Finally made meatloaf!

Wow. I'm posting on my blog- something I did regularly for 24 months, and then stopped cold turkey last summer. I had lost my blogspiration! I still don't know if I'll be blogging on a regular basis anymore, but when I made my FIRST MEATLOAF this evening, I figured it was worth taking a picture of! :)

This recipe is loosely based on Alton Brown's Good Eats Meatloaf, with wonderful suggestions and ideas from a singer buddy who helped me grocery shop today (hi, Jellen!) and my Godmother, whose recipes have played a huge role in many past DB posts!

Now... meatloaf is not something I ate growing up. I don't remember my Mom making a lot of these types of recipes, which although I like them in moderation now, have a rap of being dated unhealthy food of the 60's. I know, I know... meatloaf and it's fellow old-school comfort food cohorts (mac n cheese, pot pies... maybe not liver and onions) have made a huge trendy comeback, and i LOVE LOVE LOVE pot pies, and *some* mac n cheese recipes occasionally, but meatloaf? Never really my thing. As an adult I've ordered it just once at Michael Symon's Cleveland restaurant, Lola, back in college, and it was 'meh okay. But, I did like it the few times I tried it at a friends house years ago, so I figured tonight was the night to give it a whirl!

My First Meatloaf (which was yummy, although I would go for more glaze next time)

meatloaf:

16 oz ground turkey

16 oz ground beef

1/4 C bread crumbs

1 carrot grated

1 bell pepper, finely diced

1 egg

1 T dried parsley

1 t garlic powder

big pinch salt and pepper

glaze:

.6 C ketchup

1 T agave nectar (yup!)

2 dashes Worcestershire sauce

Crazy easy, you guys. Why was I afraid of meatloaf for so long? Preheat oven to 350. Then, just mix all the ingredients with your hands in a bowl to combine. (I like to put my hands under cold water before handling raw meat. It's so gross when it turns grey while you work with it!) Pour into a greased loaf pan (i used a bit of EVOO), and bake 20 minutes. Meanwhile, mix glaze ingredients in a bowl. Spread over meatloaf after 20 minutes, and continue to bake until inside of meatloaf reaches 160 degrees. (150 degrees if you use purely beef.) I baked mine for 70 minutes at 350, until it was bubbling and cooked through. Slice up and enjoy!

The glaze was totally my favorite part. I'll admit, I made it more to make my dining partner smile. It's one of his favorite meals, and even if it had been the best meatloaf on the planet I still wouldn't have been totally in love. But, for my first one I think it was good! I liked the slightly crispy, caramelized edges the best. And yay, the inside didn't dry out at all!

We enjoyed it tonight with some roasted butternut squash that cooked in the oven with the meatloaf. Just a little EVOO, salt, and pepper. Yum. My fave part of the meal, of course.

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There have been many singing adventures in the past several months since I last blogged. (Ouch! 6 months ago!) A few weeks ago I gave some concerts in Florida with some good friends, and we were totally in love with this new place in Coral Gables: The Local. Umm hello!? Double Chocolate Stout Bacon Beignets? Charred Brussels Sprouts? Gulf Shrimp over Grits with a Ham Hock Broth? Wow.

And, although I love my job, I'm also still madly crazy for this little girl! Eloise is happy as ever, and she discovered her tail over Christmas. She spends her days sleeping, begging for crunchies and treats, folding her ears over while her mom sings for hours on end, and chasing her tail in endless circles. I'll have to catch a video of her one of these days- it's CRAZY!

Shrimp Stir-Fry and my Shrimpie!

I know I'm a naughty blogger. It's been a WHILE. But I got so sick of taking pictures of restaurant food on the road, and who wants to see another room service Chicken Caesar or Amy's TV Dinner?? So, I've spared you all the hideous travel bytes I've had for the past several weeks.

I got home tonight after singing 10 days in hot and humid Tampa! We recorded a cd due out in August, too, and I made a whole slew of new friends, and got to catch up with old ones. University of Southern Florida (USF) is a very nice campus, with pretty palm trees, woody paths, and lots of cute birds and turtles.

Despite running into too many cockroaches (I could never live in FL with all those creepy crawlies!), and eating not the world's greatest dining hall fare, we all still had a fun time!

Needless to say, the first thing I wanted to do (after a wicked long nap) was GROCERY SHOP!! We decided on "Chinese". That is, my fake version of takeout. I made a yummy Shrimp Veggie Stir-Fry with Quinoa, and we even heated up some yummy Chicken Veggie Eggrolls from the frozen section. Happily, there are loads of leftovers for tomorrow, too!

Stir-fry has a false reputation for being an easy meal. Maybe I'm just a horrible cook, but I have screwed up more stir-frys than I care to admit. Too often the tofu gets squished, the veggies wilt, and shrimp gets tough, the pan gets watery. So many things can go wrong and make you wish you had just ordered in!

