Mini Philly Cheesesteaks – Winning the Super Bowl Snack Table

Miniaturized sandwiches don’t usually float my boat, or submarine, as they’re almost always not as good as the full-sized versions, but these mini Philly cheesesteaks really captured everything I love about the classic.

Thinly sliced rib eye is traditionally used, and it’s fried and chopped on the grill, before meeting cheese and bread. Since we’re going to “grill” these in the oven, we’ll use a nice, juicy skirt steak instead, which has a big beefy flavor, and great marbling.

It will brown up around the edges, yet stay moist and tender because of the fat and connective tissue. I also really enjoyed the double shot of the sliced provolone and provolone “cheez whiz,” which provided a great creamy, richness. The peppers and onions brought everything together, and long story short, I ate the whole tray.

This was great hot, warm, and cold, and that alone makes it a perfect choice for your Super Bowl snack spread. Also, stay tuned for the quick and easy pickled pepper and onion relish recipe I mentioned in the clip. I hope you give these mini Philly cheesesteaks a try soon. Enjoy!

Enough for about 48 mini Philly cheesesteaks:

12 ounce skirt steak, or flap meat, or rib eye, or NY Strip

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup of pickled pepper and onion relish (stay tuned for video), OR 1/2 cup of sautéed onions and sweet peppers

*once mixed, be sure to taste and salt the final diced steak mixture!

For the “cheez whiz” sauce:

2 generous tablespoons flour

2 generous tablespoons butter

1 cup cold milk

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of cayenne

salt to taste

2 thick slices provolone cheese (about 2 to 3 ounces), torn up

48 slices of baguette

sliced or grated provolone to top the cheesesteaks

Once assembled, bake at 400 for 12 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is browned

The Cornish Pasty – Going to Fall Down a Mineshaft? This is the Meat Pie For You!

This Cornish pasty is one of those rare recipes that novice cooks will find easier to make than experienced bakers. That’s because to make this to its original, and very sturdy specifications, you’re forced to over-mix the dough…a cardinal sin that literally gives pie makers nightmares.

Like any pastry dough, we’re just adding just enough ice water to bring everything together, but unlike classic pie dough, we’re going to knead the mixture for a couple minutes past that point.  Thanks to a little thing called muscle memory, this is not going to be easy for some of you.

Get over it; because once you taste and feel the final product, it will all make sense. The tougher, but not tough dough is the perfect delivery system for the meaty filling. Speaking of which, I went with a fairly traditional version, and provided the recipe below, but this great crust will work with all sorts of stuffings.

You could use cooked meat in these, but part of what makes them so good, is how the raw ingredients cook in their own juices, while encased in the tasty dough. I can’t imagine many things that wouldn’t be great in these.

By the way, this recipe is dedicated to my mother-in-law Peggy, who requested it about five years ago. It was one of her favorite foods growing up, and I’m curious to hear how close I got. I hope you give this easy, and delicious meat pie a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Cornish pasty

4 cups bread flour (mine weighed in at 1-lb 2-oz)

2 oz (4 tbsp) cold butter

3 oz (6 tbsp) cold lard

1 1/2 tsp salt

about 2/3 to 3/4 cup ice water, or enough to just bring dough together (start with about 1/2 cup, and then drizzle in more as needed)

For the steak filling:

12oz cubed beef skirt steak

1/2 cup diced onions

1 cup diced gold potatoes

1/3 cup diced turnip

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

pinch of cayenne

2 tbsp butter, cut into 8 thin slices

For the egg wash:

1 large egg, beaten with 1 tsp water

- Bake pasties at 350 F. for about an hour or until browned and bubbly

Pastrami-Spiced Duck Breast "Reuben" – Prepare to Open Face

I first tasted pastrami-spiced, smoked duck breast about 15 years ago, and ever since I’ve wondered how it would be used in a classic Reuben sandwich. I never got around to actually trying it, but this is close, and I’m going to say, way, way better.

This was one of the more delicious and interesting duck breast preparations I’ve had in a very long time. The pastrami spices are perfect with the duck meat, and the crisp, cheesy rye was a worthy base.  The quick slaw and mustard dressing helped balance the richness, and like I said in the video, the final results were stunning.

The key here, as it is with any duck breast recipe, is to not overcooked meat. I like to go about five or six minutes on the skin side, until nice and crusty, and then turn it over and continue until the breast springs back under your touch. Obviously, the cooking times I mention in the video will depend on how large the breasts are. Mine were about 5 ounces, which I found to be the perfect size for this.

If you’re using a thermometer, you’ll want to shoot for about 135–140 internal temperature. This will give you gorgeous, pink, juicy meat, that will rival the finest steak. If you can get past the idea of eating a sandwich with a fork and knife, I really hope you give this amazing pastrami-spiced duck breast Reuben a try soon.  Enjoy!

