Tomato-Glazed Meatloaves with Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes

If you husband is like mine, he will probably follow you around the house calling you ''goddess divine'' after you feed this dish to him.

Okay, maybe not goddess divine, but he will most certainly find some special way to say "thank-you." Men like this kind of food. They adore this kind of food. Meat and Potatoes, for Ryan, is practically all there is. If I ever want to make him extra happy, and fix something a little extra special, this dish is a guaranteed win.

It's straight from a fabulous blogger's book: the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. My brother's family, the Washintonites, sent it to me for my birthday last month. I fell in love at first sight - probably because I've always loved Deb, and her fabulous recipes. The book version was dinner and dessert page by page. Literally.

I grew up hating meatloaf. I thought it was some giant messed up gathering of nastyness in a pan. Boy, was I wrong. And if I could go back and slick up my plate every time my dear Mother served it to the family, I think I'd lick the plate clean. Meatloaf is delicious. This recipe is no exception.

The bed of browned butter mashed potatoes was probably our favorite batch of mashed potatoes we'd had in a while. (besides the Parmesan Smashed Red Potatoes, those were equally as delicious). I chose to leave the skins on the yellow potatoes. Laziness? No way. It's delicious. Also, the tomato glaze was tangy, thick, and decadent on those gorgeous little meatloaves. Here's a little secret: the meatloaves have some veggies hidden in them. It added such a wonderful hint of sweetness along with the savory. We honestly can't wait to make this again. The leftovers were fought over.

Don't try to make this recipe without a food processor. You will hate me.

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Tomato-Glazed Meatloves with Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes
 
Tomato-Glazed Meatloaves:

Ingredients:

Glaze:
4 t vegetable oil
1/4 C tomato paste
2 T cider vinegar
2 t honey
2 t Worcestershire sauce
1 T Dijon mustard
1/4 t table salt

Meatballs:
2 slices white sandwich bread
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 medium stalk celery, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
EVOO, for cooking
1 t table salt, plus more for veggies
freshly ground pepper
2 lbs ground beef
1 T tomato paste
1 t smoked paprika
1 t Dijon mustard
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 C milk
1/4 C finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 large eggs

Method:
1. Prepare Glaze: Combine glaze ingredients in a small saucepan, and simmer, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes. Set aside.
2. Make Meatloaves: Preheat oven to 350 degres.
3. Tear the bread into chunks and then blend it in a food processor into breadcrumbs. Place breadcrumbs into a large bowl. Add garlic, onion, celery, and carrot to the food processor,a nd pulse until they are finely chopped.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, coat the bottom with olive oil, and heat the oil for a minute. Add the finely chopped veggies. Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes.  
5. Add the vegetables to the large bowl with breadcrumbs. Then add remaining ingredients. Stir the ingredients together with a fork. With wet hands (yes, hands. don't wuss out on me now), form the mixture into twelve 3-inch meatballs. Each will weight about 4 ounces (and will probably be larger than expected.)
6. Bake meatloves: Space them so they are not touching in a greased baking dish. Drizzle or brush each meatball with a teaspoon or so of the tomato glaze you made earlier, and bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes (mine took 35 minutes). Use a freaking meat thermometer here, people. Should register at about 160-165.
7. Serve with additional glaze on a bed of brown butter mashed potatoes.

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Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes:

Ingredients:
2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes
8 T unsalted butter, melted and browned (see how to brown butter here)
1 C buttermilk
1-2 t table salt
freshly ground black pepper

Method:
1. Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, and once it's boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 20-30 minutes - the potatoes are ready when a paring knife or fork can be inserted into the center with little resistance. Drain potatoes.
2. Put potatoes into a stand mixer bowl with fitted paddle attachment. Do not over mix, or they will become gummy. Add brown butter, buttermilk, salt and black pepper. Mix on low until you reach your desired mashed potato texture. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

recipes inspired from ''the Smitten Kitchen cookbook" - pg 187-188. 
makes about 9 large meatball/meatloves and enough mashed potatoes for about 6 people.