Meat Muffins: An Introduction

There are fewer meals in the US that feel as simultaneously comforting and retro as meatloaf. Everyone I know has a go-to recipe, adapted from a grandmother, mother or mother-of-all-crafters, Martha Stewart. My great-grandmother was famous for covering her meatloaf with strips of bacon, something my mother luckily picked up and implemented in the meatloaves of my childhood. It was a standard meal in my family's household and I've come to realize that most people share my nostalgic feelings for the food.

These days, however, the sustainably-minded and fusion-preaching hostess wouldn't dream of serving meatloaf and mash potatoes at a dinner party - it's too informal, too normal and nowhere near exciting enough for our foodie friends and neighbors. Which is why I've taken to creating 'meatmuffins' - still the same great idea of mixing meat with breadcrumbs, herbs and other flavors, then popping them into a muffin tin and serving up in cute little cups. Who knew meat could be adorable? And that's not all, making these mini-meatloaves is still a super quick endeavor as they take less time in the oven than a traditional loaf: 20-30 minutes @ 350, max! Plus, since they are pre-portioned, those of us who have zero self-control and will keep cutting slivers off the loaf every time we pass it until we realize there are no leftovers for a sandwich tomorrow can take two muffins and stop there.

The creative options are endless with these, too, which make them fun. So far, always using ground turkey, we've made a traditional basil/garlic pesto meatmuffin, spinach/lemon pesto muffin, bacon-mushroom meatmuffins (picture above) and a cheddar-pepper-taco meatmuffin. Delicious, easy to freeze or pack for a picnic (along with a baguette and some mustard, yum!), and fun to serve your friends. Meatloaf Meatmuffins, shall we say, are back on the table.

Here are some pictures from our recent Bacon-Mushroom Meat-Muffin extravaganza.


To one package of Jennie-O lean ground turkey we added: sauteed mushrooms (cooked and cooled), chopped raw red onion, chopped crispy bacon (cooked and drained on paper towels).

Then we added breadcrumbs (about a quarter cup), a hefty tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and some powdered garlic because we were being too lazy to grate in a few fresh cloves.

We sprayed a muffin tin with PAM, and dropped a quarter cup of (for lack of a better term) meat batter into each cup. Twenty minutes in our oven, seat at 350F did the trick. These were moist, savory, had a little bit of crunch thanks to the bacon and onion. And man did they taste great in a sandwich the next day! We know it sounds weird, but try it - it's a weird thing worth eating!

Huey Lewis and the Booze

Dique and I joined friends TA and J9 for a fabulous concert at the Mountain View Winery on August 15th. San Francisco golden boy, Huey Lewis, was on the stage singing all the hits we grew up with. It was especially fun because both Dique and TA had been to a Huey show for their very first concert. Even after all that time, the heart of rock and roll is still beating.The night was fantastic. J9 and I boogied the night away, she even gathered quite a following! What do you do when you aren't a super fan like your husband and you can't sing along? You dance!

Also, an awesome summer show is even better when the venue is terrific. Mountain View Winery and Amphitheater is located in the hills above Silicon Valley. In the summer the weather gets very warm, and as the sun sets over the hills the air is still pleasant and the lights below twinkle. It's an out-door arena and it's a good size - there are no "good" or "bad" seats! We had seats in the bleachers, which is even more open, so we bought a couple bottles of the winery's best and took our seats. We drank, we sang along, we were hip to be square. It was a blast.

Huey is 58 and can still rock and roll with the best of them. He might have sung a little softer, scooted across the stage a little slow, but hey. He had Heart and Soul. Okay. I'll stop with the song quoting now. I will send you to this article, which is funny though I disagree with parts of it.

The band is known for being friends with the Joe Montana-era SF 49ers, so the guys were thrilled when Dwight Clark joined Huey on stage for Hip To Be Square. J9 and I looked at each other wondering who that person was and what all the fuss was about, but the gents in the crowd loved it. Afterwards, we four went back to our lovely hotel in Saratoga, enjoyed more wine and a lovely summer evening.

The Niece, She Likes To Accessorize (aka) A Birthday Shout-Out To LKG!

The Grierson contingent celebrated my sister-in-law's birthday this weekend. We had a grand time of yummy Mexican food, fun family times and as per usual: more cake and ice cream than anyone should have eaten. It was a great day. The most fun, however, was when our niece, Miss AKG played dress up with the leis my mom had brought. Miss AKG is really into accessories. She enjoys "helping me" take my bracelets off, and putting them on herself. She's happy to hold my necklace for me. She likes purses, hats - anything, really, that she can wear is good in her book! I had to post a couple pictures from the day - Lei Baby aka Miss AKG in her Sunday Best.

And a very Happy Birthday to LKG! May this year bring you many more fun days of dress up with your darling girl (and fun days in general with your soon to be son)!