Steak & Onion Sandwiches

I've only had one Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich in my entire life.  In Philly.  After an Army-Navy game I attended with my family.  Although the sandwich was great, it wasn't something I ever really thought about making on my own.  Until a few months ago when I was flipping through an old cookbook and came across this recipe.  I marked the page to remember for later.  And later came on a Wednesday evening after I'd been at the clinic and working on nursing school stuff all day long.  We'd been having what my husband calls "chick food" for the previous several days, so when he came home and told me he was ordering a pizza for dinner, I knew the time was right to whip up these sandwiches.  My husband's pretty glad I told him to forget about a pizza...and he mentioned at least three times that he'd like to have these again!!

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling

4 cloves garlic, 3 minced and 1 smashed

2 medium onions, halved and sliced into 1/4-inch half-moons

1/2 - 3/4 pound thin "sandwich steak" (also called minute steak)

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2-3 tablespoons blue cheese crumbles

2 demi baguettes, or other crusty bread

In a medium skillet (I used cast iron) over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil.  Add the minced garlic and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown.  Remove to a bowl.  Preheat a grill pan (again, I used cast iron) or the broiler to medium-high.

Season the steak with salt and pepper on both sides.  Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in the same skillet and cook steaks 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side, or until cooked as desired.

While the steaks are cooking, cut baguettes in half lengthwise, leaving one long edge connected.  Rub the inside of the bread with the smashed garlic clove, then drizzle with olive oil.  Toast the baguette until grill marks appear and bread is nice and crusty.  Remove warm bread from skillet and sprinkle blue cheese crumbles inside the warm bread.

When the steak is cooked, remove to a plate.  Drizzle Worcestershire sauce in skillet and scrape up any brown bits.  Return onions to pan (toss in that last clove of smashed garlic if you like) and warm through.

To build the sandwich, layer steak on top of the blue cheese crumbles, and then onions (along with some of the drippings) on top of the meat.

Serve hot.  These can also be wrapped in foil and kept in a warm oven until time to serve.  Perfect for game day, a busy mid-week meal, or backyard picnic!

Serves 2.