Meat loaf cupcakes

There is a restaurant that opened recently in Chicago called The Meatloaf Bakery. The restaurant looks at first glance like a regular bakery, with a big glass display of all the "baked goods." But what's in the case is meat loaves baked to look like pastries, including layer cakes, tarts and my favorite, cupcakes.

Now, the reason I'm mentioning this restaurant (because this is really only interesting news to someone who lives in Chicago, which I don't), is that I think the idea of baking a meat loaf as a cupcake is a really cool idea.

If you'd like to give it a try, the concept seems really simple. Just take your favorite meat loaf mixture and bake it in muffin tins. Then just think of something that you can top the cupcake with that will take the place of frosting. To get you started, here are some cupcake ideas from The Meatloaf Bakery's menu:

• Ground chicken seasoned with minced celery and spicy wing sauce. Frosting: whipped blue cheese.
• Ground pork loin seasoned with minced chorizo sausage, hot peppers, almonds and garlic. Frosting: roasted garlic-mashed potatoes.
  
• Ground beef and Italian sausage seasoned with basil and sun-dried tomatoes. Frosting: angel hair pasta.
• Salmon loaf seasoned with lemon, parsley and dill. Frosting: wasabi mashed potatoes.
• Ground turkey seasoned with fresh herbs. Frosting: herbed bread stuffing.
• Ground sirloin seasoned with minced bacon, cheddar, mustard and ketchup. Frosting: 3-cheese mashed potatoes.