Kitsch-en Kounter: Pineapple Upside-Down Loaf

What is it that makes the tropics so alluring?  Elvis knew the secret.  Is it the gently swaying palms, the lilting melody of the ukulele, the lapping of crystalline waves of the purest blue, the swishing of grass skirts as wahines hula into your heart?  Yes.  But for Elvis and me, it is also the delicious tropical food.

"Aloha Oe" - Elvis Presley (1961)

It has been a while since my last "Kitsch-en Kounter" post because while I regularly pore over vintage issues of Collier's and McCall's looking for fun and strange recipes, it is really tough to find one that is not just funny but actually tasty.  I hate waste and it is important to me to find a recipe worth the investment of time and the cost of ingredients.  It has happened to me many times over - that moment when I am completely overcome with the brilliance of an entirely-original idea only to do a quick search online and discover that I had been bested by people much smarter  - or at least quicker on the draw.  Well, the idea for Teriyaki Pineapple Upside-Down Meatloaf has been brewing in the back of my mind for quite some time and I finally found the motivation to make it today.  I searched for any incarnation of a pineapple upside-down meatloaf and was pleased to find that none existed!!!  So here, in its world premiere, I introduce to the universe, TERIYAKI PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN MEATLOAF!

Truthfully, I am not one who really follows a recipe very closely.  I love to cook but half the fun is in the spontaneity.  So, in true wacky tacky fashion, here is a vague indication of the things you will need for a Teriyaki Pineapple Upside-Down Meatloaf.  If you're the type that needs a detailed recipe, I encourage you to let it go and just get wacky!

1  17oz. Bottle Prepared Teriyaki Glaze
1  Can Pineapple rings
Maraschino Cherries
Your Best Meatloaf Recipe

In a greased pan place as many pineapple rings as will fit comfortably (I used an angel food cake pan which to fill even halfway takes an unholy amount of meatloaf mixture and the results will leave you eating meatloaf for the next week).  In the center of each ring place a maraschino cherry.  Using about one third of the teriyaki sauce, cover the pineapple rings/cherries (this will create a glaze).  I used the rest of the teriyaki sauce inside the meatloaf mixture (usually, I would make my own out of soy sauce, garlic, honey, ginger, etc. but in the interest of keeping it simple, I used prepared).  Fill the pan with the your favorite meatloaf (we grew up on ground turkey) and bake until cooked through.  Remove from the oven and allow the loaf to rest.  Turn it out onto a serving platter and garnish as desired.

Like a true Hawaiian plate lunch, I think it is best to serve your Pineapple Upside-Down Loaf with steamed rice and macaroni salad.

As delicious as a Pineapple Upside-Down Loaf may be, it is only as good as the table on which it is served.  So, I decided to bring a few tropical delights out of storage and set the mood by setting the table.

A vintage, tropical-print, tablecloth.
This was the first cloth in what has developed into a greater collection.
(stay tuned for a future post on that)
As you can see, I did a rather perfunctory
 job at pressing out the creases.  I refuse to over think it because
 once the whole table is set, the wrinkles are barely noticeable.

I placed some leaves down and topped them with bamboo placemats,
highlighted by yellow, cotton placemats (folded in half lengthwise),
bamboo-handled flatware, and plain white porcelain dinnerware.

The finished placesetting.
Who's ready for some PUDL?!

Mary said it looked a little naked without rice in the middle.

I think that was actually a pretty good call.

So there it is.  An island of meatloaf amidst a sea of fluffy, white rice. 

PUDL is just one more thing that is NOT included on Mr. Tiny's current diet, but if the sounds of joy coming from the diners in the next room are any indication, PUDL is a hit!  If you decide to make your own PUDL for Sunday dinner or your upcoming Valentine's Day festivities, please let me know how it turns out.  Good luck and good eating!


Cheers & Aloha!

Mr. Tiny

Kitsch-en Kounter: Neapolitan Treats

I love looking through old magazines.  I was fortunate enough to inherit some of my great-grandmother's collection of magazines including many McCall's and Collier's from the late forties and early fifties.  I treasure these veritable time capsules that still bear her name and address so much that they have gone with me wherever I have moved.  Endless inspiration is to be found by simply thumbing through the dog-eared pages and with every turn of the page I have taken mental notes on the fashion, the interiors and even the food!  Sometimes the recipes culled from the pages of these publications seem like a menu designed for prisoners of war, kidnappers, and especially-disruptive, early-morning landscapers.  I can see the artistry and the ingenuity behind the recipes.  I can see the endless possibilities for pimento olives.  I can see these recipes as part of the wacky tacky landscape and therefore I wanted to try my hand at making something that could be worthy of a home on the pages of these magazines.

Growing up, my dad's favorite ice cream flavor was neapolitan.  He always loved mixing flavors and the classic chocolate, vanilla, strawberry combination that neapolitan offered him was an ice cream dream come true.  When he would buy it for the family, however, the carton would invariably end up as a stripe of vanilla surrounded by two voids where the chocolate and strawberry once resided.  My brother still considers vanilla to be "plain."  Inspired by the recipes of vintage magazines and my dad's favorite flavor  story I decided to create neapolitan "marshmallow rice squares."  I would say Rice Krispie Treats, but in the interest of full disclosure, I not only used generic marshmallows, I used store-brand
"Crispie Rice Cereal" - both regular and cocoa-flavored.  I decided that the obvious finishing touch was a dunk in chocolate.

Clearly, I am no food stylist.  The way a food looks in my imagination doesn't always translate directly to the finished product.  Furthermore, the way that the photos look in my head versus the way the photos turn out is very telling about my photography skills as well.  Nevertheless, the finished product was tasty and left room for fine-tuning in the next batch.  Although I'm not sure that I would have pleased the editors of Collier's.

My next food challenge is to take a real recipe from a vintage magazine and see if my family will actually eat it!  Bon appetit!

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny