Anna Sultana’s Meatloaf and Red Cabbage and A Christmas Story

It seems to me that the flood of Christmas-themed movies begin earlier every year.

This year they began right after our Thanksgiving, and, to be honest, I don’t know where they find these movies.

Sometimes I wonder if it’s the same movie and they just changed the intro and end credits.

Oh, well, they’re a bit of mindless fluff to have playing in the background while we plow through our holiday baking.

One Christmas favourite I’m actually looking forward to seeing is the 1983 movie A Christmas Story, which was based on Jean Shepherd's stories about his childhood.

If you haven’t seen it, it takes place in the 1940s, and is about a boy who is desperate to convince his parents, his teacher, and Santa that a Red Ryder BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.

I know, a kid wants a gun for Christmas… well, trust me, it’s a nice movie, filled with scenes that bring back a lot of memories of how kids really are, especially as Christmas is getting closer.

The film also has quite a bit of food in it.

Ralphie tries to bribe his teacher with a huge fruit basket.

The family’s Christmas turkey is devoured by the neighbour’s dogs, and the family has to go to a Chinese restaurant for dinner.

And then there’s Randy, Ralphie’s kid brother, who is refusing to eat dinner.

Apparently he hasn’t eaten voluntarily in over three years.

There he sits, pushing his food around, muttering: 

Meatloaf, smeatloaf, double beetloaf. I hate meatloaf.

Don’t worry, his Mom has a way to make him eat his meatloaf.

No crying, no bloodshed. She’s THAT good.

In honour of this paragon of motherhood, I usually make a meatloaf dinner around this time of year. Since Ralphie’s family doesn’t look Italian, let alone Maltese, I use the German recipes Ma made when her American sister-in-law came by.

Aunt Liz never quite knew what to make of a hard boiled egg in a meatloaf.

Ma served the meatloaf with red cabbage and mashed potatoes.

And, when you’re eating like the family in A Christmas Story, the German recipes are more proper than either Mediterranean twinkie meatloaf.

Another Christmas favourite of ours is the 1989 classic, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Who can argue with Ellen Griswold: 

I don't know what to say, except it's Christmas and we're all in misery.

Hints:

These recipes make enough for 8 - 10 people.

If you’re family is smaller, no problem. Meatloaf is great the second, or third, time around. The leftovers are also good in a sandwich.

Sometimes Ma made this meatloaf using half ground beef and half pork - more or less in those proportions - depending on what she had in the fridge.

If you don’t have fine dry bread crumbs you can use 2 Cups soft bread crumbs. 

If you want to be fancy, turn out the meatloaf onto a warmed platter. If you want to serve it family-style, like Mrs. Parker, serve it from the loaf pan. 

Mrs. Parker served the meatloaf and cabbage with mashed potatoes. I don’t know if she made them from scratch or from a box of instant. Ma always made homemade. Suit yourself.

                        Red Cabbage

Place in a large pot

4 Tablespoons butter

10 Cups finely chopped red cabbage
2 Cups sliced green apples

1/2 Cup sugar

Season with

4 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Add

2/3 Cup apple cider vinegar
3 ounces water

Bring to the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.

Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until the cabbage is tender, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

                        Meatloaf 

Grease well a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan

Finely chop

1 medium onion

Place in a large bowl

2 pounds lean ground beef 

3/4 Cup fine dry bread crumbs

the chopped onion

1 Cup milk

2 large eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix lightly.

Preheat oven to 350º F

Place the mixture in the prepared pan.

Bake uncovered for 1 1/4 hours.

Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes before serving. 

If you’re curious, here are the other meatloaf recipes:

Anna Sultana's Easy Meatloaf, Maltese Style

Anna Sultana's Pulpettun, Meatloaf, Maltese Style

Carmela Soprano's Polpettone - Meatloaf, Italian Style

About the sky this week and next, thanks to the folks at The Farmers' Almanac…

November 18 - New Moon at 6:42 a.m. The Moon is completely invisible.

November 20 - Look for Saturn in the southwest after dusk, about 40 minutes after sunset. Catch it early; the ringed planet sets more than an hour after dark at the beginning of the month, but before the end of evening twilight by November 30th. This evening, look about 10° above the west-southwest horizon to sight a slender sliver of a crescent Moon. Mercury will also be hovering near the west-southwest horizon, directly below the Moon and Saturn.

November 23 - Look to the west after sunset to see Mercury right below Saturn. Mercury is usually difficult to spot but now it’s at its greatest elongation from the Sun so it’s a good time to see this “elusive” planet.

Anna Sultana's Easy Meatloaf, Maltese Style

I recently gave the recipe for Carmela’s meatloaf - Polpettone.  

