PHILLY CHEESESTEAKS

The cheesesteak made its official debut in 1930. Pat Olivieri was a South Philadelphia hot dog vendor who one day decided to put some beef from the butcher on his grill. A taxicab driver noticed the alluring aroma and asked for his own steak sandwich. The next day, as the story goes, rumor of the delicious lunch had spread, and cabbies around the city came to Olivieri demanding steak sandwiches. Soon after, Olivieri opened up a shop on 9th Street and Passyunk Avenue, Pat's King of Steaks, to sell his new creation. Eventually, according to legend, he added cheese to the recipe. Today, Pat's grills are sizzling 24 hours a day, as are Geno's, the rival shop across the street. For 40 years, the two shops have waged a friendly competition to win the title of best cheesesteak in town, with Geno's founder, Joe Vento, claiming it was he, not Olivieri, who first added cheese to the cheesesteak.

There are so many restaurants out there which purport to serve Philly Cheesesteaks. I find this statement to be absolutely absurd. Cheesesteaks are the quintessential food of the city of Philadelphia, and although not exclusive to that city, I believe the best can only be found there.

First of all, it is called a "Philly Cheesesteak" because they are found in the city of Philadelphia!!! If it is not in Philly, it is simply a Steak and Cheese.

Second of all, you cannot find the same kind of Hoagie bread which is dominant on the northern east coast. Now,I will give one concession that you can find great cheesesteaks in South Jersey as well, since they are in such close proximity to the City of Brotherly Love.

I have also found that just because you may be in Philly, not all steaks can be graded as being equal. For instance, although "Geno's Steaks" in South Philly is renowned and famous, it just never really impressed me. I prefer my steaks chopped, which they don't do, and I think their steaks are over-priced. In South Philly, I'm more partial to "Pat's King of Steaks," or "Jim's," or "Ishkibibbles," which serves one of the most delectably mouth-watering chicken cheesesteaks you could ever wrap your lips around.

However, my favorite spots are in North Philly, right around the Roosevelt Mall and the township of Cheltenham. My buddy Nicky, originally from the country of Jordan, is the die-hard Eagle's fan proprietor of "Little Nicky's." He will always serve you a righteous steak, made with flavorful rib-eye, on a always fresh hoagie. I love steaks made with rib-eye, but I have a spot close to Nicky's called "Sam's," which makes my favorite steak made of sirloin. The proprietor is originally from Colombia and speaks poor English, but he always treated me like a VIP, and I gotta say, I adore the pepperoni cheesesteaks I get there.

Now, there are also the all important cheeses to choose from as well. Personally, I will live and die by my Provolone. I can deal with white American, but I prefer Provolone. An equal favorite among cheesesteakers is the Cheese Wiz. I just never really understood it, but I know many people who are adamant about their Wiz. I generally don't like to take away from the flavor of my steaks by desecrating it with the likes of mayo, ketchup, mustard,tomatoes, or any other foreign condiment, but to each their own. This is how strongly I feel about The Cheesesteak, and wonder how many others feel the way I do about them. They are love man, they are love.

Remember folks, everything extra that other people put on or in their cheesesteak is purely by preference. Personally, I will put onions or mushrooms once in a while, but I'm usually a plain cheesesteak kind of guy.

Ingredients

* 6 tablespoons Soya bean oil
* 1 large onion, sliced
* 24 ounces sliced rib eye or eye roll steak
* Cheese (store processed recommended); American or Provolone
* 4 crusty Italian Rolls ( Definitely grab Hoagie Rolls if you can find 'em )
* Sweet green and red peppers, sauteed in oil (optional)
* Mushrooms sauteed in oil (optional)
* Ketchup

Directions

Heat an iron skillet or a non-stick pan over medium heat and add 3 tablespoons of oil to the pan and saute the onions to desired doneness. Remove the onions and add the remaining oil and saute the slices of meat quickly on both sides. Melt the cheez whiz in a double boiler or in the microwave. Place 8 ounces of the meat into the rolls, add onions, and pour the store-processed cheese over top. Garnish with sweet peppers, mushrooms, ketchup.

Now, throw in a Rocky DVD and enjoy your very own steak at home.

Ingredients

* 2 fresh Italian sandwich rolls or Kaiser buns, split in half crosswise
* 1 white onion, thinly sliced
* 1/2 large green bell pepper, thinly sliced
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/2 pound rib-eye steak, very very thinly shaved or sliced
* 1/3 pound thinly sliced white American cheese, or Provolone cheese OR 4 ounces melted cheese whiz
* Ketchup, optional topping
* Italian pickled peppers, accompaniment

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

Heat a cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. When hot add the oil, onions and bell peppers, and cook, stirring, until caramelized, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Push off to 1 side of the griddle.

Add the meat to the hot pan and cook, stirring and breaking up with the back of 2 metal spatulas, until almost no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Mix in the Sauteed vegetables. Top with cheese slices and melt. Spoon the cheesy meat mixture into the warm buns and serve immediately with condiments of choice or Put the meat in the bun and dip the spatula in the cheese whiz and then wipe the spatula down the inside of the bread.

I gotta say that I am a proud carnivore, through and through. However, there is nothing wrong with a healthier version of this iconic sandwich.

Core ingredients:

* 8 ounces of seitan (see end of recipe for details about seitan)
* 1/2 medium onion, diced
* slice green peppers or other veggies (optional)
* olive oil or cooking spray sufficient to sautee
* cheese (vegan or dairy)
* roll (a crusty French/Italian bread or sub/hoagie roll)

Preparation:

* Slice the seitan into strips, or chop finer, depending on your preference.
* Season the seitan if it is an unseasoned variety (suggested seasonings include soy sauce, green Tabasco sauce, pepper, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning.)

Cooking:

* Heat a medium-sized skillet under medium to medium-high heat
* Sautee diced onion until translucent
* Add seitan
* Cook until seitan and onions are browned. Since seitan is not meat-based, there is no need to worry about undercooking
* Just before removing from heat, lay several slices of cheese (vegan or dairy) across the filling and cover. Remove from heat while cheese melts.

Presentation:

* Scoop a generous amount of the filling into a roll.
* Traditional condiments include a hearty serving of ketchup and even mayonnaise.

Making a larger quantity of sandwiches:

This recipe is suited for making smaller quantities of sandwiches for a family dinner, or having friends over. However, it is easy to scale the recipe up and prepare larger quantities by following a few tips.

The entire filling can be cooked in the oven. Fill a baking dish with the onions, seitan and olive oil and place into an preheated 375 degree oven. Depending on the quantity, cooking time will take approximately 15-20 minutes.

Once the filling is browned, prepare the sandwiches and add cheese individually to each sandwich. Wrap the sandwich in aluminum foil. These wrapped CheeseSteak sandwiches can be kept warm in an oven on low heat for thirty minutes without drying out.

Preparing CheeseSteaks ahead of time for a party:

The CheeseSteaks can easily be made earlier in the day for a dinner party. Follow the steps above for making larger quantities and then store the inividually wrapped CheeseSteaks in the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to a low temperature (225 degrees) and warm the CheeeSteaks for about twenty minutes before serving.
What is Seitan?

These CheeseSteaks are made using seitan. Seitan is a product made from wheat gluten, the protein that holds bread together. While the product comes from wheat, it is not loaded with carbohydrates like bread.

A serving of seitan has:

* 90 calories
* 1 gram of fat
* 0 grams saturated or tans fat
* 0 grams cholesterol
* 3 grams of carbs
* 1 gram of fiber
* 18 grams of protein