Philly Cheesesteaks

I love me some Rachael Ray and I saw this recipe on her show last week and I just had to try it! We had some cheap steaks in the freezer that we weren't crazy about so this was a great way to use them up and make them super yummy!

The Recipe:
For the Garlic Butter Bread
2 loaves baguette, halved and split or 4 crusty sub rolls 12 inches each split
6 tablespoons butter
4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

For the French Onion Steak Filling
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 large or 3 medium onions, very thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
1 large fresh bay leaf
1/4 cup dry sherry or 1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cans beef consommé or 3 cups beef stock
4 flat-iron steaks or 1 1/2 to 2 pounds flank steak
3 cups shredded Gruyère cheese

ONIONS
1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat then add butter.

2. When it foams, add onions and season with salt, pepper, thyme and bay.

3. Cook until caramel in color, about 30 minutes.



4. Add consommé and sherry/wine to onions.

5. Continue to simmer until consommé reduces by about half.

BREAD
6. Toast bread in a 375°F oven to golden.

7. Melt butter in a small pan over medium heat until it foams.

8. Stir in garlic 1-2 minutes then remove from heat and stir in parsley.

9. Brush toasted bread liberally with garlic butter and reserve.



STEAK
10. Heat griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat; drizzle with oil.

11. Season room temperature steaks liberally with kosher salt and pepper.

12. Cook 10 minutes, turning once.

13. Let stand 5 minutes, thinly slice against the grain.



SANDWICH IT UP
14. Pile steak and onions onto toasted bread bottoms arranged on a baking sheet.

15. Top with lots of cheese and melt under broiler.

16. Set tops in place and serve.



My Experience:
So this recipe takes a really long time because the onions take about half an hour to 45 minutes but you only have to stir every once in a while so I just prepared everything else while the onions were cooking.

Instead of Gruyère cheese I used Provolone but you could also use Swiss. Just buy it in a block so that you can grate it.

When making the garlic butter, try grating the garlic. It may waste a bit if you don't want to destroy your finger tips but it works really great to mix in well with the butter.

These sandwiches were really really good and I highly recommend trying it at least once. It might be time consuming and make a good stack of dishes but it is easy to make!