Loafing Around

I promised some meat loaves from 365 Ways to Cook Hamburger (Doyne Nickerson, 1960), so get ready for some serious loafing.

Nickerson was a big believer in fruit-and-meat loaves, so he has not one, but two banana meat loaves-- well before the current banana loaf craze. (At least the current one is for bread!) There's a banana meat loaf for just the family, serving four and featuring the usual suspects of onion and bread crumbs with the mashed banana.

Then there's the company one, from back when people had company, which serves 8 and adds bacon strips topped with thick slices of banana for that special "Wow!" factor.

Or you can go pretend-Hawaiian with Hamburger Luncheon Meat Loaf.

Okay, it doesn't actually say this is Hawaiian, but Spam (sorry, canned luncheon meat) plus pineapple is clearly code for Hawaiian in all these old books. They might as well tell cooks to adorn this with a tiny floral shirt and lei. (Those are best added after basting with the brown sugar/ vinegar/ mustard mixture, right before serving!)

As another example that "California" cuisine meant something very different back then, there's a California Meat Loaf. It's not grass-fed ground beef with a sourdough and artichoke stuffing or anything like that...

It's hamburger with catsup, corn flakes, and raisins. (That sounds suspiciously mid-westy to me! Definitely more midwestern than Californian....)

I was a bit surprised that this next recipe wasn't labeled the California Meat Loaf.

Maybe fans of hot avocado think this sounds great, but seems like a waste of an avocado to me.

Meat rolls show up in the meat loaf chapter too, often using the stuffing as a way to work some veggies into the kids' diets.

I can imagine my childhood self meticulously eating around the seasoned mashed peas layer.

If you really want to fool the family, though, maybe try presenting the meat loaf as dessert:

Yes, hide the meat loaf under a velvety layer of mustard meringue! The kids will be afraid of lemon meringue pies for weeks afterward. (Oh, well. More slices for you!)

Actually, as much as Nickerson loved fruited meat loaves, I'm kind of surprised there's not a Lemon Meringue Meat Loaf or a Sour-Cream-and-Raisin Meringue Meat Loaf. Feel free to make up your own dessert-inspired meat loaf combinations!