Coming Home: Panko Crusted Pollock

It is hard to describe the town I grew up in if you’ve never been here, or if you grew up in a city, or if you’ve never had the experience of everyone knowing your name…of everyone knowing your everything if we’re being honest.

As such, I’ll tell you a tale of a little town called Ipswich, if it pleases you. For this is where I am from.

The other day my wonderful Mama had trotted off to the town library. Why you ask? Well, because she needed to use their internet. For you see, in the home I grew up in there is no high-speed, no call waiting, no microwave. So off she goes to the library when she must “get online.” While trolling through her Earthlink inbox (yes, Earthlink…did you even know they still existed?), she saw a recent post about Vegetarian Carbonara I’d done (for she too is doing a CSA from Appleton Farms, so must battle weekly in the ever ongoing attempt to not let any of your organic groceries go to waste).  Not owning an iPhone or an iPad, she needed to print it out so she could make it at her leisure.

Walking the fields at Appleton Farms.

All the beautiful options available this week.

Now my mother is many incredible things, smart, funny, beautiful, gracious, caring, but she is not particularly tech savvy. And so, on the homepage of my blog she hit PRINT…and print it did. All 45+ pages of the past 10 recipes on my homepage. Realizing her error (at 20 cents per page to print at the library this was no small drama) she quickly tried to cancel the printing, calling over the librarians in droves. They leaned over the computer, they fluttered nervously about, and all together they accidentally hit print another 5 times, resulting in no less than 200 pages of Shut Up & Cook goodness spewing out of the library printer.

My mother, being an honorable woman, walked up to pay (Ipswich employing the honor system, bien sur), and upon telling the nice librarian what happened she replied, “Oh, you don’t have to pay for the extra copies…here, give them to me…I’ll just recycle them.” Passing them to her, all 200 pages were about to go into the recycling when something caught her eye.

“Smoked Salmon Quiche? This looks dynamite!” she exclaimed in her Boston accent that you must hear to understand.

“Kitty, come over here…didn’t you say you were trying to figure out what to do with all those tomatoes? This here thing has a recipe for Baked Tomatoes!”  (Yes, people in this town are named Kitty, and Muffin, and Wilma…and no one thinks it’s strange).

Within moments a gaggle of women had gathered and were dividing up and passing out the recipes, each knowing exactly what the other needed and thumping my mother on the back for how proud she must be to have, “A daughter who can cook?? I wish my Perry would cook…she never cooks!”

Don’t even think about getting greedy with the carrots…Muffin, and Kitty, and Wilma will kick your butt.

Home for a week, and loving every minute of it, I am reminded of where I’m from and how it has so affected who I am. Friday supper was made from fresh pollock a local fisherman had caught, and beautiful vegetables picked from Appleton Farm’s own fields.

It was simple. It was perfect. It was just like home.

Panko Crusted Pollock
Serves 4

Panko Crusted Pollock, served with Caesar Salad, and Summer Snap Peas

1 lb, Pollock Fillet, de-boned and rinsed, and cut into 4 oz fillets

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup flour, plus shake or two of salt and pepper

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped

1/2 cup dill, finely chopped

1. Preheat Oven to 385.
2. In three separate bowls put the flour, egg, and panko.  Add the herbs to the panko bowl and mix well.
3. First dredge the fillets in the flour mixture, then in the egg, and then in the breadcrumb mixture.
4. Set into a glass baking dish.
5. Bake until firm, yet flaky, about 10-15 minutes.

Comfort Food Goes Chic (again): Gourmet Meatloaf

I have recently started a new job, and as is typical for most people I think, I am finding myself in these first days and weeks coming home excited and positive but also admittedly tired and a bit drained. Keeping track of who’s who, what’s what, attempting to get out the door in the morning without getting slobbered by the mastiff, and remembering not to put hot tea in the fancy compostable cups (they definitely melt), can take it out of you.

As such, the foods that are appealing are the old standards. Traditionally satisfying but undeniably unglamorous, comfort foods have gotten a bit of a bad rep in my book. I’m not going to claim to be able to remake them so that they’re low-cal and low-carb (because come on people, these are COMFORT foods), but I do think they deserve a facelift now and then.

This meatloaf is a fantastically successful remake on the old school version. Adding lamb makes the flavors more interesting and the panko bread crumbs give it a lighter feel.  The sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella lend to a beautiful presentation.

Pair with sour cream mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables for a complete, chic, and new job worthy meal.

Serves 6.

Gourmet Meatloaf

Ingredients

1 lb organic ground beef

1 lb organic ground lamb

1 small yellow onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup panko bread crumbs

2/3 cup Italian parsley

1 TB Italian seasonings

Salt and Pepper, to taste

2 eggs

1/4 tomato juice (or ketchup)

1/2 cup dry red wine

4 ounces sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil)

1/2 lb smoked mozzarella, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Combine the ground beef, lamb, onion, garlic, bread crumbs, parsley, Italian seasonings, and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the eggs, tomato juice and wine and mix thoroughly.
3. Lay out 1 large sheet of waxed paper and spread the meat loaf mixture out in a 9×13 rectangle. Sprinkle 2/3 of the sun-dried tomatoes and arrange 2/3 of the mozzarella on top.
4. Using the wax paper as an aid start rolling it up from the short side, like a jelly roll. Peel back the paper as you roll. Place seams side down on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
5. Bake for 1 hour. Sprinkle the remaining sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella over the top and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 10 minutes more.