Blue Plate Old-Fashioned Meat Loaf

Welcome Dinner Guests with Casual, Classic Diner Fare

May 19, 2009 Brigette Zavala

With numerous food experiences to be had in a variety of settings, nothing quite compares to the warmth and charm of diners and diner fare.

Since its beginning in 1872, when Walter Scott hitched a horse to a freight wagon in order to serve homemade sandwiches, pies and plates of sliced chicken to night-shift newspaper workers in Providence, Rhode Island, diners have both evolved and stayed the same.

“Evolved” into a variety of settings, including transcontinental train club cars complete with leather booths; seaside sheds where piles of steamed crab are placed atop tabletops lined with butcher paper; and even rickety, country shacks where barbecue is served. “Stayed the same” in the sense that the foods prepared and served in diners have offered, and still offer, a sense of home cooked goodness from people who aim to please with comfort food.

Another unique aspect of the diner experience is the way the food orders are placed—over the counter, sometimes in diner-speak, to a cook, in a hustling, bustling kitchen, seemingly too small to prepare order after order of unique, classic diner fare.

If you have memorable experiences of the diner experience, bring them back into your own kitchen with this classic diner dish of old-fashioned meat loaf. Serve with the classic side dish of mashed potatoes.

Blue Plate Old-Fashioned Meat Loaf

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 pounds lean ground beef
  • 1 ½ cups fresh bread crumbs
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • ¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crumbled
  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2/3 cup catsup
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ cup tomato sauce

Preparation

  1. Warm vegetable oil in a nonstick frying pan set over medium heat. Add onion and carrot to pan and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is almost translucent and carrot begins to soften. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute more. Remove pan from heat and set aside to cool.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan.
  3. In a large bowl, combine cooled vegetable mixture, beef, and bread crumbs.
  4. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, thyme, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, catsup, salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over beef mixture; mix gently with hands, just until combined.
  5. Pat meat loaf into prepared pan, making sure not to press too firmly. Pour ½ cup tomato sauce evenly over the top of meat loaf; bake for about 1 ¼ hours, until loaf has begun to shrink from sides of pan and an instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 150 degrees F. Transfer to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes.
  6. Cut meat loaf into thick slices and place on warmed individual plates. Serve warm with mashed potatoes, or cold in sandwiches.
  7. SERVES 6

The copyright of the article Blue Plate Old-Fashioned Meat Loaf in Recipes is owned by Brigette Zavala. Permission to republish Blue Plate Old-Fashioned Meat Loaf in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.