Steakhouse Sandwich with Blue Cheese Sauce

As an ardent lover of all things Philadelphia, I couldn’t bring myself to call this a cheesesteak sandwich as it bears almost no resemblance to its distant cousin from South Philly. Perfect as a Philly steak is, this sandwich is all together different and satisfies my steakhouse cravings without the need to leave my house or fire up the grill. Think juicy slices of seared ribeye with sweet caramelized onions and a tangy blue cheese sauce. Mark even lets me watch gLee without complaining (too much) when I make him this dinner. Just think of all the wonderful things you will get from your friends when you make it for them…
Steakhouse Sandwich with Blue Cheese Sauce
Ingredients:
1 inch thick Ribeye steak (it was on sale this week, but other steaks would work)
1 small red onion
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup blue cheese
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 Tablespoon chives
1/2 cup arugula or bitter lettuce mix
2 long rolls or 1 bagette cut in half
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and take your steak out of the fridge to take the chill off while you get the caramelized onions started.
2. Chop onion in thin slices and sauté on medium heat with about 2 tsp. olive oil (don’t add salt yet).
3. After about 5 minutes in the oil, turn down the heat to low and add 1Tbs. balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper. Let this simmer while you make the steak.
4. Heat a 2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil on very high heat in an oven-ready skillet (cast iron or stainless work great).
5. Rub both sides of the steak generously with salt and pepper.
6. When the oil is very hot, place the steak in the pan and do not move it for 2 minutes.
7. Flip your steak and resist the urge to move it again for another 2 minutes. This forms a beautiful crust on your meat.
8. Turn off the heat and put the whole pan in the hot oven for 8 minutes. This will cook the steak to medium rare. The shorter/longer you leave it in the oven, the less/more “done” it will be.
9. Remove the steak from the pan and set it on a cutting board. Cover with foil to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
10. Make the blue cheese sauce by combining blue cheese and yogurt with chopped chives and a pinch of salt and pepper.
11. Slice the steak into thin strips.
12. Assemble your sandwiches on the rolls (Mark toasted his, but I didn’t) by laying some steak down, dolloping with blue cheese sauce, and sprinkling with caramelized onions and arugula.
13. Devour!