Ingredients

• 1 lb. sirloin steak
• 3 T fresh ground pepper
• 3 T olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced as thinly as possible
• 1/2 t sugar
• 2 c shitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
• 1 T butter
• 2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 3 oz. raw blue cheese (I used Point Reyes)

Method

For the Steak:

Place the ground pepper on a plate and lay each side of the steak in the pepper. The harder you press the steak into the pepper, the more pepper will stick; therefore, the spicier the steak. Grill or saute the steak to your likeness. Once the steak has rested for at LEAST 5 minutes, slice it thinly against the grain for maximum tenderness.

For the Onions & Mushrooms:

Place 3T oil in a saute pan and turn the heat on medium-low. The secret to caramelized onions is patience–which I have very little of. Once the oil is warm, throw in the onions and sugar and toss around to get everyone coated. You don’t need to constantly stir the onions, but keep an eye on them and toss them around the pan every once in a while. You will eventually see the color start to change from white to yellow to gold. If the onions start to brown, you either have too little oil in the pan or the heat is too high–fix accordingly. The total process will take about 20 minutes. Be patient; or don’t be, and take the onions off the heat early–the result will still be sweet & tasty.

Once the onions are out, melt 2T butter in the pan and crank the heat to medium high. Toss in the mushrooms and let them saute for about 10 minutes. Make sure to scrape up all the onion bits that were left on the bottom of the pan.

Assembling the Salad:

While the onions are sauteing, chop, wash and dry the romaine lettuce. Place in a bowl, along with the green onions and some blue cheese crumbles, if you’re using it. Add the onions and mushrooms and top with the sliced steak.

For the Dressing:

• 2 T whole grain dijon mustard
• 4 T  red wine vinegar
• 6 T olive oil
• S & P

Place all the ingredients in a container with a screw top lid or into a bowl and shake/whisk the heck out of it until it comes together. Pour on top of the salad.

Don’t pour the dressing directly into the serving bowl. If you end up having leftovers, the dressing will make the salad  disappointingly soggy and slimy.