Making Meatloaf

Friends were coming for six and it was already 4 o'clock. The house was a disaster, and dinner called. So I pulled out Marc Bittman's How to Cook Everything. I have my own recipe for meatloaf, but this one looked interesting. One thing's for sure - I really need a food chopper; doing this by hand took a lot more time than I had.

Ingredients
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 cup milk
2 pound lean ground beef
2 pound lean ground pork
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup Parmesan cheese, fresh grated
1/2 cup parsley, fresh and minced
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1 medium onion, minced
1 small carrot, peeled and minced
2 teaspoons sage, fresh ground
salt and black pepper, to taste
6 slices bacon

Makes 3 loaves.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Or, if like mine - your oven is slow, preheat to 425 F.
   
2. Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk until the milk is absorbed; about 5 minutes.
3. Mix all the ingredients (except the bacon) together in a large dish. I use my hands; it doesn't feel very pleasant, but it does guarantee a good mix.
4. Shape roughly into a loaf. Place atop a rack and place the rack in a roasting pan. This allows the rendered juices to gather below the loaf, making for a slightly dryer meatloaf that doesn't need to be toweled down before it can be served.
   
5. Lay 2 slices of bacon atop each loaf.
   
6. Bake for 45-60 minutes (or longer), basting occasionally with rendered pan juices.
7. When done, an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a loaf reads 160 F.