I'm not sure why this is a thing, other than that we are suggestible people and if one town loves chicken wings and beer, ninety-nine need to follow along. I do know via my kids that Sam's Club was out of chicken wings... and had ONE LARGE bag of French Fries left in the store, which came to live at my house.
That's a lot of wingless chickens!!!
"BAWK!!! BAAAAWWWWK!!!!!"
Be that as it may, it would be un-American of me to fly in the face of such fun traditions, so this is a Blodgett family favorite after having two sons attend the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
CHEESESTEAKS.
Notice the caps.
Cheesesteaks deserve caps and I'll tell you why: They're That Good.
If you are not convinced, I'm going to roll my eyes at you, possibly scoff and if that fails, have you unfriend me on facebook (EEEK! NO! NOT THAT!!! DON'T UNFRIEND ME!!!) Okay, kidding... you can unfriend me if you want, but not over cheesesteaks... our love is worth more than that!!!
Here's the dish:
The roll is just as important as the meat. And the meat is crucial.
I buy boneless sirloin for cheese steaks. I stock up when it's on sale. It's a great lean meat which can be cold-chopped into little pieces, another important thing for great cheese steaks.
Here are the basics:
2 large boneless sirloin steaks, trimmed and chopped into small pieces
(that's the only tough part about this whole thing)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
2 teaspoons Cajun pepper
2 teaspoons granulated garlic (or garlic powder)
Mix seasonings with meat. Let stand at least ten minutes....
Get out big griddle and another big griddle. Heat the steak griddle to about 350° with a thin coating of olive oil... (I love this big, ginormous, huge electric griddle. It is an amazing contraption, and I use these up, wear them out, and otherwise get every penny I can out of them over the years... then I buy a new one.)
Stir around with spatula, cooking through.
When nearly cooked through, "glue" together with cheese. We use a bunch of cheeses and most of the crew like combo cheese sandwiches. And some love Cheez Whiz, the Philly Steak original... but others like hot pepper cheese or swiss or cheddar....
Put cheese on top of sandwich meat, cover with pot cover and let cheese melt, then scoop the meat and cheesy topping onto prepared, grilled garlic bun.
THE ROLL:
Add cheesy-meaty goodness.
Enjoy!!!
And here are some farm glimpses....
Lacey, making displays:
One of her displays:
Life is busy here this time of year... and I love it! I've just finished Grace Haven 4 and I'm busily working on final edits for "Peace in the Valley", my third Waterbrook Double S Ranch story, coming out next spring... And I'm going to miss my cowboys! The Stafford family are like my friends... I love 'em!!!
Here's a peek at my newest release:
Told within the context of her sweet teacher's romance, Cassie's story unfurls like a new spring blossom... Bright, fresh and clean. A beautiful story of sacrificial love, second chances and new beginnings... and how one child's plight can bring a community together.
LINK TO THE FIRST GIFT by Ruth Logan Herne
If time allows, I'm trying a new recipe next week, Gummy's Orange Cookies, tucked onto facebook by my good friend and fellow author Stephanie Pazicni Karfelt... I should make HER come over here and do that, and I just might... because she can tell you about "Gummy" and how life within the circus of dementia isn't all it's cracked up to be....
Until then!
We love CHEESESTEAKS around here, but your recipe has taken me down a different path.
ReplyDelete(Keep in mind that I've only been to Philly once, and didn't have a cheesesteak then that I can remember...)
Whenever someone says "Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich," I think of meat grilled with onions and bell pepper. Could it be that I've been making them wrong all these years?
Your version looks like the sandwiches a local sandwich place makes. The owner is from Philly, and his sandwiches are super delicious!
I'm going to have to try these...but I'll grill some bell pepper and onion strips alongside the meat for my pepper-loving husband. :)
And tell Lacey that her displays are gorgeous!
I actually did a big pan of peppers and onions and forgot to add it into the pics! DOH!!!!!
DeleteJan, I think there are different ways of making these... depending on which Philly shop/restaurant you're in, but this is the way the guy in the food cart outside the Quadrangle at Penn made them... and he was our favorite! He'd throw that chopped meat down, and he'd toss it around the grill, and the roll would be toasting on the other side of the big griddle... and then when the meat was done he'd take a monster scoop of Cheez Whiz from a warming pan, smear it across the hot, grilled roll, and pile on the meat... And it all melded together in amazing deliciousness!!!! So that's where the technique came from... SO GOOD!!!!
And we have a great Philly Cheese Steak place here, run by someone who claims to be a relative (cousin, maybe)??? to "Pat" of "Pat's Philly Cheese Steaks"... All I know is I used to be able to eat good stuff when I visited the boys in Philly!!! :)
So, I don't think I can come up with a vegetarian version of a cheesesteak. Though I'd be happy with grilled veggies drizzled over the bun with melted cheese on top. So I guess that could be considered my football sandwich version. Though I'm not fond of football at all!!!
ReplyDeleteHowever, I am fond of your books so since I now have permission to read early I'm starting Home on the Range today. Wheee, that's my kind of touchdown!!!!!
Love your produce stand...and your prices! I fear the farmer's market by me as become way too trendy and their prices reflect that.
Kav, we are blessed to work straight out of our yard, which means my overhead is low... so I try to pass that on to the customer, and I tell them that so they come back again and again.... because I want that repeat business! And you know me, I'm like a stray puppy, I love people! So it's fun to be out there working and taking care of folks.
DeleteAnd I'm making Fried Green Tomatoes tonight, so you could do that, with mushrooms or peppers and onions, and build a whopper Veggie Cheese Steak! YUM!!!!
I went to college in Philly. CHEESESTEAKS rule! I think I really felt like I was a grown up away from home the first time we made a midnight run to South Philly.
ReplyDeleteNever did understand the draw of chicken wings. Too much work/too little payoff.
I hate to admit this but... I've never had a Philly Cheese steak! I think it's because the one I saw had some really weird cheese on it. Not SWiss or something recognizable. It was like Nacho Cheese glue. *gag*
ReplyDeleteBut if I made it myself, I could choose my own cheese! Plus, anything with savory meat in a bun is like my soul mate.
Fun post Ruth. Loved the photos. And of course Philly Cheese steak is yummy.
ReplyDelete