Mini Meat Loaves

This Mother's Day, I wanted to grill something different from the norm. So, I looked to the June Issue of Food & Wine Magazine, which highlights great grilling recipes. I decided on the Mini Meat Loaves, which turned out to be out of this world. The special touch was the piece of fresh mozzarella cheese stuffed into the middle. For an added touch, I added a few rinsed and drained roasted red peppers and one large clove of minced garlic to the bread crumb mix that you pulse in the food processor - I would recommend doing this!!!

I did not serve the grilled/roasted tomatoes on the side, but I think I would next time, it would definitely add an incredible layer of flavor to these already yummy loaves.

Grilled Mini Meat Loaves (Food & Wine Magazine, June 2008)
Serves 4

Ingredients
Two 1/3-inch-thick slices of firm white bread, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped basil
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing
1 pound ground beef chuck
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Four 1 1/2-inch cubes of fresh mozzarella

Optional: 4 medium tomatoes, halved crosswise

Directions
In a food processor, pulse the bread, scallions, basil and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until the bread is coarsely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the ground chuck, grated cheese, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper and the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and blend well. Shape the meat into four thick, 5-inch-long ovals. Make an indentation in the center of each meat loaf and tuck in a piece of mozzarella, then cover the cheese with the meat mixture to enclose it. Reshape the meat into ovals with slightly tapered ends. Light a grill. Rub the meat loaves with olive oil and grill over high heat, turning, until well browned all over and firm to the touch, about 8 minutes total; the loaves should still be slightly pink in the center.

Optional: Rub the cut sides of the tomatoes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the tomatoes, cut side down, until lightly charred, about 1 minute. Turn and grill until the tomato juices begin bubbling, about 1 minute longer. Serve the meat loaves right away, with the tomatoes.

MAKE AHEAD The uncooked meat loaves can be refrigerated overnight. Bring to room temperature before grilling.

Chickpea and Arugula Salad

With the ever so slightly warmer weather these last couple weeks, I've been in the mood for salads. I found this recipe today while reading one of my favorite blogs, Design*Sponge.

I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds delish - you can't really go wrong with arugula or roasted garlic! Enjoy....

Chickpea Salad with Arugula and Roasted Garlic (with good bread)

1 medium red onion, very thinly sliced
1 ½ cups of chickpeas (from a can, thoroughly drained and rinsed)
5oz of baby arugula
juice from half a lemon
4-5 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
sea salt
crushed red pepper
grana padano or parmesan

In a bowl, combine lemon juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar and a little sea salt and crushed red pepper. Whisk the dressing together and then add the chickpeas and let them marinate for a few minutes in the dressing. Combine the arugula and red onion in your salad bowl. Remove the chickpeas from the dressing, add them to the salad and toss. Add a bit more dressing to the salad if needed. Grate a bit of grana padano or parmesan on top and serve.

roasted garlic (with good bread)

a few bulbs of garlic
sea salt and pepper
1 or 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
a loaf of good bread

Preheat oven to 400°F. Peel away the outer layer of skin on the garlic bulbs, but leave the cloves in tact. Cut off the tip of the bulb (approx. ¼ inch), exposing the cloves. Place the bulbs in a shallow baking dish, and drizzle them with the olive oil. Rub the bulbs with your fingers to be sure they are evenly coated and then sprinkle a little sea salt and freshly ground pepper over them. Cover your baking dish with aluminum foil and roast the bulbs in the oven for 35-40 minutes (or until the cloves of garlic are soft). You can squeeze the delicious roasted garlic cloves directly from their skins onto hunks of the good bread or mash the garlic and toss it with pasta (and any fragrant oil left in the baking dish) or add it to mashed potatoes…it tastes good with just about anything.