Valentine's Day - Dinner with the Kids

Finished product, dessert courtesy of Surreal Confections.

It's been a little while since my last post. Doesn't mean that I haven't been cooking, just been too busy to post. Well, that curious lack of posting ends today. A bit of a special occasion, really, this meal is being done in tandem with Surreal Confections (providing the dessert).  I'll get right to it.

Valentine's Day. Ordinarily a time for people in love to show their affection for one another by gifts of chocolate, flowers, lovely greeting cards, and food in very expensive restaurants. Now, Valentine's Day makes up one of the two busiest days for a restaurant (the other one being Mother's Day), which hardly ensures that you'll even get a seat, let alone a memorable meal. And what do you do when you have a family? Hire a sitter that costs too much and probably has a nagging addiction to snorting cornflakes and coke? NO! That'll cost you even more money and drain your supplies of cereal and soda. Here's what you do:

Make dinner yourself. Cater to your kids. (If you're a guy, your lady will appreciate your attention and nurturing actions directed at the little ones. If you're a lady, your guy will understand that the little ones take priority.) When they're in bed, full of yummy food and chocolate, THEN you cater to your sweetheart. Keep the kids' dinner simple but memorable. Traditional meals like, oh, say... Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes, perhaps? Let's be fancy and make some bell pepper hearts to go along with it. Today is all about the presentation.

So, our Valentine's Day meal for the kids will consist of Heart-Shaped Homestyle Meatloaf, Garlic Mashed Potatoes,  Bell Pepper Hearts, and we're finishing off the meal with Surreal Confections' own Strawberry and Dark Chocolate Filled Choclate Cupcakes with Whipped Topping, conceived specially for the occasion.

First off, before the day gets rolling too hard you'll need to prepare a couple of things. First off, here's what you need:

For the Meatloaf

Meatloaf veggies, just about ready to go.

2 lbs. Ground Beef,

1 medium Onion, yellow, diced small

1 large stalk of Celery, diced small

6 button mushrooms, sliced 

2 Eggs

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

1 tbsp Garlic Powder

1 tbsp Onion Powder

2 tbsp Brown Sugar

1 tsp Paprika

1/2 cup Ketchup

Cooking Oil (for sauteeing) 

1 cup of Breadcrumbs or Cornflakes

For the Mashers

7 Potatoes, White, Medium sized (or five bigger ones)

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

2 cups Heavy Cream

2 Tbsp Minced Garlic in Oil

Onion Powder
2 tbsp Whole Butter

Pepper Hearts

For the Peppers

1 each Red, Orange, Yellow, and Green Bell Pepper
Cooking Oil (for sauteeing)
Salt (to taste)
1 tsp minced Garlic

Now that we've got that settled, here's what you do:

For the Meatloaf

-Drop a bit of oil into a medium saute pan or  skillet. Bring up the temp for a couple of minutes and drop in your onion, celery, and mushrooms. Keep it moving until the veggies are tender.
-Mix all ingredients well in a large bowl (except for 1 tbsp of brown sugar).  Simple, eh?
-Couple of options here. If you have a medium sized heart-shaped pan, as is a staple in many child bearing households, oil it lightly and plop the embryonic meatloaf in.  If you do not, get a square baking pan, load it up, and trim it down to a heart shape after it comes out of the oven. But I strongly suggest you get the heart pan. Multi-purpose, and whatnot.
- Cover with foil, making sure to tent the middle and secure the sides
-Cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes or until juices run clear. Alternately, it should have an internal temperature in the centermost area of at least 155 degrees. Also Fahrenheit.

A note, here. I cheated, and I expect you to as well. This is meant to be an easy fix, with the nifty bit being the presentation. Pick your favorite packaged spiced blend. Either Lawry's Seasoned Salt or Montreal Steak Seasoning work well with a loaf o' meat. Omit the other spices from this recipe except for one tbsp of the brown sugar. You'll see why.

-After your Meatloaf is out of the oven, allow it to rest for about five minutes. While resting, mix together your ketchup and brown sugar.
-Apply your red glaze evenly to the top of the Meatloaf (do this during the "Put It All Together" phase, below).

For the Mashers

-Get a pot of water on high heat. Bring to a boil.
-While waiting on the water, quarter your potatoes. Do not peel.
-When the water's at a good rolling boil, CAREFULLY add the potatoes.
-Boil, stirring occasionally, until your 'taters are tender. Drain and reserve.
-In a small saucepan, drop in a teaspoon of oil and your garlic. bring up the heat and keep it moving until the Garlic just begins to brown.
-Add the Heavy Cream and give it a good stir to dislodge anything on the bottom of the saucepan.
-Add your seasonings and  whisk to incorporate. When it begins to bubble, reduce heat to low and stir occasionally.
-When your potatoes are cooked and drained, pour them into a large bowl and mash the bejeezus out of them, then add your hot cream mixture and butter.
-Fold everything together.

For a spiffier (WOW, the spellchecker actually thinks "spiffier" is a word in English) presentation of the Mashers, mix in a bit of chopped parsley or green onion.

For the Peppers

This can be time consuming without the proper cutter. I used three small heart-shaped cookie cutters, but in the past I've had to use a paring knife. Get the cutters. Save your hands.

-Slice off the top and bottom of each Pepper.
-Cut a vertical slice to open them up.
-Carefully remove the seeds and white membrane, discard.
-Using your cookie cutters (or knife, if you're desperate) cut out several heart shapes. Start from the fleshy side, make sure the outer skin is down before you press. It'll make your job so much easier.
-In a small saute pan, heat a small amount of oil over medium heat . Add your Garlic and stir until it just starts to soften, but not quite brown.
-Add the Pepper hearts and toss in a dash of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until it begins to change color slightly. Remove from heat and cover.
-In two minutes, they're perfect.

Platter Service

Put It All Together

-On a serving platter, put down a layer of the Mashed Potatoes. Position the Meatloaf in the dead center and press down lightly.
-Time to glaze your Meatloaf.
-Arrange your Pepper hearts around your larger Meatloaf heart.
-Plate your dessert next to your entree (for details on your yummy dessert, please see the  tandem meal post HERE.)

Individual service

-Eat.

For individual servings, lay down a serving spoon full of mashers at approximately the 10 o'clock center of the plate. Cut off two of three thin slices of Meatloaf and lay across the Mashers, and garnish heavily with Pepper hearts.

Give it to your kids, tell them Happy V-Day, and explain to them that this is what's for dinner, stop complaining and eat it. Make sure to prepare this a little early, after they eat it's time to prepare dinner for your sweetie.

Coming very soon and very next - Valentine's Day Dinner for Two - the real reason for the season. And a huge thanks to Surreal Confections for going tandem with this meal.