barry’s done with the pink!...well, after this post anyways.

last time you’ll hear from me this week…promise. today i’m posting two more recipes in the note of pink: an easy but super fun entrée and a really inexpensive way to tjuzs up chocolate cake mix.

the first recipe was made for a potato-themed food fest this past summer; from the surreal gourmet, they’re meatloaf cupcakes with pink “frosting”. they were a big hit with my friends who are kids at heart, and with my niece and nephew, who are just plain kids. this recipe is really easy, and great if you want to make an activity of it: have your guest(s) frost their own cupcake.

meatloaf cupcakes.
(from the surreal gourmet)

2 cups stale bread, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (500 ml)

2 cups milk, divided (500 ml)

3 tbsp olive oil, divided (45 ml)

1/2 onion, diced

2 lb. ground chuck (hamburger) (913 grams)

1 egg

1 tbsp fresh thyme, stems removed (15 ml)

1 1/2 cups cups italian parsley, stems removed, diced, divided (375 ml) (i didn’t use this, but substituted a bit more thyme instead.)

1/2 tsp salt (2 ml)

1/4 tsp pepper (1 ml)

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (1 ml)

1/4 cup ketchup (60 ml)

4 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (i used butter and herb instant potato mix instead)

1/4 lb. butter (113.5 grams)

1 cup half and half (250 ml)

1 beet, roasted

1 bunch fresh parsley, stemmed and finely minced

1 cup indian fennel candies (the kind you get in a bowl as you exit indian restaurants) (i don’t like these so instead i roasted a head of garlic and used the cloves as the “cherries” on top.

oil spray

1. place bread in a bowl. add 2 cups milk and toss with bread. reserve.

2. in a sauté pan over medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons oil and sauté onions for approximately 4 minutes, or until they become translucent. reserve.

3. in a large bowl, use your hands to mix chuck, eggs, thyme, parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg, soaked bread, onions and ketchup.

4. set oil-sprayed cupcake liners in a muffin and fill with meatloaf mixture. smooth tops so that they are flat. bake for 3/4 hours, or until fully cooked. reserve.

5. boil potatoes in a large pot of water until tender to the touch of a fork. drain water and mash with butter and half and half. mash until smooth. divide mashed potatoes into 2 separate bowls. add 1 tablespoon grated beet to one batch and all the parsley to the other. blend until you have a batch of pink and a batch of green potatoes. cover and reserve.

6. when meatloaf is done, "ice" half with pink and half with green mashed potatoes. sprinkle with indian fennel candies and serve immediately.

since you're using beets anyways, you might want to consider using them as a side dish too.

continuing on the cupcake theme, a bud of mine had the fantastic idea of making cupcakes by taking a chocolate cake mix and adding frozen cranberries to it, along with chunks of callebaut milk chocolate that they picked up from the bulk section at superstore. at first i was against the cranberries going in thinking that they would be too tart, but they were a fantastic balance with the chocolate chunks and helped moisten the cake. my friend topped each cupcake with peppermint flavoured green icing – instead, try using almond extract and red food colouring to store bought cream cheese icing for a valentine’s feel.