Warning - Reading This Post May Raise Your Cholesterol

Most of the time, what we cook is pretty much healthy and nutritious, light on the bad stuff and loaded with lashings of veges and other goodness. Sometimes we praise the vices of naughty things like pork crackling.

But ever so occasionally we cook a dinner so bad that we have to duck the Health Department choppers that can detect the sudden surge in the levels of saturated fat in the area by satellite. This is one of those nights.

I blame America.

Last year we had a three day stopover in San Francisco, where we tried our first Philadelphia CheeseSteaks. It was a Californian takeout serving a Pennsylvania specialty in a New York style, but IT WAS GOOD.

When we got back, we made several attempts at replicating this delicious and decadent delicacy, and while they may lack that "our-special-flavour-comes-from-not-scraping-down-the-grill-between-orders" aura, they're still pretty darn good.
Start by thinly slicing 600g of frying steak (stir-fry beef is ideal), and mix up in a bowl with olive oil, freshly ground salt and pepper and 2T of worcester sauce. For the rolls, home-made sourdough would be most authentic, but we tend to go with ones from the shop which do just fine.

Finely chop an onion and 4 garlic cloves. Heat some oil in a pan and fry the garlic until just browning.
Add the meat and mix up with the garlic. Keep cooking on a high heat until the meat is browned.
Add the onions and mix through the meat and garlic. Keep on a high heat so that the meat doesn't simmer, or it will go tough.
As the onion cooks, grate up a cup of cheese. We use Edam and a bit of extra Parmesan. Slice the rolls down the middle and butter.
When the onion is soft, add the cheese to the pan, turn the heat right down and keep stirring to melt it into the meat and onion. As soon as the cheese is melted, and you have a gooey meaty pan full of CheeseSteak, scoop it out and insert into the rolls. Serve immediately. If you have the foresight, you can do a little salad on the side to allay some of the awful bad fat you're about to consume.
Enjoy, and try not to feel too guilty. When it comes to winter comfort food, the Philly CheeseSteak A-la Dan is just what you need. Tomorrow, go for a run.

Or three.