
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 6, 1994                   TAG: 9404060090
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By CHARLOTTE BALCOMB LANE ORLANDO (Fla.) SENTINEL
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

MIXED-UP JOYS FROM THE MANLY WORLD OF MEATLOAF

Some foods can stir up emotions in people. Liver, for example, makes some people gag with disgust. Chocolate makes most people ooh with delight. And meatloaf makes others light up with smiles as they recollect a special mix of ground meat, bread crumbs and spices from their childhoods.

A lot of people have a meatloaf story, a memory and a favorite recipe.

Authors Peter "Meatloaf" Kaufman and T.K. Woods tapped into that mother lode of meatloaf devotion when they sponsored two Great American Meatloaf Contests in 1991 and 1992. Those contests received hundreds of entries and earned a plug on "Live With Regis and Kathie Lee." This year, "The Great American Meatloaf Contest Cookbook" was born.

Published by Hearst Books ($15), the 310-page book is a compendium of recipes submitted by cooks from all over the country. The recipes include gloppy loaves "like Mom used to make," fancier stuffed or rolled versions, impressive loaves for dinner parties and far-fetched creations invented at Kaufman's fictitious "World Meatloaf Headquarters" in Jamaica Plain, Mass.

With a nod to the nutrition movement, there are recipes for loaves made with ground turkey in various disguises and vegetarian loaves made with artichoke hearts, wild rice, walnuts or lentils. Plus, there are 10 recipes developed by professional chefs and served in fancy restaurants.

According to Kaufman, the contests, and now the cookbook, caught on because meatloaf is a "primordial, back-to-the-cave kind of food." The 34-year-old bachelor wrote most of the book from the perspective of an average, meatloaf-loving, single "guy."

Meatloaf is an elemental food for guys, he explained. It can be mixed in a single bowl, it's easy to clean up after, it's inexpensive, it crosses ethnic boundaries and - this is most important - it's a food Real Men can make for a poker game and not be embarrassed.

Novices and the cooking-impaired can prepare meatloaf without fear or intimidation, Kaufman said. And after they've made one meatloaf, they become experts.

"Guys love to talk about meatloaf. You don't hear guys talking much about their favorite recipe for pate," he added.

Kaufman said that one-third of the submissions to "The Great American Meatloaf Contest Cookbook" came from men, including a recipe for Ralph's Egg-Cellent Meatloaf from Ralph Gerken of Clearwater, Fla., and Barcelona Meatloaf from Marshall Stowell of Naples, Fla.

Gerken's recipe calls for hiding a peeled, hard-boiled egg in the meat mixture, and Stowall's recipe includes beef, pork and cilantro and is doused with a red wine and tomato sauce. With 11 out of 150 recipes supplied by Floridians, the Sunshine State seems to be a particularly meatloaf-loving area.

Lane Newman of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a flight attendant for a commuter airline, submitted her favorite recipe for Smart Choice Poultry Loaf made with ground turkey, low-fat cheese, ketchup and whole-wheat bread crumbs. She said she prepares double batches of the mixture so her husband can bake one loaf when she's on overnight flights.

"My husband and I love cold meatloaf sandwiches," Newman said, explaining why she first entered the contest and why she agreed to have her recipe included in the book. Contestants whose recipes were included received a free copy of the book.

Dorothy Beyer of St. Petersburg Beach, Fla., sent in a recipe for a Baby Swiss Meatloaf that includes young Swiss and Parmesan cheeses, shredded zucchini, and beef, veal and pork. Unfortunately, Beyer said she feels about meatloaf the way most people feel about liver. But she used to make it because all five of her kids loved it. And to this day, they get misty-eyed just talking about it.

To the fine contest compilation, the Roanoke Times & World-News' staff adds two classic loaves from Campbell Soup Company and two exotic entries from Mettja C. Roate's "The New Ground Beef Cookbook," (Macfadden-Bartell), a classic in its own right, dating back to 1965.

\ Recipes for:

RALPH'S EGG-CELLENT MEATLOAF

A BABY SWISS MEATLOAF

BARCELONA MEATLOAF

SMART CHOICE POULTRY LOAF

FESTIVE MEATLOAF

CHINESE CHOW MEIN LOAF

SAVORY MEATLOAF AND VEGETABLES

BEST-EVER MEATLOAF

by CNB