We are not really football fans. We watch some football and we root for our local hometown or family-liked teams. We watch play off games and championships, like the Super Bowl. In the past we had the girls home with us to watch the game before they went off to college. We would make it an event: the Super Bowl Junk Food Fest! Initially the junk food included the famous Velveeta Cheese dip. But this is much too hard on our aging stomachs now. We have had BBQ wings, Quesadillas,and Brownie Sundaes, not to mention guacamole and chips!

This year Hubby had the task of figuring out the menu. At first he was thinking to have ribs, wings, pizza, chips and cheese, and then narrowed his focus on a Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich on a baguette. He would make these his way.

We traipsed off to the Stew Leonard’s Grocery Store. This store is my downfall! I buy too much of everything especially cheese, olives, bakery goods. We only went there because we were in the area getting the oil changed on my car. What was I thinking? Our grocery list was less than a dozen items but we left the store spending enough to get a free ice cream or coffee. We had bananas foster flavored ice cream in a cup for our drive home!

Hubby thought the price of shaved steak was too much and he can just slice the meat himself. He selected a London Broil, no hormones, no antibiotics, and vegetarian fed. He begins by gathering his Mise en Place and preparing his pan.

• 1.5 pound London Broil, sliced thin; half of this was used, the rest frozen for later use
• American Cheese, 6 slices
• one large red pepper, he wanted green but the green ones were a $1 more per pound!, 1/2 of this pepper was used
• 8 ounce package of sliced mushrooms; we used about 4 ounces of these; these are portabella, just because; you can use regular white button mushrooms if desired
• 2 small onions, sliced
• olive oil and butter for pan
• Baguette

First he slices the vegetables. Look at how nicely he curls his fingers. I have not been able to master this technique and hold on to the veg at the same time!

These go in the pan on high heat. Hubby cooks most things on high heat. I tend to use medium flame. He also is able to flip the food in the pan a la Julia Child, or would Jacques Pepin be a better comparison? The onions and peppers are cooked for about 5 minutes and then the mushrooms are added for a few more minutes and then taken off the heat.

Now to “shave” the steak. He starts with my wonderful Cuisinart Chef’s Knife but is not happy with that. He gets out the “scary knife”! He tries to make thin slices but not being a deli slicing machine they are not as thin as could be. But they will be good enough.

The cast iron griddle is heated and greased with a little bit of fat from the steak. The slices of steak are put on in single layer and flipped when the blood is seen seeping out.

Then the veg is put on top and the heat turned off. Then add the cheese slices and give this a minute or so to begin melting.

Meanwhile prepare the baguette. Cut portions for sandwiches, slice open, and swipe with a bit of mayonnaise (if desired).

When ready to eat, place portions onto the baguette and put on plate. Serve with beer (Sam Adams Boston Lager for hubby) or wine (Bota Box Nighthawk Black for me).

We enjoyed our meal while watching the kick-off show and commenting on which of the MVPs we remembered. After all we are older than the Super Bowl, but not by much!!