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Our next guest chef is Otis Marston, the owner and guiding light of Marston’s Restaurant in Pasadena, Calif. He and wife Sally are hands-on restaurateurs—they both put in long but satisfying hours at the one-room bungalow restaurant that they launched II years ago. Marston’s, a popular place for breakfast and lunch, is less than five minutes from the Gamble House and other Greene and Greene works of art. While Sally runs the dining room and nurtures the restaurant’s award- winning cottage garden. Otis and a team of cooks turn out wonderful salads, sandwiches and old-time food like this signature meat loaf.

“The recipe for this meat loaf originally came from my mom, Margaret Newport,” Sally says. “She was a wonderful cook who could make a cheap cut of meat taste like filet mignon.”

Otis adds. “It was a good basic recipe that Sally refined with the addition of the bacon and the barb ecue sauce.” Like other hand-me- down recipes from the past, Otis put his own touch on the finished product. adding olives and carrots to give it even more flavor and text ure. This self-taught chef suggests adding chipotle peppers to the extra barbecue sauce if you’re in a spicy mood.

Assemble:

3 pounds ground beef
1 large red onion, chopped fine
1 large red pepper, chopped fine
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1/2 cup chopped black olives
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup barbecue sauce
4 Tbsp.Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
4 strips bacon

Lightly sauté the onion, red pepper, celery, carrots and garlic; mix with remaining ingredients. except bacon. Form into a small loaf in a 9-by-1 3-inch baking dish and drape bacon over top. Bake for 1 hour at 350°F.

Mix extra barbecue sauce with a little catsup and heat to serve with the meat loaf and mashed potatoes and fresh spinach. Also great served as a sandwich on homemade bread.

Test kitchen note: If you like a bit of crunch in your meat loaf, just briefly sauté the vegetables, or if you prefer a softer texture, cook a few minutes longer.

Serves 4-6

MARSTON’S RESTAURANT
151 E.WalnutAve.
Pasadena. Calif.
(626) 796-2459