As many of you know, I’m a wannabe lexophile.  I like words.  I especially like words about other words, like malaprop and eponym.  (I fought my geeky nature for years, then long ago made peace with it.)

Lagniappe, like irony, is one of those words I definitely know the meaning of, but have a hard time explaining it off the cuff.  So I looked it up for you:

Main Entry: la·gniappe
Pronunciation: [lan-yap’, lan’-yap]
Function: noun
Etymology: American French, from American Spanish la ñapa the lagniappe, from la + ñapa, yapa, from Quechua yapa something added
Date: 1844
Definition: a small gift given a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase; broadly : something given or obtained gratuitously or by way of good measure


Lagniappe is always a good thing.
Like the extra doughnut in a baker’s dozen.
Like the prize in a box of Crackerjacks.
Like the complimentary dessert from a restaurant on your birthday.
(I just realized that all those examples are food related.  I clearly need therapy.)

For a while, I wanted to name this blog Lagniappe.  But I realized I’d be doomed to constantly spelling and explaining it, so that idea was quickly kicked to the curb.

And then, about a week ago, some friends requested that I cover meatloaf here.  I have a meatloaf recipe that I love, but I’m not really prepared to write a full post about it – not yet, anyway.  So I needed a way to squeeze in requests and other off-topic items (like Kacie’s best of show photo), and aha!  Lagniappe was born.

It’ll be a sub-series within White Fluffy Icing.  A little unexpected extra, for your reading pleasure.  It may or may not have a photo, or a recipe… but that’s okay, because it’s lagniappe.  Bonus.  Gravy.  The real meat happens on Monday nights; this is just extra.

Okay, we get it.  Move on to the meatloaf, already!

I asked Ryan, Claire, and Stephanie if they wanted good-n-easy meatloaf, or OMG-the-best-meatloaf-EVER?  And in true White Fluffy Icing spirit, they asked for the latter.  And they also suggested I name it OMG Meatloaf.  Who can resist that?

So below is the recipe for the best meatloaf I’ve ever pulled off at home.  It’s from The Fearless Chef, one of the rare cookbooks I’ve received as gifts and loved (thank you, Melissa!).*

You’ll see that it’s not a quick and easy recipe, but that’s not what was requested. Please adapt it and make it yours.  I only ask of you two things: 1) Resist the urge to overmix the meat.  Combine the components and then get outta there.   2) Don’t skip the pork and the veal and go all beef.  You need all three.  There are lots of good-enough meatloaf recipes that are beef only, but they won’t earn you any OMG’s.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Italian-Style Meatloaf, from The Fearless Chef

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium-size yellow onion, peeled and minced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 portobello mushrooms, stems trimmed
¼ bunch flat-leaf Italian parsley
10 fresh basil leaves
¼ cup balsamic vinegar, divided
2 eggs, beaten
¾ cup bread crumbs
½ cup milk
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
¾ pound ground beef
¾ pound ground veal
½ pound ground pork
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
¾ cup ketchup, divided
8 thin slices pancetta (about ¼ pound)

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Heat the oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until the onions are tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and let cool to room temperature.

Crumble the mushrooms into a food processor bowl, and pulse until chopped. (Work in batches if necessary.) Add the parsley, basil, and 2 tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar; process until minced. Add to the onion-garlic mixture, along with the eggs, bread crumbs, milk, oregano, and thyme; mix to combine thoroughly.

Add the beef, veal, pork, pepper, salt, and ¼ cup of the ketchup; mix well. Transfer to a baking sheet and form into a loaf.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining ½ cup ketchup and remaining 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar; mix well. Spread evenly over the meatloaf. Arrange the pancetta slices in a layer on top, and bake to an internal temperature of 150°F, about 90 minutes. Allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Serves 4 to 6.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* I find cookbook shopping to be a bit like shoe shopping – it’s difficult for someone else to do for you.  I would have called it impossible if Melissa hadn’t proved me wrong a few Christmas’s ago.

** Last summer, a friend showed me an article from Cook’s Illustrated, in which they met the challenge of creating a show-stopping meatloaf with beef only.  It can be done, but if memory serves, they added gelatin to replicate the binding effect of the ground veal.