No Fabulous Concert, But A Tasty Lunch

When I was 15 years old, I got a job at Jimmy's Pizza in Chelmsford, MA.  I prepared sub sandwiches, turkey clubs, and the occasional fried clam plate.  I did everything but the pizzas.  After a while I got very good at the sandwich part of the job.  In fact, there was a woman who worked across the street at a ticket master type place, and she came in periodically for a steak and cheese sub.  She was probably only 22 or 23, but to me, at 15 or 16, she was a woman.  She always requested that I make her sub, which, I confess, made me feel pretty good.  One day she came in around Christmas time, and handed me an envelope.  She said, "This is a little something for all the care you put into my sandwiches."  I was so pleased and excited!  I thought for sure it was a couple of tickets to some great concert and I could bring a friend along to share in the fun.  It was a little busy at the time, so I thanked her and set the envelope aside.  After my shift I remembered that I hadn't looked in the envelope.  Was I ever surprised!  Inside the envelope was marijuana.  I was a pretty strait-laced kid, and I had never seen it before.  But it didn't take much to realize what it was.  Needless to say I didn't go to any fabulous concert that year.  And FYI, I didn't partake of the gift, even though it was a very nice, if odd, gesture.

So today, UD and decided it would be nice to have a steak and cheese sub for lunch.  But rather than go out to the nearby sub shop, I made them at home.

I started with:

1 lb shaved steak
2 Vidalia onions (sweet and delicious)
4 slices of Provolone cheese
Hot sauce
Fresh sub rolls
EVOO and butter
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

I cut the onion in half, and then cut semi thick slices.  Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and the same amount of EVOO in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Preferably not a non-stick skillet.  You want the steak to caramelize, and a stainless steel pan will work best.  When the pan is nice and hot, add the onion and season with salt and pepper.  At this point, if you wanted to add some peppers also, go right ahead.  That would be a nice addition.  Just slice one or two bell peppers about the same size as the onions and you will be all set.

Once the onions start turning golden brown, you are ready to add the steak.

Push the onions off to the side of the pan and put the shaved steak in.  While you are putting the steak in the pan, try to separate any large clumps that you may have.  That will help the steak cook more evenly.  Put a little hot sauce on the onions, for good measure.  The amount depends on you.  You can always add a little more at the table if you want.

Season the steak with salt and pepper, and move it around the pan occasionally.  You want to give it a chance to brown, but you also want to keep the pieces separated so you have nice tender strips, rather than chewy clumps.

Once the steak is nice and brown, mix the onions in with it and let them hang out together for another couple of minutes.

Fold a couple of pieces of room temperature Provolone cheese in half, and place them on the bottom of your sub roll.  Then lay the steak and onion mixture on top.  The cheese will melt perfectly and you will have a delicious steak and cheese for lunch.

I don't mean to inundate you with JC, but this made me chuckle:

"The only time to eat diet food, is while you're waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child


A bientot!  See you soon.