Glazed Meatloaf

This recipe is totally delicious and man-approved (mine voted it his favourite food ever).

Meatloaf
Oil (2 tsps)
Onion, chopped (1 medium)
Garlic, minced or pressed (4 cloves)
Eggs (2 large)
Mustard (2 tsps)
Worcestershire Sauce (2 tsps)
Salt (1 tsp)
Pepper (1/2 tsp)
Buttermilk OR Yogurt (1/2 cup)
Beef AND/OR Pork AND/OR Veal (2 lbs) — I used only beef
Bread Crumbs OR Crushed Crackers (2/3 cup)
Parsley, minced fresh or dried (1/3 cup)
Bacon (8-12 slices)

Brown Sugar-Ketchup Glaze
Ketchup (1/2 cup)
Brown Sugar (1/4 cup)
Vinegar, cider or white (4 tsps)

EQUIPMENT
Don’t make this in a loaf pan! Instead fold a few layers of foil to form a large rectangle. Place foil on wire cooling rack and place the rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Poke holes in the foil with a skewer about half an inch apart. Spray the foil with cooking spray.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.

First quickly mix up the glaze by adding all the ingredients to a saucepan and heating until thickened slightly. Set aside.

Saute onion and garlic with oil over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Mix eggs with salt, pepper, mustard, Worcestershire, and buttermilk/yogurt. Add egg mixture to meat in a large bowl along with the bread/cracker crumbs, parsley, and cooked onion and garlic. Mix with fork until evenly blended and the meat mixture doesn’t stick to the bowl. If it does stick, add more buttermilk/yogurt until it no longer sticks.

Turn the meat mixture onto a work surface. With wet hands, pat the mixture into a 9×5 in. loaf shape. Place the formed loaf onto your foil rack setup. Brush with half of the glaze and then arrange the bacon slices, crosswise, over load, overlapping slightly and tucking the tip ends under the loaf.

Bake loaf until bacon is crisp and loaf registers 160 degrees on a meat thermometer–about 1 hour. Cool for 20 minutes. Slice and serve with leftover glaze.

Inspired by: Cook’s Illustrated Glazed Meatloaf

Wolfgang Puck’s Hearty Potato & Cheddar with Bacon Soup

Bacon, chopped (1/4 lb)
Butter (1/4 cup)
Leeks, chopped (2 small)
Onion, diced (1 large)
Carrot, peeled, chopped
Garlic, minced (1 clove)
Flour (1/2 cup)
Chicken Broth (6 cups)
Russet Potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (3 lbs)
Sharp Cheddar, grated (1 lb)
Salt (1/3 tsp)
Pepper (1/4 tsp)
Whipping Cream (1 cup)

In a large saucepan cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove with slotted spoon, set aside. Drain all but 1 tablespoon drippings. Add butter and melt.

Add leeks, onion, carrots and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in flour. Gradually stir in chicken broth.

Add potatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cook partially covered for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Place cheese in a large mixing bowl. Stir in about a quarter of the hot soup, mixing until smooth. Return cheese mixture to saucepan.

Gradually stir in heavy cream, salt and ground pepper. Continue to heat soup until almost boiling.

Taken from: http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/recipes/view/4063/Hearty-Potato—Cheddar-with-Bacon-Soup