Cheesesteaks

Mandi loves cheesesteaks. She has been dying to share her recipe and process here with everyone. So much so, that we needed to take pictures 3 SEPARATE TIMES in order to get them perfectly right! That was fine with me because they are so delicious that I don't mind eating them multiple nights in a week. I asked her to say something quickly about the cheesesteaks and this is what I got back from her:

I think these are the most important points for a good cheesesteak:

First of all fresh bread. Normally we would buy nice fresh rolls in the bakery but since they can be hard to come by in Bermuda (especially on the weekends) we decided to take a shot at making them ourselves. They didn't turn out perfect but they were nice and fresh and warm and definitely something worth trying again!

Second is the meat. I believe typically rib eye is used. I think any nice quality, tender meat will do. The most important part is that it is sliced real thin. This is where having a meat slicer would really come in handy! But since we do not have one we just have to settle with slicing it as thin as you can by hand. It should be laid out in a single layer and let brown. Then it's moved around with the spatulas until completely cooked then chopped up finely. After it's chopped is when I like to add the pre-cooked onions and peppers. This is no place for red in your meat btw. It needs to be cooked through or it will be chewy and hard to eat!

Third lots of fried onions. I like a combination of butter and a little oil. Butter for the nice sweet taste and oil so they fry up properly.

Fourth is banana peppers. This is not a classic necessity but in my opinion they add a flavor and kick that i absolutely LOVE.

Fifth is a nice good creamy cheese. This is an issue of much debate in Philly. Which cheese is proper? There's American, provolone, and of course whiz. I personally am an American cheese girl. Since they don't have American cheese here I go with jack because it's got the same nice creamy consistency when melted. Lots of places just put the cheese right on the bun and then over the meat for a bit to heat up the roll then flip. I personally like my cheese all mixed in. I think this way it acts as a binder and holds all the yummy meat and onions together. After all I want more than just cheesy bread, I want cheesy meat!

in my opinion mushrooms and sweet peppers are a no-no. Sauce is good too but that's a pizza steak and a whole other ballgame. Dan makes fun of me but I also like to dip mine in ketchup sometimes. I don't care what people say. I like it so deal.

Here we are letting the yeast dissolve in the warm water with sugar. As she said, we normally don't make our own rolls, but we felt like it today. The recipe is here.

Paddle it first, and then switch to the hook.

Bonnie working away

I do this to check how done it is. This motion means it is done.

Cover this with a towel and let it rise for 45 minutes

Punch it down. Get that aggression out!

This is when you divide it up - again, the recipe is here

We had extra, so some went into the freezer.

Shape them and slice them, then cover and let rise another 45.

Yall betta rise up!

Mandi likes elaborate drinks. This has fresh ginger, mint, and lemon juice, with simple syrup, club soda and black rum

Mmm the rolls were good.

Some better than others

Onion for the cheesesteaks

Here is the meat for the cheesesteaks, Mandi said ribeye earlier, but what we get is actually a blend. The best in my opinion is when they have the end of the tenderloin that they sell in a cheaper chunk.

This is ribeye on the board and sirloin on the left

Slicing up some jack

Onions on the grill with butter

Perfect consistency.

Nice color.

This is where Mandi starts mixing up the meat and slicing it.

She is an expert. I'm in the back playing smash brothers.

Here she added the onions back in

Looking good

You can also see the hot banana peppers mixed in. This is the first round of cheese

After it melts a bit, she mixes it all together and repeats.

After she thinks it is a correct cheese to meat ratio, she splits the meat into sections.

And adds the rolls on top

These were in the top 3 cheesesteaks I've ever had. Don't worry; all of the top 3 were made by you Mandi. Tune in tommorow to read more about Mandi's love for cheesesteaks!