Crispy Bacon Meatloaf cupcakes over Blue Cheese Smashed Yukons

What a beautiful day it has been.  I have made something this evening that is kind of a big deal...  Not really but it was damn good.  Started messing around with cupcake pans a few years ago.  They are wonderful vessels as Alton Brown would say.  The cupcake pan allows you to have a high crunch to bite ratio.  What will one need for this journey?

For the meatloaf!  I used ground turkey thigh, carrot, celery, onion, parsley, chopped crispy bacon, egg, pepper, salt, mustard, Worcester, smoked paprika, basil and cayenne.  Side note: use whatever you like.  Think buffalo chicken meatballs with a ranch dressing placed on a pretzel bun. Options are numerous.  BTW left out of the pic, breadcrumbs, ketchup and hot sauce.

Put some oil in a pan and chop the veges.  In this case carrot, celery and onion.  I believe they call this the trinity...  Sweat them out in the pan.  Throw in some salt, pepper or any seasoning you like.  Cool and place in large bowl.  Add turkey, bacon, egg, breadcrumbs, Worcester, mustard, cayenne and smoked paprika.  Mix up and place in a cupcake pan. 

350 oven for 25-30 mins.  Da Bears!

Mid-cook look!

Looks good right?  How did them potatoes get there?  Here's what you need.

Yukon potatoes, blue cheese, garlic, salt and pepper.  Chop potatoes and garlic and add to boiling salted water, cook till they are almost done.  Remove from heat and drain.  Add a few chunks of blue cheese to potatoes along with some milk and butter.  Smash them!  Next steps are optional.  One could just place potatoes on a plate and top with the cupcakes.  I like to take a few extra steps.  I slop some potatoes in a small ceramic dish (picked up @ target) then layer with blue cheese.  Place the cupcake in the middle and layer more potatoes around to cover the blue cheese.  Take some ketchup and hot sauce mix and paint on the top the the cupcake.  Broil on top rack till it looks good to you.

Eat, Drink and be Merry!