Inaugural Music and Great Meat Loaf

One of today's lovely moments was the piece by John Williams performed by an extraordinary quartet--Itzhak Perlman on violin, Yo Yo Ma on cello, Garbriela Montero on piano and Anthony McGill on clarinet.

Ethereal as it was, the music brought to mind...meat loaf. Years ago, Perlman shared his recipe with the New York Times, and I have enjoyed it ever since.

So thanks to Barack Obama's inauguration, here is how to make great meat loaf while listening to one of Perlman's CDs:

4 small onions or 2 large ones
1 clove garlic
4 and 1/2 pounds ground veal
ketchup, pepper, garlic salt to taste
1 or 2 cups of boiling water
8 ounces of flavored bread crumbs

1. Chop onions and sauté until translucent, adding minced garlic toward the end.

2. Put the meat (I sometimes use half or even all prime beef) into a large bowl and add onions, garlic, garlic salt, ketchup, pepper. Knead by hand, add water and bread crumbs and mix well.

3. Shape into 2 loaves in baking tins. Cook 30 to 40 minutes in pre-heated 350-degree oven. ("Stick a knife in," the maestro advises. "If it comes out warm, it's ready.")

Yields 10 to 12 servings, and makes great cold sandwiches the next day.

Bon appétit.