Tonight, I actually got it right. :) I think I just didn't make some of my old mistakes.

-Spring for the fresh shrimp. Putting shrimp in frozen can make your s-f all watery! Plus, the fishy water gets into the veggies and it can be nasty. Today I paid a little more than usual ($19 for just over a pound of large shrimp) but it was worth it. They were soo good!

-Don't add the shrimp until you are ready to eat!! We waited until the egg rolls were golden and crispy in the oven, and the quinoa was fork-fluffy. The veggies were just done enough- still crispy and bright in color, the table was set, drinks were poured, and then tossed in the shrimp. I even took off the tails first, for easy eating.

-Don't over cook the shrimp! It took 2 minutes max. They were awesome. Yum.

Quinoa is a yummy protein-packed substitue for rice, too. Try it!

During dinner, my cousin (who I've always called Shrimpie) texted me! :) :) I can't wait for our big family party on July 4 to see everyone, including Shrimpie, who just finished her freshman year of college. Love you, Shrimpie!

Refuge des Fondus

This restaurant in Paris (found on one of the hilly, windy streets in Montmartre) actually has it's own FB Fan Page. "J'Adore le Refuge des Fondus". Seriously. And I'm joining it.

I've been obsessed with visiting this place ever since seeing a hysterical pic of my girlfriend sucking on a baby bottle full of white wine. I was crazy excited when I learned it was our first destination in Paris upon my arrival last Monday!

We found the place and waited only a little bit for a spot for the 6 of us. Look how teeny it is!

Super hot, and crowded, and loud- patrons are squished together and half of them (usually the ladies) have to climb over the tables to sit against the wall. Not as scary as you'd expect, but definitely out of the ordinary!

We sat down and immediately were given some snackies and a fruity sugar-laced aperitif. Off to a great start! Especially after a long day of train travel.

Then came the baby bottles. Haha.

We ordered the 2 things on the menu: Cheese and Meat Fondue. The meat (chunks of raw beef) comes in a bowl with a bubbly hot metal fondue pot of oil for cooking. The cheese came all lovely and swirly in a red cast iron pot with cubes of potato and bread for dipping.

We ended up going through 2 bowls of meat and several baskets of bread. It was a HUGE meal!

I've read that it is a bit of a tourist trap, (although the evening we were there it was packed with Parisiens), but the whole experience is not to be missed.

At the end of the meal we had ice cream and fruit salad.

And luckily, after 2 baby bottles, I was able to make it back over the table!!

Such a fab restaurant, I know I'll be back someday!

Currently in Aix-en-Provence after a quick 3 hour train ride on the TGV from Paris. I think I slept the whole way, and ugh, I totally woke up suddenly with my mouth wide open! So embarrassing! :D Mouth breathing is a total pet-peeve of mine, and here I was, sound asleep and mouth-breathing in the First Class Voiture with all these stylish Frenchies. Hahaha!! I could totally fill another blog with all of this American girl's awkward European moments! :)

Singin' in Seattle

Hi DB readers!

Yes, it's been AGES since my last post, but I just wanted to check in! I'm currently in Amsterdam, but spent the past 2 weeks singing in Seattle, Vancouver, Kansas City, and New York! It's a whirlwind month, and despite getting sick (!!) I'm still having a great time!

Nothing too fancy to report on the bytes end of things... but I did catch a few pics while I explored the famed Pike Place Market in Seattle last week.

I ate a few of these guys: Dungeness Crabbies!

They were selling them in little dixie cups in the fish market, covered with cocktail sauce. I have to admit, I'm love Chesapeake Blue Crabs, which are eaten with nothing on them but Old Bay Seasoning, but the cocktail sauce was alright. I also had a delish Raw Oyster Shooter.

They say the best way to explore a city's eats is to ask the locals for their faves. This was easy for me, since one of my closest buddies is a Seattle area native! She told me to check out the fresh pressed fruit rolls. I tried the strawberry, kiwi, and cherry, along with a couple mejool dates. Super sweet, but fresh and covered with shredded coconut! They were a little hard to find among all the fruit stands, but I managed!

She also said I had to head to Le Panier, a French bakery (I had a croissant!), and Piroshky Russian Bakery. The line for this place was out the door and around the corner!

I had the time, so I waited and ended up with an Egg, Spinach, and Cheese Piroshky.

It was AWESOME, but I could only eat a few bites. Too filling on a long, uphill walk back to my hotel!

There were so many vendors to check out! Flowers, seafood, fruit, veggies, candles, art, jewelry... I sampled some things, but made sure to avoid this one. Ew!

From Seattle we headed up to Vancouver to perform at the University of British Columbia. UBC has to be one of the most beautiful campuses in the world. Truly. Woods and water and mountains!

The bytes situation left a LOT to be desired, but the views more than made up for it.