Something light-hearted after a miserable week in the news:

Decided to make some Italian beef sandwiches this weekend. Bought a decent cut of meat, but it could’ve been better. Made sure I had the right seasonings. Poured them in some water and mixed them together and brought them to a boil. Dumped the beef and the broth in the slow cooker and let it work its magic. Filled the house with the glorious aroma of beef and onion and basil and parsley and oregano and cheap salad dressing mix. Realized I didn’t have any decent bread to put the beef on.

Normally Italian beef sandwiches go on Italian rolls (go figure) but I had none available and the ten minutes it would’ve taken to go to the grocery and buy some would’ve been unbearable. So I hastily grabbed a potato roll that was left over from burger-mealing earlier in the week, split it open, and slopped some beef and broth on it, praying for the best.

It was ambrosial. In fact– and I tread lightly here– the Martin’s potato roll might have been a better home for the beef than the usual Gonnella Italian roll. Again, the operative word was might; we’ll have to run some controlled tests involving both types of roll.

The Italian rolls are bigger and more traditional, but I think I like the flavor of the potato rolls better. Also, the potato rolls are firmer, which means they don’t get soggy as quickly and they hold their own flavor longer than the Italian rolls do. But then, the Italian rolls absorb more of the broth and take on the gustatory properties of the beef, and that’s part of the attraction of this sandwich to begin with. I suppose it’d depend on whether you’re in the mood for the flavor of the potato roll in addition to those of the beef and broth and mozzarella– which was something else I forgot to buy. I’ll have to do the whole thing over again next weekend.