it in the fridge. But then there is the problem of cooking meatloaf. Even though I have one of those meatloaf pans that supposedly holds the meatloaf out its greasy residue, it is a pain to clean. Then I had a second revelation. At the big Food show in D.C. I was given some "en papillote" bags. It seems that The Paper Chef took the difficult origami out of the "en papillote" and just made paper bags suitable for cooking salmon. I had been looking for a way to use these nifty bags and then I thought, why not bag my meatloaf. The paper bag would make nice sandwich sized slices and the paper would wick away most of the fat. I would be left with a baking sheet to wash and a cold meatloaf without that congealed fat issue.


I made my meatloaf. I took The Paper Chef Bag and gentle pushed out its square corners to give me a more rounded loaf. I put my meatloaf mix in the bag and shaped it a bit. The length of the bag allowed me to just wrap it around and place it on the baking sheet, also providing extra paper to wick away the fat.

I baked it and then removed it to a rack to cool and allow any residual fat to drip off. I too some extra paper towels and dabbed the meatloaf. When it was cool, I just wrapped the whole thing in foil and tucked it in the fridge. the next day I unwrapped the foil, removed the bag and sliced the meatloaf.



I don't think I will ever make meatloaf any other way.

While The Paper Chef might take exception, I am sure a plain brown paper bag would work, or just plain parchment, it you wanted to wrap up the meatloaf and tie it off with string. Either way, it makes a great sandwich.

Y'all Get Your Ass Out Of Bed...

I'm not much of breakfast eater, but on the weekends I indulge. One of my favorite breakfast dishes is the Y'all Get Your Ass Out Of Bed & Grab A... Breakfast Burrito. It is a fusion of Old South and Nuevo Tex-Mex cuisine that I am trying valiantly to pioneer.

If you read recipes over at Cookbook Of The Day (which has lately been more like Cookbook Of The Week) you will notice that I love early 20th century cookbooks that give a list of ingredients and little else. Well, that's just the kind of cook I am. Much like Eudora Welty's mother who never included directions. When Welty questioned this method, her mother replied, "any cook worth her salt would know, given a list of ingredients, what to do with them."

So without further ado, and with both literal and technical instructions here is how you too, can make my favorite Y'all Get Your Ass Out Of Bed & Grab A... Breakfast Burritos.

The first step requires a bit of a planned over. A Planned Over is an ingredient that one cooks during their time in the kitchen with no plan for eating it that meal, but with the expressed intention of using it later in life. Grits are the perfect Planned Over. You can make a big bunch of them while you are cooking anyway. When you are done cooking them, simply spread them in a nice container to use later. The uses are endless. The nice thing about cooking grits for later use is their remarkable ability to hold their shape, which makes cutting them into unique and decorative shapes a joy.

Planned Over Grits

4 cups water
1 cups "quick" grits
1 teaspoon salt

Bring the water to a furious boil in a saucepan with a cover.

Add the salt.

Pour the grits into the water slowly and stir until the water returns to a boil.

Immediately turn down the heat*, cover, and cook undisturbed for 5 minutes.

Allow the grits to cool for about 5 minutes, then pour them into a container. While they are still warm, take a sheet of cling film or plastic wrap and lay directly on top of the grits to prevent a "crust" from forming. Cover tightly and refrigerate.

* if you have an electric stove, remove the grits from the hot heating element and set on a different element set to low. On a gas stove, turn the gas down so that there is barely a flame.

When you are ready to use them, simply unmold and slice.

Y'all Get Your Ass Out Of Bed & Grab A... Breakfast Burrito

Literally, heat up the sliced grits in the stove or microwave, scramble some sausage and eggs, warm up the tortilla spread with some cheese, add the grits, add the scramble, roll it up and eat.

More technically to serve 4:

4 flour tortilla, preferably, tomato or spinach or pepper which vicariously fulfills the need for a vegetable

4 slices of Planned Over grits, cut about 1 X 1 inch slices

4 ounces breakfast sausage

5 eggs, mixed slightly

1 cup grated cheese

On a slightly oil baking sheet, arrange the grits slices and heat in a 375 F oven for 5 minutes.

