October 2010

I worked from home today.  So my day went something like this:

Wake up. Make coffee.  Make breakfast for Jeromy.  Work.  Watch Jeromy eat breakfast.  Work.  Decide that I’m hungry.  Eat breakfast.  Work.  Make chai tea.  Work.  Eat leftovers for lunch.  Think about dinner.  Work.  Hear Rachael Ray {ick} on television talking about steak sandwiches.  Daydream about steak sandwiches ALL AFTERNOON while working.  Text Jeromy and ask him to bring home a good loaf of bread for steak sandwiches.  Work.

Then the clock hit 5:30.  And with a little hallelujah, I walked the few steps from my work spot into the kitchen and put some onions in a pan to caramelize:

Resulting in this:

Next up: steak.  A couple of months ago Jeromy and I went in on a share of a cow and a pig from Polyface Farms with 4 other friends.  After reading The Ominvore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan and numerous other articles about the meat production in this country, I didn’t want to eat any more meat.  But the problem is, I enjoy meat.  And so does my fiance.  The only way I can reconcile these two things is to buy meat from the most humane and ecologically sound sources possible.  Polyface Farms fit the bill–they produce organic, pasture-fed meat on a small-scale.  We buy happy meat as much as we can, but we’re not always perfect.  Back to the recipe….

I brought two New York Strip steaks to room temperature while heating up a cast iron skillet.  Once it was hot, I melted 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan, seasoned the meat with salt and pepper and tossed it in the skillet.

In order to get a good sear on the meat and a nice brown crust, DO NOT MOVE the meat!  Flip it after 4-5 minutes and then leave it alone, until it’s cooked through to your liking.  We like our meat medium rare, so I cooked this rare since it would spend some more time being cooked on the George Foreman grill.

Once you steak is done, remove it from the skillet and let it rest on a cutting board. 

After 5-7 minutes, slice the meat very thin.  Preheat your George Foreman (this can also be made with a grill pan and press), then, assemble your sandwich:

• Brush the outside of the bread lightly with olive oil
• On the inside of one piece, place a layer of onions
• Top with your choice of cheese (Manchego for Jeromy, Bleu for me)
• Add a layer of thinly sliced steak (we only used meat from one steak so have the other for meals over the weekend)

And serve:

Next time, I will slice the meat a bit thinner, it was kind of hard to eat.  But even so, it was still a good meal for unwinding at the end of the week.  With a glass of wine.  And only 7 days until our wedding

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