Yep, she's crazy.

The plan for tonight: meatloaf. Not so crazy in and of itself, but I'm not making my standard meatloaf. Nope. For whatever reason, I've had a hankering for haggis, so I'm going to try making a haggis-esque meatloaf.

I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that you've never seen the term "haggis-esque" anywhere else.

UPDATE:

First things first. "What IS haggis?" you ask? Oh. Well. The polite way of describing it is a Scottish delicacy that's similar to a sausage. It's basically, um, sheep innards, boiled and minced, mixed with oats and spices, stuffed into a sheep's stomach, and boiled. Doesn't it sound delicious? It's traditionally served with neeps and tatties, or mashed turnips and potatoes.

*Waits for everyone to stop being completely grossed out.*

I've got a little Portuguese and French blood, but I'm mostly Scottish and English. I went to Great Britain when I was a senior in high school, and was one of the brave few to try the haggis at the ceilidh we attended - and I loved it. When Chuck and I went to Scotland for our honeymoon, I ate haggis every chance I got. Sadly, it's not easy to obtain on this side of the pond.

I'm waiting for the potatoes to finish cooking, but the meatloaf is done, and I just tried it. While it's certainly not true haggis, it is most definitely "haggis-esque." I think it's great, and Chuck said he loves it, but then again we like haggis in the first place. If the idea of trying real haggis is a little much for you, but you're curious about it, perhaps give this a shot instead.

I made this batch with 90% lean ground beef; as it's a bit dry, I might bump that down to 80 or 85% next time (or add more milk). I'm guessing it would be even better with ground lamb. Like most meatloaves, amounts of this or that are flexible to taste. Do make sure you use steel-cut oats, and not rolled or quick oats; they give it a nice chew that is very reminiscent of haggis.

"Haggis" Meatloaf

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup steel-cut oats, toasted on a cookie sheet in a 375˚F oven for 10 minutes

1 egg

1 cup milk

3/4 - 1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon dried whole thyme

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/8 teaspoon allspice

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Thoroughly mix all ingredients in large bowl. Turn into loaf pan and smooth gently.

Bake at 350˚F for approximately one hour, or until internal temperature reaches 160˚F. Let stand for several minutes before serving.