Magnolia's Meatloaf

Or my version of Magnolia's Meatloaf. Magnolia's was (maybe still is) a restaurant in Charleston, SC. We were on vacation (about 15 years ago) and we had lunch at this restaurant. I've never been a fan of meatloaf because most of them seem to contain tomato sauce or ketchup. But Magnolia's was different. They had a wonderful veal meatloaf that was seasoned with sage, grilled and served with gravy.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table - Beef And Veal

Meat Loaf Magnolia
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1 1/2 pounds ground veal or mixture of beef and veal

1 small onion finely chopped
1 to 2 cloves of garlic
2 slices Italian/French Bread soaked in milk
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoons of dried herbs,
(sage and Thyme, a small amount of rosemary
olive oil


Sauce


Green peppercorns
mushrooms (optional)
1 to 2 cups chicken broth
(Optional, add at little butter to the drippings and flour to make a roux.  Cook a couple of minutes and add the chicken broth and green peppercorns.  If using mushrooms saute first and add to the sauce.

Directions

Saute onion in olive oil until soft. Add minced garlic and saute for
30 seconds. Do not brown garlic

Soak bread in milk

In a large bowl add meat, Dijon mustard, chopped parsley, herbs, onions
and garlic and mix with hands. Squeeze bread to break up and add milk
and bread to mixture. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Saute
a small piece to check for seasoning. Adjust to taste.

Shape meatloaf into a rectangle about 8 X 4 x 3 inches high and place
in a small roasting pan. Bake for 30 minutes and then add a small
amount of broth to the pan to prevent the bottom from becoming to
brown. Bake another 30 minutes and baste with the pan juices. Add
more broth if necessary. Cook another 10 minutes or until the meatloaf
is nicely browned.

Let cool and wrap in foil and refrigerate. Reserve pan juices.

Make a sauce by adding some green peppercorns and sauted mushrooms to
the pan juices.




Heat grill

Slice meatloaf into 1/2 inch thick slices and grill on both sides until
nicely marked and hot.

Serve with mashed potatoes