Name: Blue Cheese & Balsamic Steak Sliders
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Yield: 8 sliders
Ingredients: 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese; 1/4 cup mayonnaise; 1 pound skirt steak or sirloin tip steak, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 4 manageable sized pieces; 2 tablespoons vegetable, canola, or olive oil; 1 large onion, sliced; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon sugar; Additional salt & pepper, to taste; 8 crusty dinner rolls (preferably French or ciabatta); 2 tablespoons thick balsamic vinegar or balsamic glacé (such as Colavita); 2 cups mixed salad greens

Blue cheese & balsamic steak sliders are a fun & sorta fancy snack for your Super Bowl Sunday spread, but don’t worry about that “fancy” part-because steak.

When you think about Super Bowl Sunday, what are the foods that come to mind? I’m betting chips and salsa, maybe some cocktail weenies or meatballs, perhaps some finger sandwiches, maybe a snack mix…
I pointed out in my choriqueso post a couple of weeks ago that my favorite thing about football games is the food. I’d rather have a meal of snack food than a regular meal…but I’ve already talked about that, so I’m not going to elaborate on that again. It’s helpful, though, when you are making a meal out of snack foods, to have some substantial foods on your table.

One of the most popular snacks that I see these days are those fun (and tasty) little ham and cheese sliders that are all buttery and gooey. In fact, I made my own version of these with bacon and caramelized onions last year and guys, they were amazing (Hmmm…I think I’ll add those to my menu for next week…). Why not elaborate on the slider theme???

A few weeks ago, Philip and I visited Olive Chattanooga. If you live in Chattanooga and you’ve never been there, you need to go ASAP. I thought I hated balsamic vinegar until I tried their balsamics, which come in a zillion different (unbelievable) flavors and are thick, rich, and outrageously delicious (they have olive oils too). You can taste them all before you buy so that you can choose your favorite flavor. When we were sampling them, we were wowed by blueberry, blackberry, peach…but our favorite was espresso.

The clerk in the store told us that her favorite way to enjoy the espresso vinegar was to put it on a steak sandwich. That got my wheels turning, of course. I remembered that one of the items on my idea list was a steak sandwich with blue cheese. How about some balsamic on top of that? OHHHHH, WAIT, WHAT IF I MADE THAT INTO A SLIDER????

To make these blue cheese & balsamic steak sliders, I decided to use my favorite Philly cheesesteak technique to prep the meat. I added some syrupy caramelized onions, a good blue cheese (good but available at Publix, FYI), and some mixed greens. The hardest part? The slider rolls. I really wanted some Alexia frozen ciabatta rolls (which I have purchased plenty of times!) but couldn’t find those at any of my local grocery stores. However, their French rolls are nice and crusty and, as it turns out, work perfectly in this recipe (and there are eight in a bag…just enough for the recipe!).

So, what are you putting in your Super Bowl spread? If you’re looking for something a little special, why not make these blue cheese & balsamic steak sliders?

Mary

Yield: 8 sliders

Blue Cheese & Balsamic Steak Sliders

25 minPrep Time:

35 minCook Time:

1 hrTotal Time:

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Ingredients

For the blue cheese mayonnaise

2 ounces crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 pound skirt steak or sirloin tip steak, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 4 manageable sized pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable, canola, or olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Additional salt & pepper, to taste
8 crusty dinner rolls (preferably French or ciabatta)
2 tablespoons thick balsamic vinegar or balsamic glacé (such as Colavita)
2 cups mixed salad greens

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine the blue cheese and the mayonnaise. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Place the steak in the freezer for 15 minutes. While the steak is freezing, preheat one tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat in a 10-inch skillet and add the onion, salt, and sugar. Cook, stirring frequently and reducing the temperature to medium-low to prevent burning, until caramelized, 15-20 minutes.
After the steak has been in the freezer for 15 minutes, cut the steak into very thin strips with the grain. Pile the steak on the cutting board and cut through it 20-30 times until chopped into very small pieces.
Warm the rolls according to package directions.
When the onions have finished cooking, remove them to a bowl and set aside. Wipe out the skillet and heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the steak and cook until browned and cooked through. Drain the steak in a colander and add the steak and the onions back to the skillet and cook until a crust forms on the steak. Salt and pepper to taste.
Split the warmed rolls and spread the top and the bottom of the roll with the blue cheese mayonnaise (about a tablespoon per roll). Divide the steak and onions among the rolls then drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Top with the mixed greens and the rolls tops and serve immediately.