Steak Sandwiches with Carmelized Onions

Once again Rick and I find ourselves childless. Connor returned home after spending the month of July at camp and we have barely seen her since. It has been one sleepover after another and then off to a cottage this Thursday til Sunday then camping from Monday to Friday and then off to Grand Bend for 2 weeks. What a life!

Since it has only been Rick and myself I have not been terribly inspired to cook. I am still adjusting to cooking for two. I am actually looking forward to September when we are back on a normal schedule. So once again it was sandwiches for dinner.

Yesterday I went to one of my favourite grocery stores. It is the Thorncrest IGA at Islington & Rathburn. I like this store for a couple of reasons. One reason is that it is small. Only 5 aisles so you can get all your shopping done in a matter of 10 minutes. Reason two is that they always have a nice selection of meats. I was fortunate to find rib eye steak on special so I bought 2 of them to make these great steak sandwiches. One steak would have been enough but I never shy away from making extra so that leftovers can be had for lunch during the week. These sandwiches are quick to make and very tasty but I should warn you that there is a whole lotta butter in this recipe so if you are watching your waistline you may want to use this as your cheat night.

Thanks to Steve Rusynyk we also had a nice bottle of red wine to accompany our sandwiches. Steve is a friend of Ricks. They play touch football together and as a thank you for my sandwiches that I make them for their tournaments he gave me a lovely bottle of wine. It was a Cabernet Sauvignon and it was perfect with these steak sandwiches. So perfect we finished the whole bottle.

Ingredients:

2 steaks
steak spice ( Hy's is my choice but use any one you like)
1 large spanish onion sliced
2 T olive oil
5 T butter
dijon mustard
sliced bread or baguette

Onions:
Start by getting your onions caramelized as this can take a good 30 minutes. In a fry pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the onions and cook over low to medium heat for 30 minutes. Stir them every 5 minutes or so. You want to be careful not to overcook them. They should be golden and translucent in appearance.

Steaks:
Season the steaks with your choice of steak spice. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In an oven proof skillet on medium to high heat melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the steaks and cook for approx 3 minutes on one side. Flip the steaks and continue to cook for another 2 minutes and then place in the oven for approx 5 minutes depending on the thickness of your steak. You could also grill your steaks on the BBQ. Be sure to let the meat rest for 5 to 10 minutes before you slice it. This gives the juices a chance to redistribute leaving you with a nice juicy steak. Slice the steak thinly.

Bread:
You can use a baguette or in this case I used a sliced Italian loaf. I lightly toasted the bread and then buttered both pieces. Spread a generous layer of dijon mustard on one side and place the sliced steak on this slice. Top with onions and finish with the other piece of buttered bread.