Steak Salad

When I got out to a nice restaurant, I often crave and order a steak (either a filet mignon or a ribeye). And when I don't order a steak, I usually order a steak salad. I really do love the deliciousness of a juicy, tender steak on top of a big bed of lettuce and veggies. Although, I only cook steak maybe 1 or 2 times (tops!) in a month...steak salads make an appearance pretty often.

This salad is pretty classic. You can certainly jazz it up by adding more veggies such as sliced mushrooms or peppers. The only extra I added was some crumbled blue cheese. Now, I know a lot of people are not blue cheese fans, so feel free to substitute it for feta cheese or skip it all together. One thing not to skip....this dressing! The addition of Worcestershire sauce brings out the natural yumminess of the steak and it's perfect for this salad.



Here are my 4 "must do" tips for grilling a great steak:

* Start with a great cut of meat. For this salad, I used a boneless ribeye.

* Remove your steaks from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before you plan to cook them - sometimes as long as 60 minutes (depending on size).

* Make sure your grill or grill pan in very hot before placing steaks on to cook. When it is very hot, it will sear the outside of the meat and lock in the juices.

* Once you are done cooking your steak, take it off the heat source and let it "rest" for at least five minutes. This will allow the juices to spread out.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Ribeye steaks
course salt
pepper
seasoning blend (such as Lowery's)

3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
8 cups romaine lettuce or mixed greens- rinsed, dried, and torn into bite-size pieces
2 tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup sliced red onion


Directions:

Preheat grill or grill pan for high heat and lightly oil grates or pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Mix in the cheese. Cover and place dressing in refrigerator.

Season the steak with salt, pepper and seasoning salt. Place steak on grill or grill pan and cook for 3 to 5 minutes per side or until desired doneness is reached. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the steak.

Onto chilled plates arrange the lettuce, tomato, and onion. Top with steak, drizzle with dressing and sprinkle blue cheese (if using). Serve with crusty grilled French bread. Enjoy!

Source: adapted from All Recipes