Stretch Philly Recipes

PHILLY STEAK SANDWICH

Steps:

• Place the beef in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix together salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, marjoram and basil. Sprinkle over beef.
• Heat half of the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute beef to desired doneness, and remove from pan. Heat the remaining oil in the skillet, and saute the onion and green pepper.
• Preheat oven on broiler setting.
• Divide the meat between the bottoms of 4 rolls, layer with onion and green pepper, then top with sliced cheese. Place on cookie sheet, and broil until cheese is melted. Cover with tops of rolls, and serve.

STRETCH PHILLY SANDWICH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Toss the onions, peppers and mushrooms in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of the oil and some salt and pepper.
• Heat a large cast-iron griddle over medium heat. Spread the butter onto the griddle and place the rolls cut side down. Lightly toast the buns on the griddle, about 2 minutes. Put the buns on a baking sheet until ready to fill.
• Add 1 to 2 tablespoons more oil to the griddle. Using long metal tongs, spread the onions, peppers and mushrooms across the hot griddle. Cook the vegetables until they start to blister and soften, about 4 minutes. Push the vegetables to one side of the griddle and put the steak down in a single layer on the other side. Sprinkle the steak with a large pinch of salt and pepper. Add a little more oil if needed. Cook the steak until it is no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Then put the pastrami on top. Cook all together until the steak edges are crispy and caramelized and the pastrami is warmed through.
• Turn off the heat and pile the cooked vegetables onto the bottom of the rolls. Separate the meat into two piles and place on top of the vegetables. Top each sandwich with 3 slices of cheese per bun. Put the baking sheet in the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

HOMEMADE PHYLLO (OR FILO) DOUGH

Steps:

• Place 2 cups flour in a mixing bowl; make a well in the center. Drizzle in olive oil and add salt; add white wine vinegar and warm water. Mix until dough just comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, 1 or 2 minutes. Transfer dough ball to a lightly floured work surface.
• Knead until dough is smooth, using just enough flour to keep it from sticking to the work surface or your hands, 2 or 3 minutes. Continue to knead until dough is supple and elastic, about 5 more minutes. Wrap dough ball in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature, 1 to 2 hours.
• Divide dough into 20 (20 gram) portions using a kitchen scale; roll each portion into a ball. Place on plate and cover with plastic wrap to prevent dough balls from drying out while you begin to roll them out. Work in batches of 5.
• Mix cornstarch and 2 tablespoons flour together in a bowl. Dust a work surface and the first dough ball with the cornstarch mixture. Flatten out the dough ball and roll out into a circle, about 5 inches in diameter. Dust again with cornstarch mixture. Set circle to one side. Roll out 4 more dough balls to about the same diameter and stack them on the first one, dusting each layer with more of the cornstarch mixture to keep them from sticking together.
• When you have 5 circles, roll out the stack to a larger circle about double in size, turning as you go to maintain a round shape. Separate each layer and lay out the circles. Re-apply more cornstarch mixture where needed and restack them. Roll again until the 5-layer stack is paper thin, about 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Place on a sheet of parchment paper; top with another piece of parchment. Gently roll up the dough; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate.
• Repeat with the remaining 15 balls of dough in batches of 5.