The beginning of a new school year inspires my inner chef…the inner chef who seems to have been snoozing all summer.
With the faint (very faint) promise of cooler temperatures and the approaching of fall, my kitchen almost begs to come alive with fun and fresh foods.
Who am I to argue with a kitchen begging to come alive?
A fun new food that we had at casa de phillips recently was deconstructed Philly cheese steaks. Imagine grilled steak meats kabob meets fondue…then you get the deconstructed philly cheese steak.
First begin with your ingredients:
- quality steak, cubed
- bell pepper, cubed
- onion, cubed
- french bread (one day old), cubed
Once everything is nice and cubed, thread each ingredient onto their own skewer. When working with wooden skewers, be sure to soak them for at least 20 minutes in water or you might have to call the fire department.
I thread about four pieces of meat per skewer. If they are too close, the meat will actually steam rather than grill. Steamed steak does not hold an appeal for me.
Brush the meat and bell pepper/onion skewers with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Brush the bread with melted butter and sprinkle with garlic salt.
Toss everything on the grill.
Note: I am grilling inside on a grill pan. If you have a gas stovetop, indoor grilling is the way to go (especially when it is 107 degrees outside…as it was the day that I made this lovely dinner). My cast iron grill came from Bed, Bath, and Beyond years ago.
Another grilling tip…leave room between your items. Again, if things are too close on a grill they will steam rather than grill.
I made sure to place my meat in the middle (hottest part), then moved the bread and peppers around accordingly. Turn everything over after about 3 minutes (check the bread to make sure it is not burning, as it will likely cook faster than the meat).
While everything is grilling, whip up some cheese sauce. I know that traditional Philly cheese steaks are covered in Cheese Whiz.
Yeah, I can’t go there.
So I make my own cheese sauce.
Ingredients for Cheese Sauce:
*3 Tblsp flour
*3 Tblsp butter
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
*salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Melt butter over medium heat, wisk in flour. Let cook for one minute while constantly wisking.
- Slowly add milk while wisking
- Cook over low heat, while STILL wisking, until smooth
- Add cheese…whisk some more.
- Remove from heat, add salt and pepper to taste
Once the kabobs are done, serve immediately with a cup of cheese sauce. You can eat each item individually (dipped in cheese, of course) or pile them together for the complete cheese steak sandwich experience.
This meal was so yummy that I forgot to take a picture of it before we ate.
I did, however, managed to snap a shot of what remained after we feasted.
Obviously, the deconstructed Philly cheese steak was a hit at casa de phillips.
