Individual Meatloaves with Gorgonzola Mushroom Gravy

Being a huge blue cheese fan, I was so excited to make these mini meat loaves for a recent dinner party. The recipe is actually a mix of several I found online and I was glad it turned out ok. The gravy was delicious and the meatloaves were very moist and flavorful. I fed 15 people the night I made these so don't let the portion sizes in the pictures throw you off the recipe below which yields 6-8 individual meat loaves.

HELPS
1. Be careful when making the meatloaf not to mash it too much or the meat loaves will come out too dense.
2. You may want to consider making extra gravy as this is the star of the dish and your guests may want an extra serving.

INGREDIENTS
Meatloaves
1 Tbs olive oil
3 small yellow onions, diced
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup canned chicken broth
1 Tbs tomato paste
2 1/2 pounds ground chuck (At least 80% lean)
1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup ketchup

Gravy
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
10 to 12 cremini (baby portobello mushrooms), quartered
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup chicken stock
2 Tbs butter
1 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 pound Gorgonzola
Salt and Pepper

DIRECTIONS
Meatloaves
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan.
3. Add the onions, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent but not brown.

















4. Off the heat, add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken broth, and tomato paste. Allow to cool slightly.

















5. In a large bowl, combine the ground chuck, onion mixture, bread crumbs, and eggs, and mix lightly with a fork. Don't over mix.

















6. Divide the mixture into 6 (about 10oz) portions and shape each portion into a small loaf on a sheet pan.
















7. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the internal temperature is 155 to 160 degrees F and the meatloaves are cooked through.
8. Serve hot, smothered in gorgonzola mushroom gravy (recipe below).

Gravy
1. Heat olive oil in large skillet.
2. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook until dark and tender, 5 to 6 minutes.
3. Add salt and pepper and chicken stock and bring to simmer, stirring occasionally.

















4. In a medium saucepot, melt butter over medium heat.
5. Add flour and cook 1 to 2 minutes to make a roux.
6. Whisk in milk and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

















7. Reduce the sauce a few minutes to thicken a bit.
8. Add milk sauce to the mushrooms.
9. Stir in Gorgonzola cheese until melted to desired consistency.

















10. Plate and serve.

Asiago Crisps with Boursin and Raspberry

These are one of our favorite appetizers, combining the wonderful flavors of asiago cheese, raspberry and Boursin cheese. Boursin is classified as a triple-cream cheese from France and is normally made with pasteurized cow's milk. It has a very smooth, creamy texture and mild, delicate base flavor, usually including garlic, herbs, black pepper, shallots and chives. Though you can buy Boursin at the store, I have found that making it from scratch is more economical and it tastes much fresher. The recipe below yields 4 dozen crisps and a whole lot of extra Boursin. Enjoy!

HELPFUL HINTS
1. Depending on your preferred crispiness level, for crunchier crisps leave them in the oven a few minutes longer.
2. The boursin can be made several days ahead if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
3. If you're using Boursin after it's been refrigerated, let it get to room temperature before trying to spread it.
4. Boursin can also be used in other applications such as spreading on other crackers or even on top of steaks. This recipe will leave you a lot of extra so be prepared to use it up!
5. Make sure the raspberries are not too wet or they will discolor the boursin.

INGREDIENTS
6 oz Shredded Asiago Cheese
3 oz Fresh Raspberries
2 garlic cloves
6 oz butter, room temperature
10 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 Tbs grated parmesan
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried chives
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp black pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to Convect Bake 375 degrees F.
2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or other reusable nonstick bakeware liner.
3. Drop 1 level teaspoon of Asiago cheese into mounds a few inches apart on baking liner.


















4. Convect bake Asiago rounds until their edges just begin to color; about 7 minutes.

5. Transfer crisps, still on bakeware liner to wire rack; cool 2 minutes.
6. Transfer to paper towels to absorb excess fat.

7. Repeat with remaining Asiago cheese.
8. Crush garlic and mix with butter, cream cheese and parmesan.

















9. Add dill, marjoram, basil, chives, thyme, parsley and pepper and stir until combined.
































10. Place small dollops of Boursin cheese on top of each Asiago circle.
11. Garnish with halved fresh raspberries.

Mushroom Tagliatelle with Asiago and Thyme

Few foods taste as great and are as easy to make as fresh, homemade pasta. This recipe combines taglietelle pasta (long, thin flat egg noodles about 1/4 inch wide) with garlic, mushroom, cream, thyme and asiago. The blending of these ingredients makes for a wonderful aroma in the kitchen and en even better taste. The recipe below yields about 6 servings. Enjoy!

HELPFUL HINTS
1. Make sure you use enough flour when rolling and cutting your dough. If you don't, the cut noodles will stick to each other prior to going into water and then you'll have pasta clumps, not pieces.
2. You don't have to have a stand mixer roller attachment to roll pasta. You can buy kitchen counter models for under $30 or you can roll your pasta the old fashioned way - with a roller.
3. Don't let the sauce simmer too long or it will thicken too much.

INGREDIENTS

Pasta
2 ½ cups flour
1 pinch salt
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup milk
1 Tbs butter

Sauce
2 Tbs butter

1 shallot, minced

½ tsp fresh garlic, minced

1 pound assorted wild mushrooms

¼  cup water and ¼ cup red wine vinegar

2 cups heavy cream

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

½ cup asiago cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS

Pasta
1. In a bowl, mix flour and salt.
2. Add egg, milk, butter.
3. Knead about 5 minutes then let rest in a covered bowl or ziploc for 10 minutes.


















5. Cut into smaller manageable pieces then roll to desired thickness.
































6. Cut into long strips, then separate from each other.
































Sauce
1. Set up a pot of salted water and bring to a boil for the pasta.
2. In a large sauté pan, melt the butter and sauté the shallot and garlic until translucent.

3. Add the mushrooms and cook 1 minute.

4. Add the water and red wine vinegar and reduce by about ½.

















5. Add the cream and reduce by ¼.

















6. While cream is reducing, cook the pasta for 3-4 minutes, then drain.

7. Into the cream, stir in the thyme, asiago and pasta and bring back to a boil, tossing to help melt the cheese.