Cheesy Steak Sandwiches with Butter and Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

I love Super Bowl Sunday because it gives me an excuse to make steak and potatoes, one of my favorite combinations. About a month ago my family and I saw Rachel Ray make a steak sandwich and potatoes on her 30 Minute Meal show that looked amazing. As soon as we saw the finished result  we all agreed we had to try the recipe. I tinkered with the recipe a bit (as I always seem to) to suit my families taste. I hope you will do the same if you try the following:

Cheesy Steak Sandwiches with the Works

Cheesy Steak Sandwich

4 flat iron steaks, 6 - 8 ounces each
Extra virgin olive oil
Steak seasoning (we had a bottle of Canadian steak seasoning in our pantry, whatever you have on hand should work fine)
2 green bell peppers, cut into thin slices
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups low fat milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Ground nutmeg
1 cup grated provolone cheese
1 cup marinated mozzarella cheese
2 loaves asiago cheese bread, about 12 inches long

Put the steaks on the counter to warm up a bit while your grill heats to medium-high. Coat each steak with around 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with steak seasoning.

Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the bell peppers, and onions and cook until very tender 12 to 15 minutes, add the garlic during the last few minutes of cooking. When the vegetables are golden brown and tender remove from the heat. Heat the oven to 250 degrees.

While the peppers cook, put the steaks on the hot grill and cook 6 minutes on each side for medium rare steaks.

Meanwhile place a sauce pan over medium heat and melt the butter in it. After the butter has melted, whisk in the flour and stir constantly for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remember you will be adding salty cheese so don't go overboard on the spices. Thicken the sauce for a few minutes, then reduce the heat to low.

After the steaks are cooked, put them on a cutting board and let them rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the steaks on an angle against the grain of the meat. While the steak rests, warm the bread in the oven. Stir the cheese into the sauce.

To serve cut the bread lengthwise and place the steak slices evenly across the bottoms of the bread. Top the steak with the sauce, peppers and onions. Cover with the bread tops and cut the sandwiches into four portions.

Serves 6

Steaks oiled, seasoned and ready to grill.

Frying the onion and bell pepper.

Finished cheese sauce.

We enjoyed these sandwiches but I felt pretty guilty about how unhealthy they were. I felt like we would have been just as happy to have the steaks topped with just bell pepper and onions, leaving out the bread and cheese sauce. This recipe also kept me pretty busy and I didn't feel as relaxed in the kitchen as I normally do. 

Because of these reasons I probably wouldn't make them for just us again. I might pull them out in a pinch if we decide to host a Super Bowl party, but I would enlist plenty of help in the kitchen.

We had Butter and Parmesan Mashed Potatoes as our side dish tonight and I would make these again in a heartbeat. They are easy to make and tasted divine.

Butter and Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Yukon gold potatoes cooking away.

2 pounds baby Yukon gold potatoes
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Freshly grated black pepper, salt to taste
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Place the potatoes in a medium pot in a single layer (If you have a pot that is big enough. Mine was just a pinch too small). Pour in enough broth to come 1/4 inch up the sides of the potatoes (be careful pouring the broth it is easy to add too much). Add the olive oil.

Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and let the potatoes cook for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, raise the heat and reduce the broth.

When the broth evaporates, mash potatoes to flatten them a bit using a potato masher. Crisp the potatoes a few minutes on each side (stir frequently, they brown quickly), then season with salt and pepper. Stir in the butter and cheese.

Serves 4-6

This was an extremely filling meal but I keep telling myself Super Bowl Sunday only comes once a year.

Till tomorrow...