Cheesesteak

We were planning to go to Philly this weekend to visit a friend and hopefully make a side trip into Manhattan. But plans fizzled out so no more Philly trip :-(

But that didn't mean we couldn't have the quintessential Philly food...the cheesesteak. I will never claim that what I made was an authentic Philly cheesesteak, lest I bring the wrath of the purists on myself. But I tried to stick to the basic tenets and am happy to say that the end product was very, very good :-)

Cheesesteak Sandwich (Inspired by the Philly Version)

400 grams thinly sliced beef (I used the sukiyaki or hotpot cut in the Asian grocery)

1 onion, sliced

1/2 red sweet pepper, sliced

1 tsp. Barberian's steak seasoning

freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp. butter

1 1/2 cups grated cheese*

6 buns**

1. In a skillet, saute onion and pepper in 1 tsp butter until caramelized. Set aside

2. In the same pan, melt the other tsp. of butter and cook the beef, shredding into small pieces with a spatula. Sprinkle the steak seasoning as you are mixing and shredding the beef. Make sure not to over cook the meat so that it stays juicy.

3. Put the meat, caramelized veggies and cheese in a bun. Broil in the oven for 2-3 minutes, just until the cheese has melted.***

* There is great debate as to what the traditional cheese is for a Philly Cheesesteak. Some people say that Cheez Whiz is the only way to go but others use American or Provolone. I had some excellent Canadian cheddar at home so that's what I used. Maybe I should call this Canadian Cheesesteak then, eh?

** The Philly version uses a bun with a hard crust and a soft interior. Son #2 doesn't like that so we used hotdog buns instead.

*** In Philly, they don't use the oven. They top the steak with cheese while it's still on the griddle. Then they cover it with the bun and flip everything into the bun when the cheese melts. To messy for me, so the oven worked great.