Barefoot Contessa's Steak Sandwich

All morning I delayed going to the grocery store because I didn't feel inspired to make our weekly menu. I think I spent so much time planning our Christmas menu that I hadn't given any thought to what we'd eat the rest of the week. I knew I had to go to the grocery store today (we were down to only 4 diapers!), so I turned on Food Network so see if anything sounded good. And oh boy, did it ever!

Barefoot Contessa made a steak sandwich that looked divine and I jotted down the ingredients I lacked. Because it can be thrown together pretty quickly, and because I couldn't get my mind off of it, I made it for dinner tonight. This sandwich was restaurant quality, in my opinion. Good, crusty bread married with tender steak, caramelized onions, peppery arugula and this wonderful mustard-mayo sauce. Delicious! The mustard-mayo sauce is really simple to make but it adds just the right creamy tang to the sandwich - so don't think of skipping it! Andrew gave it two thumbs up and asked for it to be added into the regular dinner rotation.

As with any steak recipe, you can cook your steak to your desired doneness. While Andrew is a fan of rare steak, I tend to like mine on the more well-done side, so I cooked it ours a happy medium (pun intended).

Barefoot Contessa's Steak Sandwich

recipe via Food Network

1 (12-oz) 1-inch think NY strip steak

kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper

olive oil

1-2 onions, sliced into rings

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

2 mini ciabatta rolls, sliced in half

1/2 cup arugula leaves

Mustard-Mayo Sauce

1/4 cup good quality mayonnaise

1 1/2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon sour cream

pinch of kosher salt

Season the steak liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until it's almost smoking, then sear the steak on each side for about 1-2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook steak for about 7-14 minutes, turning once, until steak is cooked to desired doneness. Remove to a plate, cover with foil and set aside.

In the same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and thyme and saute for 10-15 minutes, until onions are browned and caramelized, stirring frequently. (I got distracted at this point so my onions were a little too brown. Oops!) After the onions are finished cooking, thinly slice steak into strips.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, the two mustards, sour cream and salt.

To assemble the sandwiches, liberally spread some of the Mustard-Mayo Sauce on the top half of each roll. Place a generous layer of the steak strips on the bottom half of the roll. Top steak with onions and arugula. Cover the sandwiches with the top half of the bun.