Edible Containers - Daring Cooks Challenge April 2011

Renata of Testado, Provado & Aprovado! was our Daring Cooks’ April 2011 hostess. Renata challenged us to think “outside the plate” and create our own edible containers! Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 17th to May 16th at The Daring Kitchen!

I spent the whole night thinking about this challenge. Not just because of the prizes, but the exposure would be phenomenal.

There were many ways to go, things I have done in the past or seen on a show, but that wasn't quite creative enough for me. Even though no one else might have seen those, I wanted something no one would think of.

We can submit more than one recipe and we have to write paragraph explaining the concept behind the dish and how we came to create it.

This was simple...I was sitting in the Diner with The Nudge a couple of Saturdays ago and, just like the 3 seconds he came up with the name of my business (which, by the way, I spent the better part of a whole day thinking of different names), he did the same thing again.

I really hate when he does that, but he had such a good idea, I had no choice but to agree with him on this one.

A Meatloaf Bowl to serve Creamy Mashed Roasted Cauliflower Puree covered with a mushroom gravy.

GENIUS.....simply genius.

The problem was how to bake the shape with drainage for fat drip-off. Meatloaf will ooze no matter how lean your meat is. I thought about using ground turkey but The Nudge was adamant about it.......NO, NO, NO.

I finally decided on using my 6" springform pan. I put my meatloaf into the pan, and just like a graham cracker crust, I worked the meat mixture up the sides of the pan, making sure the bottom had enough width to support the sides.

I baked it for 20 minutes at 375F, toweled up the fat that was collecting in the center, put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes.
Once that baked I removed the springform sides and let it sit to room temp.
Then I slide it off the bottom, on to a foiled lined sheet pan and baked it free form for another 20 minutes. 1 hour total.
While that cooled, I steamed the potatoes.
(I changed the interior from pureed cauliflower, which we normally would eat, to potatoes for a more traditional side to meatloaf).

I added 2 tablespoons of butter and 1/3 cup heavy cream to a bowl, added the steamed potatoes and with a fork, mashed everything together. I put that mixture into a Ziploc bag, cut the tip off and piped the potatoes into the center of the meatloaf bowl.

I steamed the peas in the same steamer as the potatoes were in (I hate using extra pots). Once they were done I spooned them along the edge of the bowl.
Isn't this the cutest thing you ever saw?

I removed about 2 tablespoons of potatoes from the top and made a well for the gravy.

I gave The Nudge the honor of pouring in the gravy, after all it was his idea. I used exactly 1/2 cup of gravy.

Voila!!
The finished dish. Now to cut it and take a pic of the slice and interior. I hope it stays intact after all this work.

It was a great success as you can see.
I was so afraid the interior would flop and cave in after cutting it. I think the key here was letting it cool completely after baking it.
I nuked the final project for 5 minutes and served. I thought I might have needed an egg in the potatoes for stability but it worked out well.

I am very proud of myself for this challenge.

I always had a good meatloaf recipe but this would make it an "Over the Top" meatloaf to serve a family because the cuteness would appeal to kids and they just might love meatloaf.

Who could resist a piece of this "MeatBowl for a ChowHound"???