I’m going to be making a classic meatloaf this weekend using the Alton Brown recipe but am wondering what would be a really traditional accompaniment to have with this in the U.S? I want to aim for a homely, 1950’s yet very authentic American meal on Saturday - possibley three courses if you have ideas for starters and dessert and are feeling charitable? Some ideas for some traditional, non-alcoholic drinks would be cool too!
Thanks!
Traditional? Probably canned creamed corn.
Mashed taters. Anything else is just not right. Round it out with some sort of vegetable, corn is common.
You might else want to serve some sort of dinner roll.
Yup! Mashed potatoes…and peas. Definitely a dinner roll.
Corn, or a “vegetable medley” and mashed potatoes.
If you make the meatloaf in a bundt pan, you can put the mashed potatoes in the middle, which would be very 1950s/1960s housewife-ly.
I am eating that at this very moment from last night’s leftovers.
Meatloaf shall be served with heaping piles of mashed potatoes and steamed veggies.
nah, baked potatoes are the traditional side. You just toss them in the oven under and around the meatloaf pan. Meatloaf doesn’t make gravy, so you can’t have mashed. (Well, that was always my mother’s reasoning. It works for me.)
For veggies anything green will do. string beans, asparagus, spinach (very '50s), etc.
If you want traditional '50s for your desert you need to bake a round layer cake. Yellow with chocolate buttercream frosting ought to do.
Beverages are harder to come up with … kids would drink milk with meatloaf dinner, and adults would be more inclined to have something alcoholic. Iced tea or lemonade might be a possibility. (As I’m not certain where you are, I should probably mention that American lemonade is flat, not fizzy like what Europeans usually call lemonade.)
I agree with Miss Woodhouse’s mom - no gravy with meatloaf, so I make buttered parsley potatoes (boiled potatoes with butter, chopped parsley, salt and pepper,) and green beans.
Bread pudding would be a good Southern style dessert. You’ll have to make it before the meatloaf, since it takes an hour to bake, unless you have two ovens.
Mashed potatoes, gravy to cover both those and the meatloaf, and green beans.
I always make beef rice-a-roni & corn with meat loaf. Because you can’t make gravy with meat loaf, so what’s the point of mashed potatoes?
Gravy schmavy. Mashed potatoes with butter.
Paprika potatoes. You peel and parboil the potatoes (an important step). Then you put them in the pan with the meat loaf (you’ve left room when forming it) and sprinkle paprika on them. Occasionally spoon the meat juices over them. When they get crunchy on the outside, they’re done.
Vegetable would be frozen or canned corn.
They make gravy packets, you know. Meat loaf ain’t hawt cewsine, you can use instant gravy without the Food Cops busting you.
Definitely mashed potatoes and some type of steamed vegetable, usually peas or green beans. Since when do you need gravy for mashed potatoes?
Some people top the meat loaf with some sort of tomato sauce (maybe just ketsup). I’ve never done that but I’m sure it is someone’s tradition.
Also not traditional but I have put the meat loaf in a more shallow pan than normal, shaped into a face and used corn to form teeth and peas to make eyes. My pre-teen boys thought it was great.
Mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, and brussel sprouts.
I’d stay away from corn since you already have two other starches.
Ellen Foley. Though some people have a preference for Karla De Vito.
What?
Dammit! I was just trying to set that pun up myself. Props.