In a large skillet, fry the sausage until done, about 5 minutes.

On another baking sheet, spread the four tortillas and sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese on each tortilla and put in the oven until the cheese melts, about 2- 3 minutes.

Add the eggs to the sausage and scramble until set, about 2 minutes.

Remove the grits and tortillas from the oven.

To Assemble:

Add a slice of grits to the warmed tortilla

Top with some scrambled sausage eggs

Roll up and serve

Feel free to add some chow-chow or salsa if you are so inclined, it's another vegetable, you know.

Enjoy.

Stuffed Grits Cups

I would eat grits every day, so when I cook them, I tend to "overproduce" as they make a wonderful planned-overs for another day. One of my favorite planned-over dishes is stuffed grits cups. The make a great breakfast, lovely luncheon and nice hors d'oeuvres.

This recipe can be made from scratch, but the grits need to sit overnight, so it really lends itself to leftover grits. You will need about 1 1/2 cups of prepared grits, so cook extra! This dish works best if you have one of those mini-cheesecake pans. The ones that look like little muffin tins but posses removable bottoms. You can use the mini-muffin pans but extraction is a bit more time consuming.


The basic process is as follows. Cook the grits and pour them into the tins. Let them cool for a while, then form a thumb-sized impression into the grits. Use the end of a wood spoon or, if your hands are clean, just use you finger (be careful as they may still be quite hot). Cover with plastic wrap and set in the fridge. The next morning, remove the cups from the pan and place on a baking sheet. For breakfast, fill the indentation with cooked sausage balls, or quail eggs and heat in the oven. For luncheon, try the same filling, but serve the cups on a bed of pipérade or ayvar. For an hors d'oeuvre, fill the indentation with sour cream and top with caviar.

Stuffed Grits Cups

3/4 cup quick grits
3 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grated cheese (optional)
3 ounces sausage
6 quail eggs

Bring the water and salt to a rapid boil. Stir the boiling water and add the grits in a constant, gradual stream until they are incorporated into the water. Grits will clump up if you just dump them into the water, so add them slowly.

Immediately, reduce the heat to a low simmer and cover the grits. Cook for 5 minutes. Then add the grated cheese and stir till melted into the grits

Pour into the mini-cheesecake pan. Let cool for about 15 minutes and form an indentation in each cup.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate, overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350

Remove the grits from the tins and place on an oiled sheet pan.

Form the sausage into meatballs and sauté. Stuff the meatballs into half of the grits cups. In the the other half, carefully break a quail egg and fill the indentation.

Bake until eggs are set, about 10 minutes.

It's now up to you. Use whatever cheese or sausage you like... or have on hand. Add Parmesan and use Italian sausage or try manchego and chorizo. Give this recipe a try. you won't be disappointed.

Frog More-or-Less Stew

Yesterday I made a kind of planned-over low-country stew. I had some corn, a couple of potatoes, a bag of frozen lima beans, and part of an onion sitting in the fridge. My little grocery store often carries really small chickens, the kind of young chicken under two pounds that you would pay a premium for in markets in D.C. if you could even find them. I always pick up one when I go shopping because they are quick to cook and I adore chicken. Last week in the "on sale" category were Red Carolina Smoked Sausage. I know they are bad for you, full of god knows what, aside from the fat and nitrates, but they were on sale and they looked so lonely...

Late in the afternoon I tuned the oven on to 450F and pulled out my chicken without any thought. (Check out the post at Cookbook of the Day on the The Splendid Table's How To Eat Supper for their "hot oven" advice.)
Since I had no real clear ideas, I just added some salt and pepper, a cup of water and dropped the chicken into my big cast-iron pot, put the lid on and slid it into the oven.

Then I thought of the Carolina Red's and the rest is history. Traditionally, a Frogmore Stew has shrimp, but being landlocked, I have to plan way ahead and not simply "over" to ensure seafood. While the chicken cooked I peeled potatoes, cut off corn, and grabbed the frozen lima beans. I didn't really need to season it much as the spice in the smoked sausage added plenty to the dish. Here is my "recipe" for Frog More-or-Less Stew . Remember it is a "planned-over" recipe or a basically an "un- planned-over" leftover recipe so use your judgment and imagination.

