Thank you to everyone who came to our studio in Florence last weekend to participate in the Weekend Workshop.  What a great group… the stories, fellowship, sewing, and laughter were perfect.

A special thanks to Amy for sharing the sewing of her beautiful wedding dress.  What a special way to start a lifetime of beauty and commitment… and to Sarah – who made the trip from New York.  More about Sarah later this week.

Saturday’s meatloaf was amazing and everyone was clamoring for the recipe which, thanks to Kristy, I have posted below.

We have just posted our Weekend Workshop dates for 2011. Fill your holiday stocking, plan your trip and join us in the studio:

March 4 – 6

June 24 – 26

November 4 – 6

Look for our Berkeley workshop at the Edible Schoolyard soon and congrats to Deborah Kennedy for being the lucky winner of my favorite Walking Cape.

Check back soon for other special offers, visit us this Friday, November 12th from 12 -5 and Saturday the 13^th from 10 – 5 for our annual Holiday Open House & Sample Sale.

We have extended hours this year and will also be open Friday November 19^th from 12 – 5.  Get there early as everything goes quickly.

And now, Kristy’s Individual Meat Loaves

Individual Meat Loaves
(Makes about 6 individual loaves, depending on size of loaves)

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups chopped yellow onions (around 3 medium onions)
1-2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 1/2 pounds ground beef *see note below
1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
2 extra-large eggs, beaten
Chopped herbs (e.g. sage, thyme, rosemary, oregano, parsley)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add the onions, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent but not brown. Remove the thyme sprig(s). Off the heat, add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, onion mixture, bread crumbs, and eggs, and mix lightly with a fork. Don’t mash or the meatloaf will get dense. Add the chopped herbs to the mixture (for Saturday’s lunch, I used sage and thyme, but you could use almost any fresh herb(s).

Add the herbs liberally; it would be hard to overdo it. Divide the mixture into 6 (10 to 11-ounce) portions and shape each portion into a small loaf on a baking sheet.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the internal temperature is 155 to 160 degrees F and the meat loaves are cooked through. Serve hot.

* For Saturday’s lunch, I used ground beef from O’Guirre’s Butcher Shop in Muscle Shoals. With regular ground beef, the individual loaves render a lot of fat, and you may have to pour off some fat once or twice during the baking process. Check it every 10 or 15 minutes. Leaner meat – ground chuck or sirloin – won’t render as much fat and would save you that trouble. Also, the amount of onion is pretty flexible. I like mine pretty onion-y, but you could use a little or a lot. You can also experiment with other vegetables – garlic, bell pepper, mushroom, carrot, etc – in the loaf, but just keep the general meat-to-veggie ratio about the same.