[Sca-cooks] Re: Meat loaf (was Peppers and Mangoes)

[Sue Clemenger]

 From all the posts, it's obvious that there are infinite varieties in 
infinite combinations, some gourmet and some more...prosaic.  (Beef and 
italian sausage would be nummy, though...I'll have to try it sometime!)
I think some of the ubiquitousness of the dish in the U.S. is that it 
can be made with relatively inexpensive meat (hamburger), which can then 
be "stretched" with starch fillers--bread crumbs, crackers, oatmeal, 
whatever.  We weren't a huge gray family when I was growing up, so the 
goo on top of our meatloaf was usually tomato-based.  It's good, though, 
with a good brown gravy, especially if mushrooms are also involved.
And it's darned near a perfect comfort food, especially with smashed 
taters...right up there with mac-and-cheese, or tomato soup with 
toasted-cheese sandwiches, or chicken-noodle soup.  Food from an 
ethnically-neutral, middle-class childhood.  So it kind of becomes a 
cultural/culinary touchstone.  What kinds of food fill the same slot in OZ?
--maire, heading off to the kitchen to make pot roast for dinner (beef, 
onion, carrots, taters, and maybe a sweet tater or turnip, done with a 
bottle of dark (local) microbrew, instead of water or wine).  Oh, and a 
nice, homemade baked custard with fresh nutmeg grated on top. mmmmm.....

Susan Laing wrote:
> I have got to admit mystification about the average American "Meatloaf" - I
> constantly see it mentioned in various books (most notably the Janet
> Evanovich "Stephanie Plum" ones since I'm reading through the set atm) but
> have never really been able to work out what the full ingredients are, or
> why it's such a revered dish.