Celebrate National Meatloaf Appreciation Day with Serious Eats

When I was a kid, my mom only made meatloaf occasionally. It wasn't in the regular dinner rotation and so when we heard it was on the menu, instead of complaining (ala Randy in A Christmas Story, singing-songing "Meat-loaf, beet-loaf, I hate meat-loat."*) we'd celebrate. My mom made good meatloaf, filled with grated carrots and potatoes, seasoned with spaghetti sauce spices and baked in a white stoneware loaf pan (also the vessel for many a loaf of banana bread). It was the kind of meatloaf that got even better the next day and made a really excellent sandwich.

Serious Eats has declared October 18th National Meatloaf Appreciation Day. They are inviting everyone to participate in the festivities. It's easy to be involved in the celebration. All you have to do is make a meatloaf before October 16th and take a picture of your creation. If you have a blog, post the picture and recipe and send the link to the folks at SE. If you're not the blogging sort, send the picture and recipe to them via email (make sure to go over and check their post for the complete instructions). They'll put up a round-up of all the meatloaf creations on the 18th.
If you're not the meat eating sort and want to play along, feel free to whip up a veg loaf. If you need a little inspiration on that front, go check out the Magic Loaf Generator (created by Jennifer at Vegan Lunch Box). I'm planning on whipped up a meatloaf based on my mom's recipe and will post it here.

*If memory serves, this scene comes just before the one in which Melinda Dillon gets him to eat by saying, "show mommy how the piggies eat!" That line has become an oft-quoted phrase in my family, frequently used at times that have nothing to do with food. Ah, good times.

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