Fireworks Steakhouse Sandwich
My husband is the resident sandwich artist at our house. He gets super creative with using the most random things: leftovers from days past, spicy condiments, fresh herbs and even questionable stinky cheeses in the fridge are all fair game for him. And they really are amazingly delicious concoctions.
Another winner from Jamie Oliver's 5 Ingredients cookbook, this steak sandwich, is a great base for building a true work of art upon. Jamie's building a strong foundation with good bread, a healthy dose of steak and grilled onions. Where I found room for improvement (and of course this adds to a longer list of ingredients--not ideal for Jamie's book) were in the addition of spicy greens and my steakhouse butter. The steakhouse butter is brimming with dry mustard, which definitely adds a spicy kick. Mushrooms would be another great add on. I'm omitting the French's yellow mustard as the butter is much better. But really, I'd love to see what Ian would create with the 5 base ingredients here...
Ingredients (serves 2):
8 oz strip steak (about 3/4 inch thick)
1 large onion
1/2 Fireworks Steakhouse butter burst
4 slices good bread
1 3/4 oz fontina or provolone cheese
Preparation:
Trim the fat off the strip loin and finely slice it. Place it in a cold skillet. Turn heat to medium-high to render the fat as it heats up. Stir it around the pan to coat. Peel and slice the onion into 1/2 inch rings as the fat renders. Add them to the skillet and char for about 10 minutes turning halfway. While the onions are cooking, cut off the sinew from the steak, discard. Then place the steak between two pieces of parchment paper and pound with a meat tenderizer until just under 1/2 inch thick. Season with salt and pepper and cut the steak in half.
Jamie recommends throwing a splash of red wine vinegar in with the onions, toss for one minute over the heat. Then divide the onions between two slices of bread, leaving the pan on the heat. The pan should be smoking hot. Sear the steaks for just under a minute, 40 seconds or so on each side. Then pat some butter on each piece of meat. Wait for it to melt a little. Then lay the cheese over the top. Turn off heat and cover to let the cheese melt, another 40 seconds or so. Next, lay the steak on top of the onions. Spread the additional butter on the other slice of bread and pop it on top.