Tuesday, May 20, 2008

The closest thing!

I LOVE the Flank Steak Salad at Diamondback Grill in Sonora, CA. I have a hard time ordering anything else there, it is just SO yummy. Every bite! It consists of a mixed lettuce salad with thinly sliced sweet onions and mushrooms sauteed in a balsamic(I'm assuming) reduction sauce next to it on the plate(In this case, my food can touch), perfectly thin sliced grilled flank steak, and topped with a blue cheese dressing. Here is my version of this salad using leftover bbq boneless beef ribs. Of course you could use any meat fresh of the grill, but this is where leftover steak that has intensified in flavor overnight from it's grilling the night before is great put to use.

Mushrooms & Onions (This is great on top of any grilled meats, not just this salad)
2 sweet maui onions cut in half and then sliced very thin.
2 lbs. sliced mushrooms
olive oil
1/8 cup sugar
sea salt
white pepper
balsamic vinegar

Bring a large sautee pan to high heat and pour in just enough olive oil to coat the pan. Spread onion slices in pan and stir occasionally. Just as the onions start to become translucent add mushrooms and drizzle approx. 1/4 cup-1/3 cup balsamic vinegar over the mixture, add dash of ground sea salt, sugar, sprinkle white pepper over, and toss to mix. Cook the mushrooms and onions, stirring/flipping occasionally until the mixture cooks down. Turn off heat.

Lay out lettuce on plate, top with sliced meat(warm), serve some mushrooms and onion on the side of the plate. Top with blue cheese dressing, or your favorite.

My favorite dressing now(thank you Shelby!) is a mixture of poppyseed and red wine vinaigrette. What turned me onto this is mixing equal parts Brianna's Rich Poppyseed (has a peach on the front label) and the Blush Wine Vinaigrette(has the strawberry on the label). But, in watching the waistline, I mix any lowfat poppyseed, my new favorite being Safeway's "Eating Right" Onion Poppyseed. Mix that with any fat free or lowfat red wine vinaigrette, and it's really close!

Diamondback Grill serves this salad up with some sliced garlic toasted ciabatta bread. I would have taken a picture, but I was too busy pigging out. Oh, and my kids ate every last bit on their plates.

1 comment:

~M~ said...

Your version doesn't include stinky mouldy blue cheese... so I may have to give it a try sometime. The restaurant version with the mouldy blue sauce... I can live without. LOL