Are you hungry?: 3/1/09

Saturday, March 28, 2009

A Real Philly Cheese Steak

Boy oh boy have I been craving a real Philly cheese steak. I'm a Philly girl, born and raised, who moved to SW Florida in 1983. That makes me a Philly Floridian I guess. For years, like 20, I could never find a real Philly Cheese steak. You see, cheese steaks are a staple when you're from Philadelphia. The ongoing war of who prepares the best cheese steak still exists between Pat's and Geno's on Passyunk Ave or Jim's on South Street in south Philadelphia.

Until Dick's Philly Cheese Steaks opened a year or so ago I could not find a real cheese steak around town. My favorite pizza joint, Heavenly Pizza, who makes one awesome calzone, came the closest. Let me tell you, Dick's has a REAL cheese steak. Chipped rib eye with your choice of traditional Philly toppings served on a fresh Amoroso roll. What is an Amoroso roll you ask. A roll fresh baked by Amoroso's Bakery. They have been in business since 1904 and are part of the Real Philly Cheese steak. You can bet when I heard that Dick's used real Amoroso rolls, I was excited! When you order a steak in south Philly, you can get a cheese steak with less carbs, ask them to scoop the roll!

The first time I decided to visit Dick's it was spur of the moment and I opted for take out. Upon entering the restaurant, I immediately felt like I was at home. There was a display rack with Tastekakes, made in Philly since 1904. A sign proclaiming the use of Amoroso rolls hung proudly above the take out counter. Directly ahead were a line of simple dining tables, traditional of Philly Steak shops. The aroma put me over the top... I could smell those steaks cooking on the grill.

Dicks Philly Cheese Steaks offers the traditional list of toppings: Cheese - Provolone, American, or Cheese whiz. Vegetable list is grilled onions and mushrooms, raw onions, sweet peppers -these are jarred sweet bell peppers, hot peppers, pizza sauce, lettuce, tomato. Of course if you choose the lettuce and tomato you just made it a Hoagie!

Their menu includes a variety of hoagies as well as roast beef and meatball sandwiches. To round out the menu an assortments of salads are available and the traditional sides- fries, onion rings or chips- offered in any Philly steak shop.

Oh my gosh, what a delightfully delicious experience. The roll was packed with steak to overflowing, all the veges and sauce grilled. Rolled up in a traditional paper wrap, just like home. Talk about delicious... I was really impressed, and quite full. I'll bet most people only eat half in a sitting! The steak was cooked perfectly, very tender, not dry and no gristle. I can finally get a real Philly cheese steak and it's maybe five minutes from my house!

OK so here's my favorite Cheese Steak- Actually it's called a pizza steak. Extra Provolone, grilled onions & mushrooms, pizza sauce, and hot peppers, scoop it!

As you can tell I give Dick's Philly Cheese Steaks a 10. If you visit SW Florida be sure to get yourself a true Philly Cheese Steak!

Are you hungry?

Comments Recipe Tags: beef, dinner, reviews, sandwiches

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Kreative award and chops

Wow I can't believe it's Sunday already, where has this week gone? I have been so busy, barely time to cook or eat much less blog. Today is catch up day. First, I want to give a big THANK YOU to Stephanie over at From Huskies to Husbands for honoring my blog with the Kreative Blogger Award last week. I had to read her post twice before I actually read my blog name there... told you I was busy.

For this award I am to list 6 things that make me happy. I have to admit that I haven't been too happy lately. Things here are really tough with us being in new construction and I sometimes lose sight of what happiness really is.

Here are my six make me happy things:

My family
Cooking
Blogging & web design
Visiting with friends, which usually involves food and/or coffee
Helping people
Selling Avon

I would like to pass this award on to the following ladies. Have fun and pass it on if you like!

Mary at mynew30
Wanda at 1 Blog and 2 Sides
Sara at The Breathing Post

So what does this award have to do with chops? Stephanie's award gave me a nudge, no it was really a much needed shove! Focus on happy things. I was thinking back about last Monday night. I had to come up with a quick pork chop recipe. I thawed the darn things not even thinking how I would prepare them. The pantry is pretty slim, and the fridge even slimmer. It was late, like past eight. Time to be creative and I was happy to do so!

I figured that french dressing would be a good glaze for the chops. I coated the pork chops on both sides with the french dressing while hubby stood by shaking his head.
I popped them into the oven and baked at 400. After about 30 minutes, I turned them. I took out the chops when they were nice and brown, about 45 minutes total cooking time.

I surprised myself with this one. They were really delicious. Even the hubby said so. He likes his pork chops really dark and was skeptical about the french dressing, thus the head shake. But I managed to prepare him "yet another winner, his words [big smile]

Comments Recipe Tags: dinner, pork

Monday, March 09, 2009

Three Days of Bread

Do you ever go through phases where you just have to cook and EAT something? I've been craving home made bread lately....

Bread Day 1 - Thursday night I decided to use up the Jiffy pizza crust mix I had in the cabinet. Yes I had it in the cabinet, don't ask long story. Anyway, this stuff in no way makes dough, but I had an idea. I made the mix per the directions and of course it was like batter rather than dough so I floured my hand and pulled the gooey mess away from the bowl. As I worked my way around the bowl, I continued to flour, this making a ball that was dough on the outside and gooey on the inside.

