

Instead of steak, I used lean ground beef and bubbled up an easy beef broth-based sauce. So! I’ve found an easy alternative that also leaves you with heaps of leftovers. This seems to be one of those cravings that just hasn’t gone away, though. A lot of sandwich + a lot of baby = waddling preggo hilariousness. And also that I was maybe crowding her up in there with all that sandwich. Comforting and hearty, there was nothing that warmed me and my perpetually chilly bones better than a cheesesteak. Baby’s kicks seemed to indicate she agreed. Especially on chilly winter weekends spent playing house (a.k.a., stressing about nursery furniture/house readiness/general baby maintenance), it totally hit the spot. When I was pregnant and couldn’t indulge in deli meat (but still occasionally did), my go-to from our local sub shop was a Philly cheesesteak. The sauce is so paramount you can buy it in jars in mild or hot versions.Try this fun twist on Philly cheesesteaks with bell peppers and a homemade provolone cheese sauce! These sandwiches make a super simple, finger-lickin’ good weeknight meal! Another mainstay, Joe's Steaks, which is across the river in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, has been rocking cheesesteaks with a ketchup-based sauce since 1938. Both Matey's outposts integrate the sauce throughout the sandwich, but drape cheese across the top-mozzarella, provolone, and a third, undisclosed cheese-and pop them in the oven for a toasty-melty-gooey situation. And we have a secret ingredient, and it's something so off-the-wall, you'd never guess," he says. "It's thinner than ketchup, but it's more of a jus, just a little thicker. Mike acknowledges that he's still using the same recipe the original location was using 30 years ago: a ketchup base that's been tweaked over the years. His brother, Ron, and nephew Mike have been operating a separate location in nearby Fountain Hill since 1989. Some offerings are sweeter, such as Matey's, which began turning out steak sandwiches in Hellertown in 1953 and is run by Ray Matey. It's requisitely tangy (must be some vinegar in there), not as thick as an A-1, and served hot on the side. At the Brass Rail, it's a cooked-down, tomato-based affair made from puree, paste, and crushed tomatoes, says Sorrentino, with neither herbs nor Worcestershire.
