Grilled Philly Cheesesteak Pizza
This Philly Cheesesteak Pizza, cooked on the grill with fresh herbs, an insanely good Dijon-garlic-horseradish cream sauce, and, of course, steak, is summer perfect
This should actually be called “Totally Poshed Up Grilled Philly Cheesesteak Pizza”. For complete-ness. I think I might have hit a homer with this one folks. BTW, I ate this 2 days ago for breakfast. Because the natural lighting for photos was just right. (thank you Mr. Sun!) ..and with a glass of wine. There’s no shame. Cuz I’m in my 40s and old enough not to give a crap.
So summmmmerrrrrr!!! So awesomemmme! Enjoying it? Yes? No? I sure am. My next Half Ironman triathlon is 10 weeks from yesterday. And I have been just OK training ….but not ballz to the wall training, which was my goal originally.
But you know what? That. Is. OK.
I am living in a new reality. I have created this new reality out of necessity because I was too stressed and driving myself and my family crazy. I am now officially chilllll.
And how exactly did I achieve such a miracle? I mean, ME? OCD, constant complainer, stress bucket? {smile} Well, I made a couple changes. One was to find a new hobby, one that serves a purpose – turtles. Yes, turtles.
The Florida coast is nesting ground for threatened and endangered sea turtles, and where I live has particularly important beaches for loggerhead and green turtles. We have a fantastic organization, the Sea Turtle Preservation Society, that has various programs to help them. So I joined and that is my new thing. It gives me a positive way to channel my obsessive nature.
The other thing I did was I instituted walking on the beach – to chill – as part of my regular workout routine. Because fitness is not just swim-bike-run. It is phenomenal the effect this has on me. Ocean air. Sand. Wildlife. This is literally saving me from myself.
And I have stayed good on my promise to myself to cut back on blogging. That right there has been the biggest thing that has helped. And other assorted good things like getting in the pool more with my kids. Cooking less (not every night needs to be gourmet extraordinaire right?). And it’s all good.
And when I do cook, my joy is back. Like this pizza.
So, I have been mulling around the idea of a steak and cheese-inspired pizzahhh for quite a while now. But I didn’t want it to be token …beef, peppers, mushrooms, cheese. Got it. It has been done. So done.
No, what I wanted was an elevated, kinda posh-up, snootier cheesesteak pizza. Something I would proudly serve if entertaining. So, what to do, what to do. …Not roast beef, cuz I have seen that in a thousand recipes already. Steak? Prosciutto? There was my dilemma and boy did I stew over this. I could not decide. Prosciutto screams “gourmet”, but steak is so like “hell yeah”. So back and forth, back and forth I went. Finally, I just said screw it. Do steak. Clearly.
But don’t over do it, because you do not want tough steak.
So, the crux of this pizza is the steak, cooked RARE – I mean, still mooing – so that once on the pizza, it doesn’t get over done. If you Google “steak pizza” and look at images, you will see a bunch of pizzas with turds on them. Overcooked steak is not yummy. Or even appetizing. So, R.A.R.E. And then cut T.H.I.N.
Then the other lovelies to make this pizza extra special is that it is grilled (bam! awesome). I also added a bunch of fresh herbs and some tomato to summer-ize it too. Deeeelish. My husband and I ate this out by the pool with our Black Box Pino Grigio – I’m seriously in love with this wine folks. Because A) it is good – surprisingly good actually – B) it is afforable and C) we don’t allow glass in our back area around the pool. In a box, this wine is perfect-O for summer at my house. {**happiness**}
Here’s what I learned about it, and I quote “Black Box has won over 50 Gold Medals for its quality, it’s available for 40% less than comparable bottled wines, and it stays fresh for up to 6 weeks” …not that wine ever lasts that long in my house, but good to know. All I know is that it totally works for us – summer, pool, beach, booze.
So here’s to summer and the zen that has come with it. …Embrace life. Enjoy every breath. And eat a Philly Cheesesteak Pizza.
This recipe uses my Sam Adams Pizza Dough made with beer. Also check out my Homemade Pizza Sauce with wine and garlic.
Grilled Philly Cheesesteak Pizza
Ingredients
For the Dijon-Garlic Pizza Sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp whole grain mustard
- ½ tsp prepared horseradish
- 2 cloves garlic minced
For the Pizza
- 1 prepared pizza dough see Notes
- ½ lb mock tenderloin steaks see Notes
- kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
- ½ yellow bell pepper seeded and sliced into thin strips
- ½ green bell pepper seeded and sliced into thin strips
- 1 tomato seeded and diced
- 1 cup mushrooms sliced
- ½ Vidalia onion thinly sliced
- 2 Tbs heaping fresh oregano, chopped
- 2 Tbs heaping Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 2 cups Italian blend shredded cheese
- 1 cup whole milk mozzarella cheese thick shred
Instructions
Grill the steaks
- Heat grill to high heat.
- Let the steaks come to room temperature. Season generously with salt and pepper. Grill to RARE, ~60-90 seconds per side. (see Notes)
- Set the steaks aside to rest at least 5 minutes.
Make the Dijon-Garlic Pizza Sauce
- Heat a nonstick pan on medium-high heat. Add the cream, Dijon, whole grain mustard, garlic, and horseradish. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Using a rubber spatula to stir often, cook until the cream is reduced by half. Set aside.
Make the pizza
- Slice the rested steaks into very thin strips. Using a sharp, straight-edge knife works best, rather than a serrated knife.
- Assemble all the ingredients in little bowls to take out to the grill: sauce, peppers, tomato, mushrooms, steak, cheese, herbs.
- Roll out the pizza dough. Put on the grill (using a rolling pin helps for transport of the dough to the grill) and cook a minute or so until lightly browned on the under side.
- Flip the dough, and, working quickly, add the toppings in the following order: sauce, peppers, tomato, mushrooms, steak, cheese, herbs.
- Close grill and cook 2-4 minutes until crust is crisp, cheese is melted, and toppings are heated through. Serve.
