It’s dip season, my favorite time of year! I know we’ve talked before about this, but dip season begins sometime in October and runs through Super Bowl Sunday (in my opinion). All the holidays and the celebrating seem to bring out the dip in all of us, which is totally fine with me.
Now, I have another foodie confession to make, I have never had an authentic Philadelphia Cheesesteak Sandwich from Philadelphia. I blame it on logistics since I’ve never been to Philadelphia or Pennsylvania for that matter. It’s another adventure on my foodie bucket list I would love to check off in the near future. However, I’ve seen about a billion of these sandwiches made on TV, does that count for anything? There seems to be a lot of variation and interpretation to this famed chopped steak sandwich; the types of cheese used, the rolls and all the additions. And at certain establishments you have to know how to order and what to ask for with what seems like secret code. I will have to study up before I make the trek to Philly.
However, I do hope the Philly cheesesteak sandwiches taste something like this dip because it is over-the-top fabulous and exactly how I imagine/want them to taste.
I used grilled ribeye steak, which is classic for cheesesteak sandwiches and is the favorite red meat around here. The ribeye is juicy, tender and flavorful, which is what you want for this dip. After grilling, just chop the steak into 1/2″ diced pieces, it’s that easy.
I read a lot about the cheese used on classic cheesesteak sandwiches. Provolone is big and cheeze wiz, as well as American cheese. I do love provolone, but cheese wiz and American are not necessarily my (favorite) thing. I wanted a little more flavor, complexity and melty-stringy cheese for this dip. And since this was my dip fantasy, I got to make it exactly how I wanted it.
My cheese needs were met perfectly with Sargento® Chef Blends™ Shredded 6 Cheese Italian (which includes provolone) and Sargento® Traditional Cut Shredded Mozzarella Cheese. I like the way these cheeses melt and taste, so I knew they would be perfect (and they were). Sargento has a Mozzarella and Provolone blend I think would also be stellar for this dip. If you try it, let me know how it was.
This is how your dip will look before it is destroyed by the masses. In fact, this is the kind of appetizer that makes people not pay attention to the game. It’s so good they just can’t stop eating it.
You know this is going to be amazing, I can see your mouth-watering from here.
Philly Cheesesteak Dip
Ingredients
- 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
- 3/4 cup diced green bell pepper
- 1/3 cup minced shallots
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup Sargento® Traditional Cut Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- 1 Tablespoon Montreal steak seasoning
- 8 oz grilled ribeye steak cut into 1/2" dice pieces
- 1/2 cup Sargento® Chef Blends™ Shredded 6 Cheese Italian
- minced chives for garnish
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a small nonstick skillet over medium heat add olive oil and saute green bell pepper until slightly softened, about three minutes. Add shallots and cook for two minutes more, stirring often. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add cream cheese, mayonnaise, Sargento® Traditional Cut Shredded Mozzarella Cheese and Montreal steak seasoning. With a hand mixer, blend until fully incorporated. Stir in steak and bell pepper-onion mixture. Spoon mixture into a 3-1/2 cup baking dish and top with Sargento® Chef Blends™ Shredded 6 Cheese Italian. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until mixture is bubbling and cheese is slightly golden on top. Sprinkle with chives for garnish. Serve with toasted bread pieces.
- Tips: Serve ribeye steak the night before for dinner. Hold back one 8 oz steak and chop it into pieces. Refrigerate over night and warm up slightly in the pan before sauteing bell pepper and onion. This will save you time on game day. Styling tip: Since we eat with our eyes first, if you want your dip to look like the one pictured here, hold back a few pieces of the steak and some green pepper from the mixture. Once you spoon the dip into the baking dish, press in the steak and bell pepper pieces on the top of the dip allowing them to peek through. When sprinkling the final cheese on top, sprinkle the cheese around the steak so it continues to show through.
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