Philly Cheesesteak: the sub and the pizza.

The Philly Cheesesteak Sub - a massive amount of meat, onions and melted cheese crammed into a sub (hero, grinder, hoagie - depending on your area) roll. Sometimes sauteed bell peppers (use red and/or yellow; the green is too overpowering in flavor), sometimes hot peppers; it depends on who is making it.  Same thing for the cheese - maybe provolone or an orange cheese sauce called "Cheez Whiz"...me?  I use good old American cheese slices; 12 slices for every pound of meat.  The meat is normally thinly sliced Ribeye; just the right amount of fat and meat to keep it moist and tender.  You can have it sliced by the butcher, do it yourself, or find it already sliced and packaged in the frozen food section; the frozen Ribeye looks like small steaks, but when cooking, they break apart easily.

Philly Cheesesteak Sub

Ingredients:

1 lb thinly sliced Ribeye steak

1 medium onion, cut into strips

1 medium bell pepper, cut into strips

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 Tbsp minced garlic

12 slices American cheese

3 (6") sub rolls

Preparation:

In a large skillet, medium-high heat, brown the steak; it will be tender enough to break apart in the skillet while browning.  Remove to plate; leave 2 Tbsp grease in the skillet.

Put the onions, bell pepper, black pepper and garlic into the skillet; saute' until the vegetables just begin to soften.  Add back the steak; add the cheese and use two spatulas to break apart the cheese and mix with the meat and vegetables thoroughly.  Turn off heat.

Pack each sub roll with the mixture.

Makes 3 subs.

Now to make the Philly Cheesesteak Pizza, use the pizza dough recipe that I posted on January 21, 2011,  After the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 450F; put some flour on the dough and your hands and begin to spread it out to fit whichever method of pizza baking tool you use (traditional pizza pan or stone).  I usually put the dough mound over my two fists; using my knuckles and working from the inside out, start spreading the dough until I get the size I need, and then lay it on my pan or stone.  Nope, I don't toss it like you see some makers do....I'm not that dexterous.

Depending on what size you're making, spread 1 to 1 and 1/2 cups of sauce (I use my homemade pasta sauce) over the dough, leaving about 1" room from the edge.   Now after I browned my meat and sauteed my vegetables, I set aside a good handful of each before bringing them together to make the subs.  So over the sauce, I evenly spread out the meat and veggies; then I topped it all with a generous helping of an Italian 6 cheese blend I had found at the supermarket.

I have 5 rack settings in my oven, so I put the pizza pan on the second from the bottom rack setting.  Bake the pizza for 20-25 minutes; check the bottom for doneness by slightly lifting up the pizza and looking for browness.  Remove from the oven, cut into slices and enjoy.

There you have it; the Philly Cheesesteak done as the traditional sub, or as a pizza.

Mary Cokenour