Meatball Sandwiches

I was emailing with my friend Dave the other day - he's from the east coast though he has now lived in Pasadena for more than 15 years - and mentioned how it's going to take a while for me to get used to the weather here: one day it's 85 and sunny, no clouds in the sky nor an ounce of humidity... and then the next day it's 58 and raining. He said when he moved to Pasadena, the manic weather was one of the things he missed most.

At any rate, we had a bit of the cool weather and rain yesterday and I got a craving: meatball sandwiches. Like fried seafood tacos or chili cheese dogs, I sometimes get an intense craving for a meatball sandwich, usually on cool, drizzling days.

So I went to Paisanos. They have several kinds of meatballs and I was considering the beef and pork version, but in the end I decided to go for the all-beef, with peppers and parsley mixed in. I asked how many came to pound; he said seven or eight. So I asked for twelve.

I cooked the balls in the pan for about 20 minutes while Elizabeth was on her way home. I knew there would definitely be more than enough for two sandwiches, so I couldn't help but eat one of them by itself. It was fantastic: spicy, chewy, meaty, about the size of a golf ball... a great meatball.

I knew Elizabeth would want her sandwich in a traditional way, so I placed some meatballs in a crusty roll.

Then spooned several helpings of basil-infused tomato sauce onto the roll.

And quite a few slices of mozzarella. I wrapped it all up in foil and baked it in the oven for ten minutes or so.

I felt like having my sandwich a little differently, so I placed my meatballs on bread and added garlic aioli and arugula. This was a fantastic sandwich. The spiciness of the meatballs contrasted nicely with the creaminess of the aioli, and the peppery arugula added a different level of texture and flavor.

Elizabeth liked her sandwich, too, but she couldn't quite finish it so she gave me the last bite. (I was quite full after eating my sandwich but I wasn't going to let this go to waste.) It was also really good... but I liked my version more.

I don't know if I will make these exact sandwiches again, but there will certainly be more meatball sandwiches in my future, and I'm definitely going to try the beef & pork meatballs soon.