Inspiration can hit at the oddest
times. One morning, I was looking
through the refrigerator for
something for my kids' breakfast.
As I reached for the eggs, I
noticed a package of ground beef
and suddenly thought, "What if I
smoked a meat loaf?" The
ingredients here are basic. They
include the same trio of
meats-veal, pork, and beef-used in
the Town Hall meatballs. But the
low-and-long smoking gives the dish
a surprising complexity. Oddly
enough, it makes it almost
delicate, a word not often
associated with meat loaf. You can
either hand-shape it on a sheet
pan, or pack the meat loaf into a
tureen. We tried it both ways. The
former will give you more intensity
of smoke while the latter has a
lighter smoke flavor, and also
offers a nice French presentation,
again something not normally
associated with meat loaf.
