Yes, it’s a silly name (haha) for a recipe.
It’s supposed to be a pun on Philly cheesesteaks, only these aren’t
really made the way they do them in Philly, so I had to come up with a
different name for them. And yes, I HAVE
had a Philly cheesesteak. In Philly. Although I prefer the ones I had in South
Jersey better.
See, when I was 19 I moved to a tiny hamlet in New Jersey called
Haddonfield, not too far from Camden, which is right across the river from
Philadelphia. I loved the area, very
beautiful, and I loved hopping the commuter train into Philly and just walking
around. Anyway, on my first day in Haddonfield, my boss’s son (with whom I shared a third floor landing and bathroom) was totally aghast that I had never partaken of white pizza. (Nevermind the fact that I had never heard of
white pizza! ~ For those others of you who have also never heard of it, it’s a pizza crust covered in alfredo sauce, Montery jack,
provolone... uh, white stuff. And it’s
heavenly. If you haven’t tried one, you
really should at least once.) He also
decided to make it his mission to make sure that I tasted a real, honest
cheesesteak. (No one I ever encountered
in the year I was there called them Philly cheesesteaks. That nomenclature is strictly for us idiots
who can’t differentiate them from other... uh... cheesesteaks... ?) Wonder if that’s because South Jersey was
just as proud of (and for good reason in my opinion) their cheesesteaks as the
ones made across the river. Anyway,
it’s a taste to die for when you get a good one. And I came across a recipe that made me
hungry for one that I thought I’d try out. But since mine aren’t Philly (or Jersey) cheesesteaks, I had to come up
with some other name for them. They’re
not quite the same as the ones I remember, but still yum. And a big hit. Here’s the recipe I came up with:
Silly Cheesesteak Subs
makes 4-6 (depending on how full you want them)
1 stick butter
1 onion, halved
and sliced into thin half moons – or onion powder to taste
2 garlic
cloves, finely minced
12 slices
provolone
1 can sliced
mushrooms (or sliced fresh equivalent), optional
4-6 sub rolls, split partially open lengthwise
(I
used Wal-Mart bakery’s whole wheat 6” sub rolls)
Melt the butter in a large skillet. (Yes, I’m aware that this is a LOT of
butter. I was not using a non-stick pan
and I found my meat and cheese were sticking, so I followed my favorite
“advise” from the movie Julie & Julia: “Think it over, any time you taste
something that’s delicious beyond imagining and you say ‘what’s in this?’ the
answer is always going to be butter. ... Here is my final word on the subject,
you can never have too much butter.”
Feel free to use olive oil, or less butter and a non-stick pan. But I am not going to vouch for the end
result if you choose to go this route.
After all, if you’re making 6 servings, that’s only a little more than 1
tablespoon of butter per person. So live
a little, and use the butter.) If using
onion (we’ve established that I almost never use actual onions, so I’m not sure
how it will turn out this way, but probably pretty good, especially if a)
you actually like onions and b) you’ve decided to use the whole stinking stick of butter) add it to the butter and cook until
softened and golden, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for a minute, until it smells fragrant. If not using onions, add onion powder to
taste (about 2 teaspoons will equal a small onion) to the butter on low heat
and stir thoroughly or whisk. (I have to
admit, I was going to add real garlic to mine, but I just did the monthly
grocery shopping and my freakishly tiny refrigerator ~ by American standards,
Barn, if you’re reading ~ was so full I was too overwhelmed to actually find my
garlic, so I used powder for that too.
Go ahead, judge me. I can take
it.) If you’re using raw
mushrooms, you probably want to add them before the garlic. It won’t hurt the onions to cook a bit longer
if they need to, but garlic can become bitter if you cook it too long.
Add the beef to the pan, stirring well to coat it with butter,
onions and garlic. While stirring, use
the end of your spoon or a spatula to break up the beef a bit. Add the (canned) mushrooms and cook until the
mushrooms and meat are heated through.
Season with salt and pepper if you want.
Turn the heat down to low and turn on your broiler (high), with a rack in
the upper-middle position.
 |
| buttery, onion-powdery meat and mushrooms |
Place the sliced rolls opened on a rimmed baking sheet. Divide the beef mixture among the rolls. Top with the cheese and broil until the
cheese is melted, about 2 minutes. (If
your broiler is like mine, you want to turn on the oven light and huddle in
front of the window ~ hopefully you have one! ~ until you see that cheese start
to bubble. You really don’t want to burn
these luscious babies.) Serve warm with
a side salad.
 |
| ready to go under the broiler |
 |
| out from under the broiler, somewhat melty... |
If you look at that picture you can see that I could only
fit 4 rolls on my baking sheet. After I
pulled them out of the oven, I decided I didn’t like the way my cheese (wasn’t
really) melted and maybe I should try it the way I watched those guys in Jersey
cook cheesesteaks on their grill. So for
the last two sandwiches, I put the cheese right there in the pan with my meat
and mushrooms and stirred like a whirling dervish (actually, I don’t know if I
stirred like a whirling dervish or not ~ I’ve never actually seen a whirling
dervish and didn’t even know what they were until I Googled it just now) until
the cheese has melted into the meat.
No
need to broil, just pop that gooey succulent-ish goodness onto your rolls and
you’re good to go. If you want to be
even more authentic, you can use a little more butter (hey, what’s more butter
at this point, right?) to butter the cut (in)sides of your rolls and toast
them in another pan (about medium heat, sort of like the outsides of grilled
cheese sandwiches) until they’re lightly golden before putting on the cheesy
meat and ‘shrooms. You can also add
green peppers or other stuff that sounds good, although in South Jersey, even
the onions and mushrooms were optional.
It was all about the meat and melty cheese baby.
 |
| grill-melted, cheesy meat and ‘shrooms |
A delicious (if buttery) quick weeknight dinner.
Silly Cheesesteak Subs
makes 4-6 (depending on how full you want them)
1 stick butter
1 onion, halved
and sliced into thin half moons – or onion powder to taste
2 garlic
cloves, finely minced
12 slices
provolone
1 can sliced
mushrooms (or sliced fresh equivalent), optional
4-6 sub rolls, split partially open lengthwise
Melt the butter in a large skillet. If using
onion add it to the butter and cook until
softened and golden, about 8 minutes. Add raw mushrooms (if using) and cook until they reach desired done-ness. Stir in the garlic and cook for a minute, until it smells fragrant. If not using onions, add onion powder to
taste (about 2 teaspoons will equal a small onion) to the butter on low heat
and stir thoroughly or whisk.
Add the beef to the pan, stirring well to coat it with butter,
onions and garlic. While stirring, use
the end of your spoon or a spatula to break up the beef a bit. Add the canned mushrooms, if using, and cook until mushrooms and meat are heated through.
Season with salt and pepper if you want.
Turn the heat down to low and turn on your broiler (high), with a rack in
the upper-middle position.
Place the sliced rolls opened on a rimmed baking sheet. Divide the beef mixture among the rolls. Top with the cheese and broil until the
cheese is melted, about 2 minutes. Serve warm with
a side salad.
