Philly Cheese Steaks

I've been psyching myself up all week, having decided its been far too long since I've had a good Philly Cheese Steak. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of nomnomnomming their way through one of these Pennsyvanian works of art, you don't know what you're missing. So... I'm going to tell you how to prepare one so you can enjoy the experience.

First, you're either going to need a decent size grilling surface... or a couple frying pans. On these surfaces, you need to start melting some old fashioned salted butter (not margarine, not oil, real butter). 

You're also going to need (per sandwich):

at least 1 lb of skirt steak or other thinnly cut steak, which you want to allow to thaw in advance, and slice into strips about a cm wide before shorting the strips so they are no longer than 2-3 times the width of the strips.

Half a small sweet onion, sliced to create 'thick' rings (about the same as you would onion rings) and then put the large end flat on the board and cut the rings in quarters. Your largest onion pieces should still be a little smaller than your steak pieces.

Half a green pepper, seeds out and the pepper cut in strips, strips cut in half (about the same as you'd prep these for a veggie tray)

(Optional) Generous handful of bella mushrooms. Sliced up about the same size as your steak pieces.

Take a butter brush and with some of your melted butter, brush the outside of your hoagie and put it in a toaster or overn to give it a little crunch. 

Sautee your steak. When the steak is about halfway done, give it a couple generous splashes of Worchestershire sauce and a dusting of Ground Black Pepper.

Seperate from the steak, also sautee the veggies. Some people will tell you that you can make a Philly Cheese Steak without peppers or mushrooms. They are few in number and deluded. Many more will tell you it should just be onions and peppers. And that is, truthfully, the way many of them are made. I like the ones that include mushrooms (all three), personally. But I won't judge if you leave the mushrooms out. Peppers though? No, judging will commence quickly.

When the steak is well cooked (there are no 'rare' cheese steaks), pile it up to roughly the shape of your hoagie and cover it with slices of Provalone cheese (you can also grate it to help it melt faster). Let this sit long enough for the cheese to really melt into the steak.

Then use your largest spatula to lift the whole mess onto the hoagie bun, and then pile on the onions/peppers/mushrooms, so the cheese is between them and able to melt into everything.

Feel free to thank me from the bottom of your heart once you've enjoyed your sandwich. :)

Now... for today's content? E.E. Nalley has been working up a little something in the Gen 2 world for you all. Here is it "Reckless Reputations."

And remember, even if the rest of us are enjoying Philly Cheese Steaks... E. E. lives on comments and feedback. So please don't forget to let him know what you think! And ignore him if he complains that he wants a Cheese Steak, too. :P