3 Recipes To Help Your Family Survive Winter In Philadelphia

FiveStar_24.jpgWinter may bring frigid temperatures, shorter days and gloomier weather, but it’s also a good time to cook some great meals and eat some delicious food.
Winter in Philadelphia is an ideal time to cozy up next to a fire and enjoy a warm meal with your family. Here are three Philly-themed weeknight dinner recipes to help you and your family survive (and perhaps even enjoy) another winter.

Philly Cheesesteak Stew

Serves 4 / Source 

Ingredients:

  • 1½ pounds very thinly sliced beef sirloin or rib eye
  • Salt
  • Cracked black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon onion powder
  • 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided use
  • Olive oil
  • 2 onions, quartered and thinly sliced
  • 10 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
  • 4 cups beef stock, hot
  • 4 sourdough bread bowls, centers hollowed out and reserved for dipping
  • 4 slices provolone cheese

Preparation:

  1. Add the thinly sliced beef sirloin to a large bowl and season with onion powder and a couple of pinches of salt and cracked black pepper. Toss to coat. Sprinkle over 2 tablespoons of flour, and again, toss to coat.
  2. Place a non-stick pot over medium-high heat and drizzle in about 3-4 tablespoons of oil. Once hot, add half of the sirloin and allow it to sear for a minute or two. Toss or stir and allow the meat to sear and brown on the other side for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from pot and place on a plate to hold (the meat may still be a little pink inside). Repeat with the remaining half of the sirloin and set aside.
  3. Add a little more oil to the pot (if needed) and cook the sliced onions, adding a pinch of salt and cracked black pepper and allowing the onions to caramelize for roughly 6 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid burning the onions, and when onions are golden-brown and softened, add in mushrooms and continue sautéing with the onions for another 6 minutes or so, stirring frequently.
  4. Add in the dried thyme and the garlic, and stir to incorporate.
  5. Once the garlic becomes aromatic, sprinkle in the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour (the tablespoons can be a bit of a “heaping”) over the onions and mushrooms. Stir well to combine and blend. Slowly add in the hot beef stock, stirring all the while to avoid any little flour “lumps” from forming.
  6. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow the stew to simmer uncovered gently for roughly 10 minutes. This helps the stew to “tighten up” just a bit and allows the flavors to marry. After 10 minutes, turn off the heat and add the seared sirloin back in along with any accumulated juices, and stir to combine. Check to see if you need any additional salt/pepper.
  7. To serve, ladle some stew into your hollowed-out sourdough bowls, top with a slice of provolone, and place the bread bowls onto a foil-lined baking sheet and under the broiler for just a couple of moments to melt the cheese and make it gooey.
  8. Serve with some of the hollowed-out sourdough bread on the side for dipping.

 

Philadelphia-Style Roast Pork Sandwiches

Serves 4 / Total time: 2 hours, 15 minutes / Source 

Ingredients:

  • 1 (3-pound) pork shoulder roast
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ½ cup chicken stock
  • 12 ounces fresh spinach
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1 cup shredded Manchego cheese
  • 4 crusty rolls

Preparation:

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Remove the netting or strings on pork roast, keeping them intact to use again. Combine rosemary, 3 cloves of garlic, parsley, 3 teaspoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon kosher salt and 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper in a bowl. Slice open the pork roast and spread it with the oil and herb mixture. Roll up the pork and secure it with the netting or string. Rub outside of the roast with remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil along with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Place the pork, fat side up, in a roasting pan or baking dish and pour in water. Bake in the preheated oven, basting occasionally, for about 90 minutes to 2 hours; add more water if necessary. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the meat should read at least 145 degrees F. Allow the roast to rest 10 to 15 minutes. Reserve the pan juices.
  4. While the pork is resting, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Stir in 2 cloves chopped garlic and red pepper flakes; cook and stir for about 3 minutes, or until garlic is fragrant but not brown. Pour in chicken stock and bring it to a boil. Add spinach, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper and lemon juice. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally.
  5. Cut the string on the roast and cut the pork into thin slices. Return the sliced pork to the reserved pan juices.
  6. Slice the sandwich rolls and sprinkle each roll with shredded Manchego cheese. Add pork slices to each sandwich, top with spinach and serve.

 

Italian Sausage, Peppers And Onions

Makes 6 servings / Total time: 40 minutes / Source 

Ingredients:

  • 6 (4-ounce) links sweet Italian sausage
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 yellow onion, sliced
  • ½ red onion, sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 large red bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 green bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • ¼ cup white wine

 

Preparation:

  1. Place the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat and brown on all sides. Remove from skillet and slice.
  2. Melt butter in the skillet and stir in yellow onion, red onion and garlic. Cook 2 to 3 minutes.
  3. Mix red and green bell peppers into skillet. Season with basil and oregano and stir in white wine. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until peppers and onions are tender.
  4. Return sausage slices to skillet with the vegetables. Reduce heat to low, and cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until sausage is heated through.

 

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