Philly Pizza Steaks
by Steve Skalish

Just to give you a bit of a background which I copied from the Pat's King of Steaks website in this paragraph... the cheesesteak sandwich was invented by Pat Olivieri in 1930. Pat had a modest hotdog stand at the base of the famous Italian Market in South Philadelphia. One day he decided to have something quite different for lunch, so he sent for some chopped meat from the butcher shop. He cooked the meat on his hot dog grill, placed the meat onto an Italian roll, and dressed it with some onions. Just as he went to take a bite, a cab driver who ate a hot dog everyday asked what he had there. Pat said that it was his lunch. The cabbie insisted that Pat make him one. The cabbie took one bite and said to Pat, "Hey.....forget 'bout those hot dogs, you should sell these." The steak sandwich was born. As the years passed, both employees and customers alike demanded change... cheese was added.

I do not know who decided to add pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese or when it was added, but pizza steaks are now as widely popular as the regular cheesesteak in the Philadelphia area. But I have found that the Boston area just does not know much about a good pizza steak. If you try to order one, you get blank looks from the folks in the sub shop. I have actually gone as far as to talk a guy through the making of one in a sub shop in Cambridge. I learned the best way to make one in my days of making pizzas and sandwiches back home in Glenolden, PA at a place called Dave's Steaks in my teenage years. Here is what I have learned. I added a recipe for a quick tomato sauce as well.

Philadelphia Pizza Steaks (Skalish style)

Serves 4

24oz shaved rib eye steak
6 tbsp of olive oil
16 slices of provolone cheese
shredded mozzarella - approximately 8 oz
4 crusty Italian sub rolls
1 large Spanish onion

optional - mushrooms and sliced pepperoni

for the sauce...
4 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves chopped
1 can 28 oz Pastene tomato puree
1 small can Pastene tomato paste
1 tbsp chopped oregano
1 tbsp chopped basil
dash of crushed red pepper

• heat 4 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat

• add and cook garlic until soft but not browned

• increase the heat to high and add tomato puree and paste

• cook 5-7 minutes stirring frequently

• add oregano, basil, and small amount of crushed red pepper midway through heating while continuing to stir

• remove from heat and set aside
  

• heat a large iron skillet or a non stick pan over
  medium heat

• add 3 table spoons of olive oil to the pan and add chopped onions

• saute the onions for a few seconds

• add the remaining oil and sauté the meat mixed with the onions until the meat is brown (use a large spatula to mix and turn the meat)

• add sauce to the pan (use enough to cover the meat completely but you don't have to use all the sauce)

• and continue to mix and saute until the sauce, meat,
  and onions are all mixed together

• split the rolls lengthwise and open keeping the two
  halves joined

• spread about 2 oz of the mozzarella cheese inside each roll

• add about 6 oz of the meat, sauce, and onions into each roll over the mozzarella

• top each sandwich with 4 slices of provolone spread out over the meat on top of the roll

• bake sandwiches in a 450 degree preheated oven in a foil baking tray until the cheese is melted and slightly browned over the sides of the roll, and roll is toasted

• remove and enjoy, preferably with some good Philly
  Soul music playing in the background for the whole
  Philly experience (I recommend Harold Melvin and the
  Blue Notes)

If you wish, you can saute mushrooms in the meat mixture for something more. For an extra kick, sometimes I like to add some slices of pepperoni under the provolone cheese before baking.