Meatloaf is a dish with many roles - it is at first expected to satisfy the hunger of a dinner meal. Then, after mellowing in the refrigerator overnight, it is expected to be ready for sandwiches. This recipe does just that. It is a well textured and well flavored loaf when hot for dinner and it is excellent the next day, easily sliced, as a cold filling for sandwiches. Just add a bit of lettuce, mayonnaise and mustard and you will be well pleased with the result. Many cook their loaves in pans. I cook mine out of the pan on a broiler rack so the fat drips away and, with an eye for leftovers, the loaf firms a bit for the next day.

• 2 pounds grounf beef
• 1 stalk celery
• 1/2 green Bell pepper
• Tomato catsup

• 1 stack (1/4 pound) Ritz® Crackers
• 1 medium onion
• 2 large eggs
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Prepare vegetables: trim and destring celery and cut in chunks. Remove seeds and membranes from pepper and cut pepper in chunks. Peel onion and coarsely chop. Puree vegetables in blender and set aside.
2. Use rolling pin to break up and crumble Ritz® crackers into coarse crumbs.
3. Place ground beef in a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and ground black pepper - give the pepper mill an extra turn or two just for good measure. Add the cracker crumbs, eggs and pureed vegetables. Mix well just until all ingredients are mixed.
4. Form meat mixture into loaf shape. Smooth top and edges but don’t compact the meat mixture. Transfer the formed loaf to a broiler pan that has been prepared with a spray of vegetable oil spray. Garnish with a small amount of catsup.
5. Bake in a preheated 375F oven for 1 hour or until an internal temperature of 160 is reached. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before carving.

There is something magic about what happens in the refrigerator overnight to the leftover meatloaf. Can’t quite put my finger on what it is but I like it as well as everyone else. The meatloaf sandwich, especially on homemade bread, is one of the great dishes of the American culinary tradition.