Glazed pork and veal apple meatloaf

We have been horribly remiss in our updates these past few weeks, though this is likely most painful to us, as I've been subsisting on packaged pasta and David on ramen with hot dogs. Evidently, our will to cook is diminished when separated. But after a long month, we were at last re-united! And I, not surprisingly, have since taken to perusing my mother's cookbook collection once more. I came across what looked to be an intriguing combination of pork, veal, apple and bacon, all nicely packaged in meatloaf format.

Recipe

from Best Food CollectionServes 41 small onion, chopped finely1 trimmed celery stalk, chopped finely1 green apple, grated coarsely1/2 lb ground pork1/2 lb ground veal1 cup breadcrumbs or panko1 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh sage1 egg, beaten lightly2 tbsp apple jellybacon rashers1 small green apple, thinly slicedHeat olive oil in large frying pan and add onion, garlic and celery. Cook until onion is soft, and add apple, cooking until all the liquid has evaporated. Cool.Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, combine onion mixture with ground meat, breadcrumbs, sage and egg; mix well. Transfer mixture to large sheet of plastic wrap and use wrap to roll mixture into a log. Discard wrap. Wrap bacon around log, alternative extra apple slices with bacon. Place meatloaf onto an oven tray and brush all over with half of the warmed jelly. Roast, uncovered, about 45 minutes, brushing halfway through cooking with remaining jelly, or until meatloaf is cooked through and bacon is browned and crisp. Serve with mustard, if desired.

Musings

A few notes on preparation: It took about an hour to cook, likely because I didn't roll my log thin enough. In the interest of not consuming too much bacon, we did only drape the top with bacon, rather than wrap it all the way around.I've only really ever had my mother's meatloaf, ground beef glazed in ketchup (which I do adore), so I'm not sure what I was expecting this deviation to taste like, but it was surprisingly tasty! The meatloaf had a wonderfully sweet, tangy flavour. David and our dinner guests likened it to a big Swedish meatball. The bacon was super delicious--extremely flavourful having soaked up the apple and meat flavours during roasting. We paired it with David's classic mushroom risotto, spinach raspberry salad and some steamed green beans, which served it well. Definitely a keeper!