Not your mom's meatloaf

or mine for that matter. This recipe takes me back to Sunday dinner at my Aunt's house. The whole family would get together and Tia Toni would cook. She prepared classic American meals with just a hint of the old country. I would sit at the kids table in the kitchen with my sister and cousins. We watched Wild Kingdom and did our best not to get into too much trouble as we waited for supper to be served. Her moist delicious meatloaf is this weeks delightful bite.

I unfortunately do not have a vegetarian alternative to post for this recipe. However, the sauce is completely vegetarian and could be used for a variety of meatless alternatives. If you have a recipe for a meatless-loaf feel free to share I would love to try it.

Meatloaf a la Pinzon

1 1/2 lbs ground sirloin
1/4 lb ground veal
1/4 lb ground pork
1 medium carrot grated
2 stewed plum tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
2 egg yolks
1 small red onion
1/2 cup of pimento stuffed green olives
1 tbsp capers
2 tsp italian seasonings
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper to taste

Peel the onion and cut into about 8 pieces.

In a blender, add the onion, tomatoes with about 2 tbsps of the juice from the can, garlic, olives, capers, Italian seasonings, egg yolks, salt and pepper. Blend until mostly smooth.

In a large bowl combine the sirloin, pork, veal and carrots. Add the mixture from the blender to the bowl and combine well with the meat. The mixture will be very wet. Add the breadcrumbs to the mixture. Knead until everything binds together well. Add additional breadcrumbs as needed.

Next split the mixture into two and place into two medium loaf pans. Press the mixture into the pans ensuring there are no air pockets. Bake on 375 for 40 minutes.

Red Pepper Gravy
1 Whole Red Bell Pepper seeded
2 Fresh roma tomatoes
1 small red onion
5 black peppercorns
1 tsp fresh thyme
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

In a medium sauce pot add 2 cups of water, red bell pepper, roma tomatoes, red onion, peppercorns and thyme. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand covered for 10-15 minutes.

Now uncover the pot and remove the bell pepper, tomatoes and onion. Place the onion directly in the blender. Peel the Bell Pepper and tomatoes and add to the blender along with 1/2 cup of the water from the sauce pot. Puree.

Empty the sauce pot return to medium heat and add the olive oil. Once tghe olive oil is hot add the puree and reduce until it is the consistency of gravy.

Ratatouille Quiche

My grandma was a self proclaimed terrible cook. She had no interest in the kitchen what so ever, but she still had her moments of inspiration. She made some amazing things, that I crave to this day. Everything she made was prepared simply. By cooking with minimal seasoning her dishes relied on the flavors and quality of the ingredients she used. Her steamed zucchini with butter and Parmesan cheese was the inspiration for this weeks delightful bite.

Until recently I was under the impression that quiche was a challenging dish to prepare. A friend who had been experimenting with a variety of quiche dispelled that myth. I may never be the same.

If you've ever wanted to impress your dinner guests without breaking a sweat try this quiche. You'll look like a rock star every time.

Now, I made my own crust for this quiche. It is excellent and a snap to make. If you don't feel inspired then use your favorite store bought crust and this will be on the table in about an hour and fifteen minutes.

Ratatouille Quiche

Crust
2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup Yellow cornmeal
3/4 tsp Salt
1 cup Unsalted butter
6 tbsp ice cold water

Filling
5 Medium zucchini
1 Small leek trimmed
4 cloves garlic minced
14 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 tsp italian seasoning
3 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp butter
6 tbsp Parmesan cheese
6 eggs
2/3 cup Heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp pepper
additional salt and pepper to taste

To make the crust: Stir together the flour, cornmeal, and salt ina large bowl. Using a pastry blender cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly.





Once you get it to this point you want to start adding the water one table spoon at a time until the dough comes together. Knead well and seperate the dough into two equal sized balls. Form into disks, wrap with plastic wrap and refridgerate for at least an hour.

While the dough is chilling start the quiche filling. This is important because you'll want the filling to have cooled significantly before putting the quiche together.

Slice the leek and set aside. Slice the zucchini into rounds about 1/4 of an inch in thickness. Heat the extra virgin olive oil and butter in a 12" non stick skillet on medium high heat. Once the butter has melted add the leeks and garlic. Saute until the leeks have softened season with salt, pepper and italian seasonings. Once you see the leeks begin to go from translucent to golden add the tomatoes. Continue to simmer the tomatoes for a few minutes until some of the moisture evaporates. Add the zucchinis and cook until tender. It's very important not to overcook the zucchini because they will continue to cook in the oven. As soon as this mixture is ready pull it off the stove and place in a bowl to cool.

Now for your pie crusts. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. On a lightly floured surface roll out both disks to a 14" circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Fit each crust into a 9" pie pan. Trim the pastry and crimp edges.

Whether you made your crusts or are using store bought crusts remember to pierce the bottom of the crust with a fork and/or use parchment paper and pie weights to keep the crust from bubbling. Place the crusts into a 425 degree oven and bake until they start to get a little color. It should take just about 10 minutes.

Pull the crusts out of the oven and allow to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees.

Once the crusts have cooled sprinkle 1 tbsp of Parmesan cheese on the bottom of each crust. Then split the zucchini mixture evenly between both crusts and sprinkle 2tbsps of Parmesan cheese on top of the mixture.

In a medium bowl beat the eggs, heavy cream, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp nutmeg and 1/4 tsp of pepper together. Pour half the egg mixture in each pie crust. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes. (You can test at 30 minutes, if a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean it's done.)

Voila! You're done. Serve with your favorite salad.

Summer in San Francisco

Labor Day has come and gone heralding the beginning of summer in San Francisco, a wonderful if brief season of clear skies, warm weather and sunshine.

During this time I try to spend as little time as possible working on a hot stove. So I tend to make use of all the wonderful produce available to create tasty and refreshing salads. I like to visit farmer's markets to get my produce when I can, but I find that my local neighborhood produce market also offers a wonderful variety of in season veggies and fruit. These two options will be the tastiest and the easiest on your pocket book. However, if those options aren't available to you, you'll be able to find the ingredients necessary for this salad in any grocery store.

This recipe is one of my favorites because it is so easy and versatile. You can substitute any of the vegetables for whatever is ripe, available and to your liking. It calls for chicken but it can easily be made vegan/vegetarian by substituting the chicken with tofu or toasted nuts. If you plan on using tofu I would recommend marinating it in the dressing before putting it in the salad.

Lentil Chicken Salad with Couscous

1lb cooked boneless skinless chicken breast in 1/2 inch cubes
2 cups cooked lentils cold (green or brown)
1/2 cup cooked couscous cold
Lemon balsamic dressing (recipe below)
2 green onions sliced
2 medium carrots shredded
3/4 cup heirloom cherry tomatoes halved or quartered
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced cucumber
1/2 cup dried orange scented cranberries
3 tbsp fresh mint finely chopped
3 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley finely chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl combine lentils and couscous. Then add the mint, parsley, oregano and garlic until thoroughly combined. Incorporate the carrots, onions, bell pepper and cucumber. Add the chicken and dried cranberries. Lastly add the tomatoes, dressing, salt and pepper. Toss well and allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour, the longer the better. It will keep and be delicious for 3-4 days.

Lemon Balsamic Dressing

3 Tsp Balsamic vinegar
3 Tsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tsp Dijon Mustard
8 Tsp good extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine the Dijon, lemon juice and balsamic in a small bowl. Whisk mixture briskly as you add the olive oil in a slow steady stream. Season with salt and pepper to taste.