Smitten Kitchen Love

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If you follow me on Instagram, then you know that I've declared this my new favorite dinner. Brown butter mashed potatoes, you make life worth living. As a long time fan of Smitten Kitchen, I was excited to purchase her cookbook a few weeks ago. It's a great cookbook; very similar to her blog. Here is the one recipe I've made. It's life-changing.

Tomato-Glazed Meatloaves with Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes

Recipe:  The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

Serves 6 (or 2 Baldwins 4 times)

Glaze:
4 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tsp honey
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp table salt

Meatballs:
2 slices sandwich bread
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 medium stalk celery, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
Olive oil, for cooking
1 tsp table salt, plus more for vegetables
Freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds ground beef
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 large eggs

Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes:
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
8 tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick) melted & browned
1 cup buttermilk
1-2 tsp table salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Make Glaze:
Combine glaze ingredients in a small saucepan, and simmer, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes. Set aside.

Make Meatloaves:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Tear the bread into chunks and then blend it, in a food processor, into breadcrumbs. Place the breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Add the onion, garlic, celery, and carrot to the food processor, and pulse it until they are finely chopped.

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 vegetables. Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes.

Add the vegetables to the large bowl with breadcrumbs, then add the remaining ingredients. Stir the ingredients together with a fork. With wet hands, form the mixture into twelve 3-inch meatballs, each will weigh about 4 ounces.

Bake Meatloaves:
Space meatballs so that they are not touching, in a 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 (ours took longer). An instant thermometer inserted into the center of a cooked meatball will register 160-165.

Brown the Butter:
In a large pot, melt 1 stick butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden, and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don't take your eyes off the pot. You may be impatient for it to start browning, but the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.

Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes:
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, depending on your potato size; the potatoes are ready when a paring knife or cake tester can be inserted into the center with little resistance. Drain the potatoes, and wipe the pot dry.

*Peel the potatoes - I find that holding one in a pot-holdered hand and using a paring knife with the other is easiest. Repeat with remaining potatoes until they are completely peeled. **Run the potatoes through a food mill or potato ricer, then return the mashed potatoes to your emptied saucepan. Add browned butter, buttermilk, salt and black pepper to taste.

*I didn't peel my potatoes.
**I used a potato masher.

To Serve:
Serve meatloaves with additional glaze on a bed of brown butter mashed potatoes.

You're welcome. This is the only recipe you're getting. If you want more, and trust me, you want more, go buy this book.

P.S. Pull out the crockpot and check out this roundup of chili recipes for fall!