"Irish" meatloaf with holiday potatoes

I collect meatloaf recipes, ideally ones with an off-the-wall ingredient or something unexpected. When I came across this cheddar meatloaf recipe on The Fresh Market website, I was drawn to the use of quick-cooking oats as a binder, instead of the standard breadcrumbs. And as I was making it, it occurred to me that there were two very "Irish" ingredients in it: oats and cheddar. I didn't bother with mini-meatloaves, as you can see. Nor did I "finely chop" the onion, because I like larger chunks of onion. It ended up moist but not greasy, and held together pretty well even though I cut into it the second it came out of the oven. This is one of those "nobody would guess the secret ingredient" recipes; it certainly doesn't taste like oatmeal.

And since it's meatloaf, there's a law that it has to be served with mashed potatoes... another thing that people associate with Ireland. These here aren't normal mashed potatoes. They are the single most unhealthy potato preparation I've ever made; as you can imagine, they are also absolutely delicious. I guess in the interests of eating healthy, one could use low-fat cream cheese and leave out the butter. For special occasions, though, these potatoes (also from Fresh Market) should get the full shebang. I left the skins on mine, since these were just for me and I like potato skins.

In keeping with the theme, you could certainly bring color into it and have a green vegetable or salad on the side. For me, this was one of those meat-and-potatoes moments where I just wanted comfort food and didn't want to fuss with anything else for the sake of a "complete" meal. Broccoli would be nice, maybe roasted alongside the meatloaf and potatoes (bonus: both dishes cook for the same time at the same oven temperature).

Recipes:
Lil Cheddar Meatloaves (The Fresh Market)
Holiday Potatoes (The Fresh Market)

Broccoli with garlic breadcrumbs

This is my go-to broccoli side dish recipe. If you don't have panko, regular breadcrumbs work just fine. You can add parmesan cheese, lemon zest, red pepper flakes... it's a good basic recipe with lots of room to improvise.


Broccoli with Garlic Breadcrumbs
Makes 4 servings.

1 lb broccoli, trimmed and cut into 2-3"-wide florets
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Steam the broccoli for 5-10 minutes (5 minutes will give you relatively crisp broccoli, 10 minutes will make it softer -- whatever your personal preference is).

Meanwhile, cook the garlic in olive oil in a 12" skillet over low heat, stirring occasionally, until just barely golden (about 5 minutes). Add the panko, salt, and pepper, stirring to evenly coat the panko with the garlic oil. Increase heat to moderate and cook, stirring occasionally, until the panko is golden (about 3 minutes). Remove the skillet from heat.

Add the steamed broccoli to the crumb mixture in the skillet and toss to coat.

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