Steak Sandwich Lament

Loaded steak sandwich

Sandwiches may be my real passion. An artful stack of textures and flavors in a portable package. Filling and satisfying bites of everything you're craving all at once. Plus they are terrific for sharing. Do I need to sell you on the form and function of a sandwich? Nope, but it's always nice to dream about the perfect sandwich. Choosing high quality ingredients, and dressing them up a bit make for a superior experience. Also taking some time to consider how to cut and layer your sandwich will allow everyone to take a big bite without the sammy guts dropping out.

Blue Cheese and Steak Sandwich

1/2 lb skirt or hanger steak (the fresher the better)
1 tblsp molasses
1 tblsp soy sauce
1 splash hot sauce
1 tblsp oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tblsp crumbled blue cheese
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
1 12-14 inch ciabatta loaf, split
6 oz roasted red peppers, sliced into strips
fennel fronds, optional
olive oil

Marinate the steak for 1-4 hours in molasses, soy sauce, pepper, hot sauce, and oil. Meanwhile mix blue cheese and buttermilk together to make the dressing. Remove the steak from the marinaded. Squeeze off excess marinade, and pat with paper towels. Turn the heat up to high/medium-high under a hot grill pan until it begins to smoke. Add steak and cook for 2-3 minutes per side until medium rare. Remove and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice the steak in thin layers.

Roasted red peppers, buttermilk blue cheese dressing and steak, slap it on some bread

When it's almost sandwich time slice your ciabatta bread in half length wise. Drizzle a little olive on in each side, and rub to spread evenly. Next spoon some of the blue cheese dressing on the bottom half. Place the sliced roasted red peppers in a row over the bottom. It's nice to layer the slices parallel to the length of the bread. When you cut, and later bite into it the skinny slices are less likely to fall out. Next layer the steak slices, also parallel to the length of the bread. Sprinkle with fennel fronds, or whatever green you have laying around like lettuce, basil, arugula etc. Adding something green shows that you are trying to be healthy, and adds a nice contrast to the other ingredients. Drizzle remaining dressing on top of the sandwich pile and cover it up with the top half of bread.

I wrapped mine in wax paper and chilled it for a half an hour so the flavors could get to know each other. Cut into 2-inch slices, serves 6.