Frog More-or-Less Stew

1 small chicken (or chicken pieces or leftover chicken)
1 or 2 Red Carolina Smoked Sausages (or hot dogs, half-smokes, andouille)
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes (or scrubbed new potatoes)
2 ears of corn, kernels cut off (or ears of corn broken into small pieces or some frozen corn)
1/2 bag frozen lima beans ( or the whole bag if you are so inclined)
1 small onion ( or the other half of the onion you sliced for hamburgers)
some salt and pepper to taste (and some red pepper if you like it hot)

In a rather large cast-iron pan (like Le Creuset ) add the chicken, seasoned with salt and pepper, the onion, and a cup of water. Let the chicken cook about 20 minutes. (If you use cooked chicken, simply add everything to the pot and cook about 40 minutes.)

Add peeled potatoes, corn, lima beans, and sausage.

Cook another 40 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pot, allowing it to cool a bit. Remove the meat and return the meat to the pot.

Season with some extra hot sauce if it's too mild for your taste.

Sweet Potato Cake with Golden Mixed Berries

This is one of my favorite cakes. It is easy to make, and a great idea for a planned-over sweet potatoes. I love looking for new and interesting mixed, dried fruits. Instead of plain raisins, I used a golden berry mix which included; raisins, cranberries, and blueberries.

Planned Over Sweet Potatoes

When you need to have the oven on for at least an hour, add a couple of sweet potatoes.
Scrub them, oil the skins and set in a shallow baking pan while you are cooking "whatever" for about 1 hour. After they have cooled, peel them and place the flesh in a plastic bag and tuck it in the refrigerator.

Sweet Potato Cake

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon quatre-epice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
1 cup raisins, dredged boldly


In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, spice, soda and salt together to blend

In a smaller bowl, mix the sweet potatoes, eggs, oil, and milk. I may look a bit lumpy and curdled, but that is the way it should look

Add the sweet potato mixture to the dry ingredients and blend well

Fold in the dredged fruit


Pour into prepared Lucinda’s Wood Cake Box.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours.

This cake is a great cake to ship. It gets better after several days of "maturing" and travels well.


Send one (or two) out to someone you love!

Cauliflower Ragout

Today's recipe from Lucindaville is one Harry Lowe calls a "planned over." A "leftover" is something you make or eat because it happens to be in fridge. A "planned over" is a dish you intended to make from the remaining portion of a dish you made earlier.

Over at Cookbook of the Day, we gave you a recipe from M.F. K. Fisher for a cauliflower casserole. I adore making this casserole, it is one of my ultimate comfort foods. Since I often cook for myself, facing cauliflower casserole for several days is daunting.

When I cook this casserole, it is usually with this planned over in mind. This recipe comes together in the time it takes to cook the pasta. I like a heavy pasta for this dish. My favorite is bucatini, a thick Italian spaghetti with a hole in the center, hence the name: buco means hole in Italian. I was never sure how they get that slim hole through the center of the spaghetti, but it's pretty cool. Use the amount of pasta you need. Bucattin tends to be sold in 2 pound bags so use less than that. This recipe works great with seafood: shrimp, lobster, or crab. If you keep a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer (and you should), this is the easiest solution. You can also serve the ragout plain over pasta with some freshly ground pepper and a shaving of Parmesan.

Cauliflower Ragout with Seafood over Bucatini

1 cup seafood
1 tablespoon butter
Leftover cauliflower casserole
1/2 package of bucatini

Cook the bucatini in several quarts of boiling salted water, about nine minutes.

In a skillet over moderate heat, melt the butter and saute your seafood till it pinks up, or simply heat it through if it pre-cooked.

Take the leftover cauliflower and mash it with a potato masher of just a fork, till the cauliflower is broken down but not liquefied.

Add the leftover cauliflower to the skillet with the seafood and heat thoroughly. If the ragout is too thick, add a bit of water or milk.

I like this recipe so much that for Christmas, I made it for company. I cooked the casserole, steamed lobster and made the dish with a lot of planning but no "over." It was a big hit.