Smallgoods

Meat Loaves

I have always been very fascinated by delicatessen in Australia.  They provide and sell delicious smallgoods.  They have beautiful selections of cold, cured, smoked meat, fish, poultry and variety of cheeses.  From sausages to ham, preserved vegetables to preserved olives, just to name a few.

When the children were little, I prepared their sandwiches for their lunches and enjoyed the bought cold meat from the Deli. I also cooked the sausages served with mashed potatoes etc.
As a very keen cook, I wished to know how to make or prepared these beautiful sausages or meat loaves?  I did try a few times to make sausages, and they were delicious.  However, I do not make sausages very often because it is not easy to get the sausage skin (the casing).  I got it from the butcher last time, but now I think they used an imitation-plastic 'runners.'

The cold meats are easy enough, I have them from the leftover of our roast dinners, sliced thinly.
Of curing technique and smoking, I do not know how. I know that smoking fish is achievable, but I have not tried it.  But making simple cold meat loaves, using a combination of meat and mousse with flavours, I do it often and successfully too.  

My homemade chicken meatloaf with apricot and roast pork

The middle is the chicken meatloaf with apricot.

The edges are the Roast Pork from Mini Roast

Easy to Carve and Lean

Serving my homemade Meat Loaves

Chicken with Apricot Meatloaves and Roast Pork

Served with Cabbage salad with mustard

and mix leafy salad dressed in vinaigrette

My fascination with smallgoods is worst now since I have been watching the new program on television here in Melbourne, Australia, in French Food Safari.  In France, charcuterie is fantastic and of such an abundance of variety: cured meats, salted, smoked, meats and endless types of sausages.

The boulangerie is impressive too.  I saw these beautiful crusty bread, country breads-baguettes, sourdough etc.  I think they make the best varieties of bread in the world.  The French love to eat, they also love to prepare their food to perfection.

Well, I am tempted to bake baguettes, so I must use my baking tin again, which I have never been using since the children were little.  I did bake the French sticks (what we say here), and they were not to bad, but this time I will do better I hope.

Stay tuned
Susy