Betty Fussell and the White Dog Cafe's Philly Cheese Steak

White Dog Cafe's Philly Cheese Steak

Born in 1927 in California, Betty Fussell has made her home in New York's Greenwich Village for decades. She lectures at museums, universities, state fairs, corn festivals, historical societies and culinary groups. In 1999, her food memoir, My Kitchen Wars, traced her life from her childhood, through her marriage to her college sweetheart, her trials as an academic wife, her own academic career and the women's movement. She gained wider success when she found her essential subject...food. I for one am glad she did as she explores the culture of America.

Like many other hard-core foodies, Betty Fussell came to the food world by the back door. With a PhD in English Literature teaching Shakespeare and assorted classics,  decades of travel through foreign countries, raising two children, hundreds of cats, and an ex-husband are all a springboard for writing about food. Her life found a focus when she combined her typewriter with her kitchen.

Betty Fussell

Betty Fussell is a writer who is also a home cook, one who loves the sensuousness of words as much as the sensuality of food. As a writer, she sees food as a window into the culture of America. As a cook, she likes recipes that are simple, improvisatory, fresh, and tasty, something anyone could do with no more than a sharp knife, a skillet and a few good fresh ingredients. Betty is a passionate author who has written numerous articles and 11 books. She is best known for I Hear America Cooking and the epic The Story of Corn.

The recipe below is featured in Raising Steaks which she describes as "a spirited ride across America on the rail of our most iconic food. She says,

 "When we bite into a steak's charred crust and tender pink interior, we bite into contradictions that have branded our national identity from the start. We taste the colliding fantasies of British pastoralists in land wars between a wet weather East and desert West. We savour the ideas of wilderness and progress that clashed when we replaced buffalo and cattle, and then cowboys with industrial machines. We take in the contradictions of rugged individualism nd the corporate technology that we use to breed, feed, slaughter, package, and distribute the animals we turn into meat. And we participate - as do the ranchers and chefs, feedlot operators and rodeo stars, boot makers and scientists."

One of our simple pleasures in life is navigating the blogging community and participating where we can. Our group has now passed the halfway point on the list of Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers. The past six months have flown by as we experiment with dishes from each of the 50 influential women on "the list." Whether you agree or disagree with the authors chosen fifty and their order it has been an enjoyable and creative outlet to cook from the masters and those we admire. There have even a few bloggers on the list. We have checked out books from the library, borrowed cookbooks from friends, surfed the Internet and browsed our own cookbook collections seeking that one recipe that will highlight that weeks outstanding woman. This group is spearheaded by my favourite well-travelled blogger Mary of One Perfect Bite who back in June invited bloggers to travel along on a culinary journey throughout the year. It is still not too late to join in in 2012, so if you would like to learn new techniques and be creative in the kitchen please contact Mary.


What have we been up to with this weeks Game Changer...

Mary of One Perfect Bite - Yam Yeast Bread
Val of More Than Burnt Toast - White Dog Cafe's Philly Cheese Steak
Susan of The Spice Garden - Risi e Bisi
Taryn of Have Kitchen, Will Feed - Mexican Posole
Heather of Girlichef - Navajo Fry Bread with Honey Butter
Miranda of Mangoes and Chutney - Fritos Corn Chips
Jeanette at Jeanette's Healthy Living - Beet and Red Grapefruit Salad
Kathleen Van Bruinisse at Bake Away with Me - California Ambrosia
Sue of View from The Great Island - Green Bean Salad with Walnuts
Barbara of Moveable Feasts - Popcorn Stuffing
Nancy of Picadillo - Sam's Chili
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits - Mexican Chocolate Chili Cups
Veronica of My Catholic Kitchen - Grilled Corn
Annie  at Most Lovely Things - French Beans the French Way
Claudia of Journey of an Italian Cook - Italian String Bean Salad


 "A creamy gravy enriched with cheese give us Philadelphia's famed cheese steak, which has managed to retain its historic authenticity in places like Judy Wick's White Dog Café, using citified baguettes or hoagie rolls rather than country biscuits."


**White Dog Café's Philly Cheese Steak**
from Raising Steaks: The Life and Times of American Beef (2008)


2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
2 large Portobello mushroom caps, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 pound trimmed flank steak, sliced as thinly as possible (preferably on a slicer)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups grated pepper-Jack cheese
2 soft-crusted long baguettes, or 4 Italian-style hoagie rolls


Preheat the oven to 400F.


Heat the oil in a large non-reactive sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and 1 teaspoon of the salt and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the flank steak and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the pepper and sauté until the meat is cooked through, about 5 minutes more.


Remove the pan from the heat. Sprinkle the cheese over top, cover the pan and set aside until the cheese melts, around 5 minutes.


Meanwhile, slice the baguettes lengthwise. Place, cut side down on a baking sheet, and toast until crisp, 4 to 5 minutes.


Fill the baguettes with the meat and cheese. Cut each into two portions. Serve immediately—with or without ketchup.


Serves 4

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