Week 12: Philly Cheese Steaks and Fries

I can’t remember the last time I was so content.  The Patriots are dominating, I got to see the Virginia side of the family, I shopped 'til Dan dropped on Friday, we picked out and trimmed our tree AND THE CELTICS WILL BE BACK FOR CHRISTMAS!.  It’s been an exciting two weeks.

The Kansas City game made me happy. Brady had 234 yards and a pair of TD’s to Gronk.  The Defense also stepped up for the second week in a row with two interceptions by Kyle Arrington.  Dan was at the game, and the picture below is from his seats.  

It’s not actually his picture.  I had to ask Kayla for one since Dan didn’t bother to take any.  Nice seats huh?  Thank You Mr. Kuchar and Regular Kuchar for the seats and Thank You Kayla for the photo.  While Dan didn’t photo-document his trip to Foxboro, he did take mental notes which he has graciously agreed to share with myself and all 8 of my followers :)

So I went to Monday Night Football at Gillette, even though Laura and I had to get up before dawn the next day to drive to Virginia.  I'm not going to tell you I was too hungover to drive. I'm not going to tell you that it was pretty either. I played through the pain, and so did Laura.

The best way to sum up the night, is with this equation:

Monday Night Football + Beer + A shot + Baked Beans + Steak tips = Pepto Bismol + an ugly odor in the car for 10 hours on Tuesday

Highlight of the night:  A friend of a friend, back on furlough from Afghanistan, told gnarly war stories during the tailgate session.  Without getting into too much detail, I'll just say this about the strangest story he told us:  On Thursdays in Afghanistan, those who practice the local religion believe that God's back turned to all terrestrial affairs all day, every Thursday.  And so from sunup to sundown, they can sin without recourse and I'm told that things get very, very weird amongst Afghani men in the community.  I'd say more but you can google it.  Either way, If I were the Chiefs coach I'd still name any Afghani off the street over Palko at quarterback.

I can't believe he was able to get furlough, gnarly and terrestrial all in the same paragraph. The man has skills.

Moving on.

The Philly game has left me ecstatic.  Brady had another phenomenal performance with 361 yards and 3 TDs.  2 of these went to my fave Wes Welker and 1 went to Gronk, who made Dream Team Leader Asomugha look amateur. BJGE even chipped in with another 2 rushing TD’s and 44 yards.  (I already admitted he was Okay, what more do you want!) Dan and I obviously used this match up as an excuse for homemade Philly Cheesesteaks and we had 5 Spice Fries on the side.

5 Spice Fries

Ingredients:

• 3 Russet Potatoes
• 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• Chinese 5 Spice
• Cayenne Pepper

Directions:
1. Wash and slice potatoes into wedges.  Soak in Ice Water for 30 minutes, then drain and let dry.
2. Preheat oven to 425
3. Coat Potato wedges with Vegetable oil and cover in Chinese 5 spice and Cayenne and mix. I don’t measure the spices, I just make sure there is a good amount on each wedge.  If not, I add more and mix again. I would start with about 1 teaspoon of 5 spice and ½ teaspoon of Cayenne, but you will probably add more.
4. Bake for 40-50 minutes, flipping halfway.


Philly Cheese Steaks

Ingredients:

• 2 Martins Hoagie Rolls
• 1 Lb Rib Eye Steak
• ½ Cup Beef Broth
• 1 Cup Whole Milk
• 4 Ounces Velveeta
• ¼ teaspoon Celery Salt
• ¼ teaspoon Salt
• ¼ teaspoon Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Flour
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• ½ Cup Shredded Cheddar

Directions:
1. Slightly freeze beef and cut into thin strips.
2. In a Pan, melt butter and mix in flour. Cook 2 minutes and add millk and spices.  Whisk together over medium heat until thickened.  Slowly add velveeta until creamy.  If more cheese is needed, add ½ Cup Shredded Cheddar.
3. In a large pan, sear beef and immediately add broth to make an au jus.
4. Place meat in sub roll and top with cheese.
*Dan and I added Peppers/Onions to ours, ‘cause that’s how we roll. :)

Happy Cooking!