Bernie Michalik's posterous site

I love charcuterie. I go to places like Pangaea and The Beast restaurant in
Toronto for lots of good reasons, with superb charcuterie being one of
them. Nothing makes me happier than a plate of pate or terrine, something
pickled to go with that, and a little mustard and bread. That to me is my
ideal of a perfect meal.

Yet I traditionally looked down on meatloaf. It seemed at the opposite end
of the meal spectrum to me. If a good terrine was the epitome of good
French cooking, meatloaf was the epitome of bad America cooking.

Leave it to Martha Stewart to bridge the gap. In the recent issue of her
Food magazine (#77 - Nov 2010) are a number of meatloaf recipes. When I saw
them, I thought: this looks like charcuterie! Sure enough, I compared them
to some terrine recipes I have made and the ingredients are very close.
Martha's have more vegetables in them, which I like. But in either case,
they are pork based meals that are superb.

I can't begin to tell you how tasty that food is in the photo above.
However, the presentation is poor. I made it very chunky, which looks not
so great but gives it a wonderful mouth feel. Running in through a food
processor and more importantly letting it sit in the fridge for 24 hours
would make it slice and serve better. Ignore my weak food photo and go out
and make this. Especially if you are a meat eater who like a great low cost
meal. Martha gives a number of variations, but it all comes down to picking
your favorite cheese, veggie and spice. Or go with whatever is left in the
fridge.

In my version I put it with a modified Cumberland sauce. But a bit of
salsa, a spicy tomato sauce, or a gravy with a bit of marmalade or current
jelly mixed in would also be superb. A mash of root vegetables - parsnips,
yams, turnips, even potatoes with some horseradish - or beets would be
great. And of course, pickled vegetables. It's the kind of meal that makes
you look forward to winter. :)
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