traditional meatloaf

Bon Chappétit actually started out as a recipe bank of sorts. It was a way for me to begin documenting and storing recipes that either my mother had passed down to me, or new ones that I'd tried and wanted to tell her about. It was a much more organized method than the random emails and newspaper clippings, Word documents (she gave me a Word doc recipe book when I'd gone to college) and the other various means we've used over the years.

That's really at the core of what this is all about - sharing recipes with those you love. Whether it be your parents, grandparents, friends back home (some of who may have blogs of their own), friends from wherever you may be now, or perfect strangers. Sometimes even more so than photographs, a meal can evoke all kinds of memories and emotions.

You may be wondering what this all has to do with meatloaf? Well, meatloaf has always been one of my favorites. I've always loved my mom's - even if it was one of the simpler dishes she made. It was hers, and it always reminded me of home no matter where I had it. Recently, I found my great grandmother's recipe buried in an email from my great aunt. I decided to give it a whirl, and even though I never had the pleasure of having the meal directly with my great grandmother, I still had nostalgic feelings while preparing and enjoying the meal. It was a true pleasure to make, and I got several meals out of it (including a breakfast, which I'll post soon). So without any additional rambling, here's what you'll need:

For the loaf:

• 2 lbs. of meat (I used 1 lb. of ground beef, and an additional lb. of beef/pork/veal combo)
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 onion, grated
• 1/4 finely chopped green pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup cracker crumbs (I crumbled up Ritz)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 slices bacon

pork loin w/ tarragon cream

Now that I have over 100 recipes (!!!) and counting on the blog, I find myself longing for some past recipes, and totally forgetting about others. One of those I've been thinking about for awhile actually the very first recipe posted - the pork loin Dan and I made about a year ago. That's right: April will be the one year anniversary for Bon Chappétit! Anyways, that pork loin was effing delicious, so I decided recently to go back and try another one, and had another great success. These things are so ridiculously easy it's not even funny. Here's what you'll need:

• 2-3 lb pork loin
• 3 large cloves garlic, slivered
• Salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons shallot, minced
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
• Olive oil

crab cakes w/ remoulade sauce

What is a remoulade sauce? I have no idea. What I do know is that it's apparently awesome on crab cakes. Also, apparently crab cakes are really kind of easy to make - who knew?! I guess my mom did, because this recipe came from her. Here's what you'll need:

• 1 lb. lump crabmeat, drained and flaked (due to the insane cost, I did 8 oz lump crab, 8 oz claw meat - seemed fine to me)
• 1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 4 tablespoons hot sauce (Frank's or otherwise)
• 3 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
• 2 tablespoons green onion, minced
• 2 tablespoons parsley, minced
• 2 tablespoons Panko breadcrumbs
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Whisk the egg, 3 tablespoons mayo, 2 tablespoons hot sauce and 1 tablespoon mustard in a large bowl. Stir in the crabmeat, green onion, parsley, breadcrumbs and 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay and mix well with a fork.

Divide the mixture into 8 portions and shape each portion into a cake, flattening slightly. Cover and chill in the fridge or an hour or so.

When you're ready to cook, heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Sauté the crab cakes in batches for about 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown. Serve with the remoulade sauce.

But wait - how do you make the remoulade sauce?! Well, while the crab is setting in the fridge, mix together 1/3 cup mayo, 2 tablespoons hot sauce, 2 tablespoons mustard, 2 teaspoons sugar and 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning. Chill and serve with the crab cakes.

Seriously, we were in heaven with these.

Bon chappétit!