Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Thanks, everyone for the reaction; I find it always humbling that the thing for which I received the best reaction is a meatloaf. Here's the recipe, though I'm sort of embarrassed to print it because it really is simple and easy.

1 1/2 pounds ground meat. I've used classic meat loaf mixture of 1 pound ground beef, 1/4 pound ground veal, and 1/4 pound ground pork, all ground beef of every fat content, and even ground buffalo. My favorite is ground chuck, 85% fat.

1 medium onion, chopped (I chop the onion in pretty big chunks since I like their crunch and flavor)

1 cup bulgur wheat -- medium coarse (when I give this out I always make sure that people realize bulgur is not cracked wheat; it's surprising how often that mistake is put into cookbooks.)

12 ounces V8 or other vegetable juice. I always use full salt V8 and don't add any more salt otherwise. You could certainly use tomato juice, but I like the celery element in V8.

1 egg

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon fresh oregano (or 2 teaspoons dried).

1 teaspoon ground pepper (but does anyone ever really measure).

Mix it up, put it in a loaf pan, and bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours.

And that's it -- One of my children doesn't like catsup, and the rest of the family members are divided as liking this with either chili sauce or hot sauce so I don't put a tomato sauce topping on it, though you certainly could. Obviously, it's very flexible. I think one key is the use of bulgur wheat-- it adds a nutty flavor element that works. but the real key seems to be that many people ate meat loaf in their childhood and have never bothered to cook it anymore, so it's a dish that brings back memories.

I also use this same recipe for meat balls. And it makes great sandwiches.

Lindsay,

Nothing wrong with simple dishes done well. While fancy-pants gourmet cooking is fun, simple dishes often taste just as good, if not better. And when someone is sick, complex dishes are seldom appealing.

Pretty amazing to be someone's last meal, though. Has that family been over to eat since?