Next I oiled an 11 x 6 baking pan. I pressed the Jiffy dough stuff into the pan. Then I put a thin coat of pesto over the cough. On top I added very thin slivers of onion, a few chopped tomatoes, and finally some black olives. I popped it into the oven for 30 minutes on 350 and presto, I had a nice focaccia bread to serve with dinner.

Saturday, Bread Day 2, I broke out my bread machine. I just love that appliance. My mom bought it for me when bread makers were the latest craze. I decided on Onion Wheat Bread. I thought it would go nice with the mixed beans and smoke pork that I was preparing for dinner.

Ingredients -

2 cups warm water (100° to 110°F)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 cups (about) all-purpose unbleached flour
2 cup whole whole wheat flour
1 Tbs onion powder
4 tsp wheat gluten
1 envelope (2 1/2 tsp) active dry yeast or 2 tsp instant yeast

Add ingredients to bread pan in the order they are listed. I use all purpose flour instead of bread machine flour and include the 4 tsp of wheat gluten to substitute for the bread flour. I used the wheat setting on the machine and the bread itself came out perfect but lacked the onion flavor. All was not lost, it went great with the spicy beans and pork.

Personal Notes- I added only one teaspoon of onion powder which was not enough. I am sure the recipe will require 1 tbsp onion powder1/2 cup caramelized onion.

Sunday's best Pioneer Bread-Day 3 Today I decided on Pioneer Bread. This recipe is from my old Betty Crocker bread cookbook. It's a nice change from white bread, a bit sweeter, and had a nice crusty yet smooth outer crust.

Ingredients-

3/4 cup warm water
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
1 egg, mixed but not beaten
1/3 cu cornmeal
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast or 1 envelope

Add ingredients to bread pan in the order listed. Bake on Basic Setting.

Hand Method- Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl. Add sugar, slat, egg, cornmeal and 1 cup flour. Blend 1/2 minute with mixer, on low speed scraping sides. Increase speed to medium and beat for two more minutes. Stir in remaining flour or just enough to make the dough easy to handle. Turn dough onto floured surface and kned until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl; turn greased side up. Cover and rise in a warm place until double, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Punch down dough. Flatten dough with rolling pin or hands into a rectangle. Fold crosswise into thirds overlapping two sides. Roll dough tightly toward you beginning at one of the open ends. Press openings with thumbs to seal after each turn. Press ends with side of your hand to seal. Place loaf seam side down in a greased loaf pan. (optional-brush with butter and sprinkle with cornmeal) Let rise until double. Bake at 400° for 25 to 30 minutes, or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

Image via Wikipedia

Personal Notes - Boy oh boy does that bread machine save me time! This bread is just wonderful. The cornmeal and sugar make it just a bit stiffer and sweeter than white bread without the density of a dark bread.

Comments Recipe Tags: bread, dough

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Baked Ziti, Quick and Delicious

This is one of my favorite recipes to prepare for a large crowd. You see, I carry on the traditional Italian meal that my great grandmother prepared for the family every year. It is rather hard core spread of Italian food and many of my friends, and even some family members, won't eat it. SO I prepare this Baked Ziti recipe just for them. It's a standing joke... I tell them all, "Of course I will be serving Baked Ziti for all my American friends." They get a kick out of that statement [big grin]

So here we go, quick and delicious baked Ziti:

You will need:
Pasta-

1 lb Ziti
1 lb ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1 egg
3 tbsp parsley (flakes or fresh diced)
salt & pepper to taste

Sauce-
1 lb ground meat-turkey beef or pork
1/2 cup onion chopped small
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1 tbsp basil
1 20 oz can diced petite tomatoes
1 jar spaghetti sauce

First prepare the sauce. While I like to make my own spaghetti sauce, when I have a big meal to prepare I start with a jar sauce and "doctor it up" as my mom would say. Begin by browning the meat of choice in a pot big enough to hold the finished sauce. After browning the meat, drain off excess fat, if necessary. Next add the onions and allow to cook for just a few minutes. Then add the jar sauce along with the diced tomatoes, and the fennel seed. Top off the sauce with basil. Stir well, cover, and cook on low for about an hour. Check and stir occasionally.

Now for the pasta. Preheat the oven to 350. Cook Ziti according to package instructions. Drain and add to a 13 x 9 baking dish or pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, garlic powder, egg, parsley, Parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Mix well. Add salt & pepper to taste and mix again. To this slowly add about 1 ladle of spaghetti sauce. Mixture should be pink, not red. Add cheese mixture to Ziti and mix well. Top with a small stream of sauce and the second cup of mozzarella cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges are brown.

Personal notes -

Of course you can double or triple the pasta recipe based on how many you have to feed. I make double to feed about fifteen people. And with that I use 2 jars of sauce instead of one, not doubling the other ingredients except maybe increasing the fennel seed by 1/2. I don't like to add too much sauce in the pasta because the remaining sauce will be served on the side, along with some nice Italian bread.