Ingredients for two portions:

2 duck breast, boneless, skin-on (mine were 5-oz each)

For the rub:

1 tbsp olive oil or more as needed

1 tbsp ground black pepper

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp dry mustard

pinch cayenne

For the Reuben:

2 slices rye bread

1/4 cup grated Swiss cheese

1 tablespoon reserved duck fat

2 cups chopped Green cabbage

2-3 tablespoons Russian or Thousand Islands dressing

2 tablespoons mustard dressing (see recipe below)

Mustard dressing:

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/4 cup sherry vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Beef on Weck, Part 2: The Meat Within

As promised, this is how I do roast beef for "beef on weck." In episode one, we made the weck rolls, which are awesome, but become significantly more so when filled with freshly roasted beef and horseradish. And, don't even get me started on the au jus.

There are many cuts of beef used for this, including top round, rump roast, and brisket, but I like to use a nice thick top-sirloin roast. Instead of cooking it in the oven, I like to pan-roast this on the stovetop. There are many advantages to this approach. Since top sirloin roasts are only a couple inches thick, they cook relatively fast. They're also tender, flavorful, and because of their shape, very easy to slice thinly, which is one of the keys to this amazing sandwich.

As far as the au jus goes, it’s only going to be as good as the beef broth or stock you use, but I have a great tip regarding where to find the nice stuff. Most of your higher-end grocery store chains, which have in-house butchery departments, usually sell homemade stocks in the frozen food section.

It makes sense, since there are so many bones and meat scraps available. Not only are these products usually high-quality, they’re also pretty affordable, so check there before you use something out of a carton.

Anyway, thanks for your patience, and I really hope you try both recipes, and experience Buffalo’s best-kept, and most delicious secret. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Beef on Weck sandwiches:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 pound top-sirloin roast

salt and pepper to taste

2 or 3 teaspoons flour

2 1/2 cups good quality beef broth
2 tsp aged balsamic vinegar, or to taste

4 kummelweck rolls

extra hot prepared horseradish, as needed

serve with chips or fries, and pickles

Beef on Weck, Part 1: The Kummelweck Roll – You’ll Be Thirsty for More

Welcome to the first of a two-part series on one of this country’s most delicious unknown sandwiches, the "Beef on Weck." This simple, but brilliant creation features thinly sliced, horseradish covered, roast beef, piled high on a freshly baked kummelweck.

The roll's fragrant caraway seeds and coarse salt are a perfect accent, and when you add a steaming ramekin of fresh beef jus for dunking, you’ll understand why this is the pride of Western New York. Sorry, chicken wings.

As legend has it, a pub owner in Buffalo, New York created the sandwich, hoping the salty rolls made by a local German baker would help increase drink sales. That sounds about right, and I do have it on very good authority that beef on weck works well with beer.

So, even if you’re not into roast beef, I still recommend you give these great sandwich rolls a try soon. And, if you are into roast beef sandwiches, I invite you to stay tuned for what I believe is America’s finest example. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 12 Kummelweck Rolls:

1 envelope active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

1 cup warm water (105 F.)

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 large egg white

1 generous tsp honey

*3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour total (use 1/2 cup with yeast and water to start recipe)

* I mentioned a dough tip during the video, and that has to do with not adding all the flour at once. I like to add about 80% of the flour called for, and then continue adding small amounts as the dough kneads, until I have the perfect texture.  You want a soft, fairly sticky dough that pulls off the sides of the bowl clean.

For the topping:

1 large egg white beaten with 2 tsp water

coarse grain sea salt

caraway seed

- Bake at 425 F. for 18-20 minutes

Classic Split Top Hot Dog Buns – How We Should Be Rolling

When we posted our hamburger bun video last year, I received a bunch of requests for hot dog buns. My first thought was, just take the same dough and shape it into logs instead of rounds. I mean, come on…how hard is that? Turns out, that was just the grocery store talking. I’d been so used to eating those insipid side-split rolls, it took seeing a photo of a lobster roll to remember what a real hot dog buns are supposed to be like.

Don’t get me wrong; if you hand me a hot dog at the ballgame, it’s not like I’m going to throw it back in your face (unless you have Dodger face paint on), but given the choice, this butter-crisped, split-topped bun is the way to go. Thanks to its genius design, the meat and fixings go in the top, which leave three relatively flat sides to toast in butter. How this thing never got patented is the real mystery.

Just be sure to either buy hot dogs large enough to fit your homemade buns, or adjust the size of your rolls to match your favorite wiener. I’m sorry, but people who put short hot dogs on the long buns, and then pinch off the ends of the bread, should be put in jail. Not for life, but at least 3 to 5 years.

You can also make the same number of rolls as you have hot dogs, which apparently is the kind of calculation the hot dog bun industry can’t quite master. Okay, hot dogs come 10 in a package, so let’s do the buns in packs of 8. Seriously, what’s wrong with these people? Anyway, math aside, I hope you give these old-fashioned, split top hot dog buns a try soon. Enjoy!

Please Note: As I mention, this is the exact same dough as our hamburger bun recipe. Click here to watch the official dough video! 

Ingredients to make 8-10 hot dog buns:

1 package (2 1/2 tsp) dry active yeast (I used Fleischmann's “RapidRise” Yeast)

1 cup warm water (105 F.)

1 large egg

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 pound all-purpose flour (*about 3 1/2 cups)

*Note: add a 1/2 cup of the flour to the yeast and water, and then the remainder before kneading

Bake at 375 degrees F. for about 20 minutes, or until golden-brown