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I think one reason that I don’t really publish salads on the blog is because of how I usually make them: by dumping a bunch of ingredients and dressing into a tupperware container and shaking it really hard so that every piece of salad gets coated in the dressing. It’s definitely the best way to eat salad, but makes for a very unappealing picture. However, a couple of nights ago I decided I needed to eat something light because it was bring your kid to work day, meaning that all I ate that day was pizza and cookies. I also wanted to make something publishable, so I decided to do a fancy looking, non-shaken up salad. I know…. pretty pretentious of me.

To start with, I would recommend using a different steak than I used; at least a flank steak, if not something higher quality. As usual, this meal was dictated by what jumped out at me at Publix, so I picked up some sirloin top round that turned out to be about as thick as an iPhone. Not ideal for the medium-rare-rare temperature that I like in my steaks. It didn’t end up mattering all that much, though, once the steaks were cooked with salt and pepper, cut into thin strips and doused in salad dressing. I’d be willing to bet that any cut of beef would probably taste decent under those circumstances.

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Steak:

Ingredients

1 steak, preferably flank steak

Salt & pepper

Process

  1. Put a cast iron skillet over very high heat. Wait a long time, 10-15 minutes, for skillet to get as hot as possible. Turn on any fans and/or disable smoke detectors in your kitchen area.
  2. Heavily salt and pepper each side of steak. Lay steak in hopefully white-hot and well-seasoned skillet. Sear each side for 2-4 minutes, depending on thickness.
  3. When your steak is slightly springy to the touch, and only a little firmer than raw, remove and place on a plate. Let steak rest, then slice thinly against the grain.

Salad Dressing

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

Salt & pepper

Process

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl until thoroughly combined; add salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble your salad with any other ingredients you like! Mine used bibb lettuce, red and gold cherry tomatoes, finely diced shallots, steak and dressing.