One Sandwich, Two Ways

To go along with my cool tropical breeze kinda drink, I wanted to make something quick, meaty and low maintenance (one pan). And as you can see by my choice of dinnerware here, I go all out when it comes to pampering myself.

And sparing myself dishwashing.

I have two ceramic coated cast iron cooking pans. I absolutely love both of them. For this I used the grill pan, which I’m finding is fantastic for cooking burgers and steaks (as well as flatbread). It even comes with a handy panini press.

Anyway… I whipped these up on Friday night and since there were leftovers, I reinvented them for lunch the next day (because I have a notoriously short attention span and well, wouldn’t have wanted a repeat).

These would be tasty using a variety of cuts of beef. My current ‘go to’ cut is a tri-tip. But flank or skirt would also work fabulously.

Pan-fried steak sliders with grilled peppers

½ lb. tri-tip steak
1 tsp salt (I used a course ground kosher)
1 tsp pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp ancho chili powder
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp brown sugar

Olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp horseradish sauce
¼ cup light sour cream or mayo
Pepper

Slider buns or potato rolls

In a flat-bottomed dish, add all of the seasonings. Mix well. Coat steaks with mixture, turning several times and gently pushing the seasoning into the steaks. Allow to sit.

Place pan over medium-high heat and allow to become hot. Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of olive oil onto it and then add onions and peppers. Sauté until vegetables begin to soften and then add garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook until onions and peppers are slightly charred. Remove to a plate and add steaks. Cook about 4 minutes per side (adjust depending on how well you want your steak cooked). Remove steaks to a cutting board and allow to rest.

Meanwhile, combine sour cream and horseradish sauce. Season with pepper. Spread on rolls and add onion/pepper mixture (I also used a smoked gouda).

Cut steak into strips going against the grain. Pile onto sandwich.

**Variation:  For my sandwich the next day, I used an Asiago French bread, added a little steak sauce, piled on the leftover steak and veggies, and topped with some Fontina cheese.  Placed under the broiler until the cheese was melted and just turning golden.