Cheddar Cheese

Sweet BBQ Bacon-Turkey Meatloaf with Cheddar Cheese

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If you could fix anything, why not start by fixing dinner?

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I am a Johnny Depp fan. And a favorite line of Roux’s — played by Johnny in the movie “Chocolat,” is, “Very good but it’s not my favorite,” when Vianne, played by Julienne Binoche, asked her new love to taste several different handmade chocolates. And that might be where meatloaf sits on the list of favorite American dinners. It’s not too awfully far from the top but it isn’t exactly the top-ranked favorite. Iconic home-cooked meals from the USA include pot roast, brisket, chicken noodle soup, steak, fried chicken, chicken pot pie, mac and cheese, spaghetti, chili, pancakes, eggs, and, of course, meatloaf. (The very high-end favorites are more fast foods like burgers, tacos, fries, pizza, etc., though we do make those at home, too.) Now, I think meatloaf sometimes has a bad rap because someone’s mom didn’t know how to make it or baked it dry (cue the ketchup bottle), and so these days just the word, “meatloaf, ” elicits a sneery eyeball roll or nose scrunch from more than a few. I’m here today to again take up meatloaf’s cause, because if you’ve eaten my meatloaf, you didn’t walk away sniggering and you for sure didn’t get out the ketchup bottle on my dime. (I hope.) And when you make my newest version, SWEET BBQ BACON-TURKEY MEATLOAF WITH CHEDDAR, you might very well dance away smiling and singing. Meatloaf, then, could rise to the head of the class on your list of homey dinners, too! As long as you don’t overcook it, that is. I’ve warned you.

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FRIDAY FISH: Salmon and Vegetables on Two-Cheese Tabasco Grits

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This week is the start of my once-a-year FRIDAY FISH series. Since 2015, I’ve each spring been posting six fish or seafood recipes, one for each Friday in Lent, the season of thoughtful observance leading up to the death and resurrection of Jesus on Easter. Whether or not you follow any sort of faithful journey, you can still get some new ideas for cooking fish–who doesn’t need those? For grins and giggles — I think some of these meals qualify as fun— and to see what’s happened in other years, click on FRIDAY FISH in the topics cloud or type “Friday Fish” into the search box. To give you a few ideas, I’ve included in this post photos and links for some favorite FRIDAY FISH posts from the last couple of years.

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Salmon on Two-Cheese Tabasco Grits

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Sometimes dinner just looks like a party!

You either love grits or you hate them. They’re one of those kinds of things. If you grew up eating them, as did I, they’re comfort food par excellence — we so need comfort food now — whether buttered and tucked under a big plate of eggs over easy with spicy patty sausage or baked up all cheesy in a casserole dish for the Thanksgiving or any other buffet. They do not, as some folks will insist, taste like paste. (I always liked paste myself.) The trouble has come with the advent of instant grits, which while technically kinda-sorta grits, are nothing compared to the pot of goodness made with stone-ground grits that take longer to cook and definitely need more attention than mashed potatoes. I’d just as soon skip grits if they’re instant, but I’m sure they have their place for folks camping with a bunch of kids demanding a hot breakfast 10 minutes ago.

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