It’s very similar to Ma’s recipe for meatloaf - Pulpettun.

If you missed them, they’re meatloaves with a surprise hard cooked egg filling.

A sort of beefy twinkie.

Yes. they are a bit of a hassle to make.

Some might even say life is too short to wrap meat around an egg.

And it might get even shorter with eating extra eggs.

No problem. 

You can make meatloaf without the hard cooked eggs.

Not as pretty, but, still family dinner good.

Hint:

You can also shape the meat into a loaf and place it on a baking sheet.

Since the oven will be on for such a long time, serve with baked squash.

Wouldn’t hurt to make a cake, too.

                        Easy Meatloaf 

Serves 6 

Place in a large bowl

3 slices white bread, torn into very small pieces

1 1/2 pound ground beef  

1 Cup tomato juice or milk

1/2 Cup finely chopped onions

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 egg, beaten

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350º 

Place the mixture in a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.

Bake uncovered for 1 1/2 hours.

To be on the safe side, the internal temperature should reach 155º

Remove from oven.

Let cool 10 minutes and drain off excess fat before slicing. 

The leftovers are also good in a sandwich.

Caraway (seeds and ground) - Margaret Ullrich

Caraway is another spice that I'm sure you've tasted.

Especially if you like German food.

But Caraway, just like Fennel, just doesn't get any respect.

Now is the time to respect Caraway by buying a bag or jar of seeds.

Trust me, they won't just sit there.

Some uses for those Caraway Seeds...

Add a few to meatloaf along with some dillweed and ground allspice.

Sprinkle a few on liverwurst and other meat sandwiches.

Add some to stews and hearty soups.

Add a few to the water for boiling potatoes for mashing.

Sprinkle over cabbage, sauerkraut or zucchini before cooking.

Stir some into coleslaw.  Gives a kick to that bland store-bought stuff.

Stir some into cheese-bread batter, muffins or scones.

Add to savory dumpling batter.

And just like Fennel, you can easily grind Caraway seeds.

Carmela Soprano's Polpettone and Anna Sultana's Pulpettun, Meatloaf, Maltese Style

Okay.  Even though I've finished and returned Julia Powell's latest book Cleaving, I'm still under the influence of her obsession.  

Meat.  Meat.  Meatloaf.

Carmela has a meatloaf recipe - Polpettone - she must have cooked up lots of times when Tony was just a button in the mob. 

Then again, it's a bit Carmela-esque. 

The recipe in Entertaining with The Sopranos has Carmela's special little touches: 

4 slices of day-old Italian bread, crusts removed and torn into small pieces, then soaked in 1/2 cup milk. 

What is her problem with crusts?  What does she do with them? 

And, along with the 1/2 pound of ground pork, the recipe calls for 1 pound of ground beef sirloin.

Right.

If Paul saw me take a pound of sirloin and grind it up for a meatloaf, he'd call on Paulie Walnuts to pay me a visit.

I mean, who grinds up sirloin?

Maybe Carmela figured Tony would have the same reaction, because she throws
in 1/2 cup of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano along with 3 ounces each of sliced prosciutto
(or mortadella) and provolone to throw Tony off the scent.

Ma had a similar recipe, Pulpettun.  But it's way more practical.

Hint:

This can also be prepared by placing half of the meat mixture in a 9 x 5 loaf pan, placing the 2 eggs in the centre, then topping off with the rest of the meat.
If you prefer a crusty top, don't cover the meat.

preheat oven to 400º           

bake 60 min.

Place in a large bowl

1 pound ground pork

1/2 pound ground beef  (just beef - as cheap as you want to go)

1/4 pound ground pork liver (to sneak some liver into the kids)

5 slices of bacon, finely chopped

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 tablespoon finely chopped onions

1 cup breadcrumbs

----

Season with

salt and pepper

----

Beat

4 eggs

Stir into the meat mixture

----

Place half the meat on a piece of foil

and put

2 hard-cooked eggs

on top

Put the remainder of the meat on top of the eggs

Form into a loaf

Roll the loaf in the foil and bake

To be on the safe side, the internal temperature should reach 155ºF.

The trick of Polpettone/Pulpettun is the hard-cooked eggs in the middle of the loaf.  Maybe it inspired Hostess to put the creme filling in their cupcakes.  A bright spot in the middle of all that dark.

Anyway, to my way of thinking, Ma's meatloaf makes sense.

Ground beef?  Burgers, meatballs or meatloaf.

Would I make Carmela's meatloaf again.

Would I grind sirloin?

No way.

Another recipe down.  Forty-five more to go.