Faux Philly Cheese "Steak" Sandwiches

When Pete and I lived in San Diego, so long ago, there was a little hole in the wall restaurant, actually just a sandwich shop, that sold authentic Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches. The husband and wife who owned this delectable little shop were actually transplants from Philadelphia, so we had to take their word for the authenticity of their sandwiches, since we had never experienced these wonderful, cheesy, oniony, heavenly creations. Now you see them all over the place---even in any shopping mall's food court. We never did find any that we liked as well, however. For a time, I even resorted to using Steak-ums (those very thin, frozen steaks) to make my own sandwiches....not bad, but not great either. So, this weekend, wanting to fulfill a craving, I thought about those sandwiches and what it was about them that I liked so well. Guess what? It really wasn't the steak (although I am, most definitely, a carnivore)  that made this sandwich so tasty for me. I discovered that it was the combination of the caramelized onions, green peppers, mushrooms, and melty cheese on top of a very good roll, that made the sandwich. Since I really wanted to make something that my meatless daughter would eat, it occurred to me that an avocado might just make a good substitute for the steak. Boy howdy...does it ever! This is what I came up with:

Faux Philly Cheese "Steak" Sandwiches with Lemon-Dill Mayo

Printable Recipe

Mayo:

¼ cup light mayonnaise
¼ cup light sour cream
1 teaspoon fresh or freeze dried dill
½ teaspoon salt-free lemon pepper seasoning

Sandwiches:

3-4 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium, sweet onions chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
½ green bell pepper, chopped
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 cups sliced mushrooms
Salt and pepper to taste
4 hoagie rolls, split
8 thin slices provolone cheese
2 ripe (not mushy), avocados, sliced
1 tomato, sliced (optional)

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, dill and lemon/pepper; set aside.
 

My husband liked this mayo stuff so much it was gone before I had a chance to spread it on the sandwiches. He was sitting on the sofa dipping chips into it.....

I'm not afraid to use convenience food. I found this freeze- dried dill in the produce section. It's perfect for me since it needs no refrigeration and it won't spoil by the time I decide to use it. It was a bonus that it tasted good, too!

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan and allow it to heat for a minute or two. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions, red bell peppers and green peppers. Sprinkle with sugar and cook for about 10 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic, mushrooms and salt and pepper. Cook an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until mixture is caramelized.

I didn't really measure the olive oil...just eyeballed it.

You can use just green bell peppers if you want. I just like the color of the red.

Push the onion/pepper mixture to one side of the pan and place a split hoagie roll on top of some of the hot oil, to brown the roll; remove from pan. Spread the toasted roll with about a tablespoon of mayo. Arrange about one half of an avocado on the bottom part of the roll; set aside.

The reason I used such a large skillet was so that I could push the onion mixture around and toast the buns in the olive oil. If there isn't enough oil, just brush a little on each roll before you toast them in the pan.

Working with ¼ onion mixture at a time, cover it with two slices provolone cheese. Allow the cheese to melt slightly and then, using a spatula, carefully lift the portion of cheese/onion onto the avocado. Top with tomato, if desired, sprinkle with a little more pepper and serve. Repeat with remaining rolls.

It has taken me many years, but I finally figured out the way to take the pit out of the avocado. Stick a knife in it and twist.

A Philly Cheese "Steak" with no meat. How cool is that?

Banana Fudge Ice Cream Pie

 Tradition in our family dictates that we have a banana fudge ice cream cake from the local creamery for my daughter's birthday. Last year, we tried one from Cold Stone Creamery instead, and though it was good, it just wasn't the same. So last week, I was on the phone with the usual place, all ready to place my order, when the young man on the phone told me that they didn't make banana ice cream! What? Say it ain't so....(I still think he had no clue). Well, I am told that necessity is the mother of invention, so it was time for me to make my own. All I can say at this point is that I'm glad that that young man had no clue, because my version of our yearly treat turned out to be far superior (I'm not modest, lol).

Banana Fudge Ice Cream Pie

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 ½ cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon vanilla)
2 eggs
¾ cup sugar
2 medium, ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup good quality hot fudge topping (I used Mrs. Richardson’s)
1 premade Oreo pie crust

The lighting was bad, so I didn't get any shots of the actual ice cream making, but I did take a shot of the jar of fudge! :)

Combine the cream and the milk in a medium sized heavy saucepan. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the cream/milk mixture; add the rest of the bean.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and the sugar until thick, about 1-2 minutes. Whisk the eggs into the cream/milk mixture and heat until it just comes to a boil, whisking constantly. Continue to heat until mixture thickens slightly and is able to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat, pour into a bowl, cover and chill for several hours or overnight.

When the custard is thoroughly chilled, remove the vanilla bean, and pour into an ice cream machine. Add the bananas and churn, per manufacturer’s directions, until the desired consistency is achieved, about 30 minutes.

Spread ½ cup fudge on the bottom of the pie crust. Top with half of the ice cream and repeat, ending with ice cream. Cover and freeze pie until firm. Serve with additional hot fudge, if desired.

The ice cream was a little melty at this point. It was hard not to just eat it right then and there....

A little messy, to be sure.

But it was all good after a little re-freeze.

Yum! Fresh banana ice cream and hot fudge (and don't forget that Oreo crust). A match made in heaven.

Happy 20th Birthday, Taylor!!!

Butterscotch Walnut Pie

I hadn't made a treat for my sister in awhile, so I asked her what she wanted. "Make that walnut pie!" she said. Hmm...not so Spring-like, but good nonetheless. Of course I followed through.....

A few years ago, I was tinkering with a pecan pie recipe when I came up with this one. Enough changes to call it my own, but not so different as to make it weird. I swapped out the nuts, used butterscotch ice cream topping instead of corn syrup, and added a little bourbon. It has been a keeper ever since.

Butterscotch Walnut Pie

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 unbaked 9" pie crust, recipe follows
3 large eggs, beaten
1 jar (12.5 oz) butterscotch ice cream topping
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon bourbon (or two if you dare)
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In medium bowl, combine beaten eggs, butterscotch topping, melted butter, sugar, salt and bourbon. Mix until well-blended.

I actually used about 2 cups of walnuts---and I used a Pillsbury pie crust this time

Sprinkle walnuts evenly over bottom of pie crust. Pour butterscotch filling over walnuts.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and edge of pie comes out clean. Serve warm or cold, with whipped topping if desired.

For pie crust, stir 1 1/4 cups flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in 1/3 cup shortening or lard until pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle with 3-4 tablespoons of cold water and form dough into a ball. Place dough in center of two large pieces of parchment paper. Roll dough with rolling pin from center to edge, forming a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Peel off one piece of parchment paper and center dough over a 9 inch pie plate. Carefully peel off the second piece of parchment paper. Fold under any extra dough and make a fluted edge. Or bag the whole thing and use some refrigerated pie crust, hee hee.

So, am I nuts to serve a walnut pie in the Spring? I think nut not!