Steak-Umm!

Perhaps you spent the long weekend grillin' and chillin'. Perhaps you cooked up a bunch of meat. Perhaps you have (had) some leftovers. Perhaps I had some leftover strip steak... What's a girl to do?

I think cold, leftover meat is gross, but reheating it tends to overcook it. I thought about cutting up my strip steak to put on (yet another) salad (lame!), or throwing it into a quesadilla (closer...) but then realized that a panino (panini) was the only way to go. Fortunately I spied a languishing onion and my brilliant plan was hatched. I would make a caramelized onion and steak panino!

Although a sandwich is always a super easy meal to prepare, I, of course, had to mess things up by caramelizing the onion. It's a really easy step, but it just takes an extra 45 minutes of waiting for your sandwich. So start making it before you're actually hungry! (Or just cook a couple of onions ahead of time.)

Caramelized Onion and Steak Panino

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

2 slices rustic bread

Dijon mustard

Blue cheese (semi-soft such as a Gorgonzola), at room temperature

Sliced steak

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is a deep golden color (see the photo below), about 45 minutes. Set aside.

2. Place the bread slices on a work surface and spread the mustard (to taste) completely over the bread slices. Follow by topping with the blue cheese (to taste). Finish by layering the onions and the sliced steak on one slice of the bread. Top with the remaining slice of prepared bread.

3. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining oil and allow it to coat the skillet. Add the sandwich and then top with a heavy pot to weight it down. Cook for 5 minutes and then, using a spatula, carefully flip the sandwich over. Again top with the heavy pot and press down (to compress the ingredients). Cook for 5 minutes more.

4. Remove the sandwich to a cutting board and slice in half. Serve immediately. Makes one sandwich.