steak sandwiches

Sometimes I surprise myself. Like really, really surprise myself — which I must say is pretty impressive because, like, how can you not know what is going on? Can your mind really pull the wool over your eyes? Don’t you secretly know what is about to happen, yet you pretend to turn a blind eye and then put a surprised expression on your face and say, whoa, I just surprised myself. So I guess, in that sense, I didn’t fully unknowingly surprise myself, but my final decision, as the debate was, well, being debated within this mind of mine, did shockingly didn’t-know-I-was-going-to-actually-choose-that surprise me as I decided to live on the wild side instead of the safe, grass is greener, everything will work out and be perfect side.

Yeah, so the surprise was these sandwiches. Well, not the sandwiches, but the fact that I had to use a recipe. You see, I am under the impression that if you really need a recipe to make a sandwich — which is what? Bread, meat, cheese, a few condiments and knife to cut in half — that, well, you might be fooling yourself in thinking you deserve to be the next Top Model of the food industry rather than just your plain old Subway sandwich artist — yes, that is the actual position title…don’t ask me how I know that. I don’t want to admit to any kind of college job applications…err about my…husband…maybe, well, never mind.

But in this case, with this particular sandwich, I feel like it was necessary. This is not your ordinary deli sandwich, this is steak people. A perfect, delicate medium rare steak sliced thinly with slivers of onion that have been caramelized in the leftover beefy meat drippings all slid in between a soft bakery roll with just a bit of peppery arugula crunch. Seriously, that screams of a sandwich artist master — which can be you, if you make this.

One Year Ago: Strawberry and Lemon Cream Trifle

Steak Sandwiches
Adapted from Ina Garten

Serves 2

1 12-ounce 1-inch thick New York strip boneless steak
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
2 ciabatta rolls
1/4 cup baby arugula

Mustard Mayo:
1 tablespoon good mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
1 tablespoon sour cream
1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt

Season the steak liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat until it’s almost smoking, then sear the steak on each side until a dark brown crust forms, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and cook the steak for about 10 minutes, turning once, until medium-rare in the middle. Remove to a plate, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Slice the steak into thin strips.

Using the same saute pan, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, thyme and 1 teaspoon kosher salt and saute for 10 minutes, until the onions are brown and caramelized, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl whisk together ingredients for the mustard mayo. Set aside.

To assemble the sandwiches, spread a tablespoon of the mustard mixture on the bottom half of each bun. Place and layer the steak strips on top of the mayo, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and top generously with the caramelized onions. Place the baby arugula on top of the onion rings, and cover the sandwiches with the top half of the buns.