A bottle of wine and a gourmet sandwich.  I love vacation.

(no raw meat pictures this time...full diclosure, I tried, but they were bad. really raw steak bad) Truth be told, we could probably be found enjoying the same meal back home on any given weeknight. But I think there is just something about vacation and not feeling the pressures of household chores/projects etc....there is no guilt factor to taking an evening and just playing in the kitchen.

The conversation this morning went as such...

She says, 'what do you feel like for dinner?'

He says, 'I dunno, I'm not hungry right now".

She says (inside voice, with external eye roll), 'well I didn't ask you what you wanted to eat right NOW.' followed by (outside voice), 'well sweetie maybe we should take something out NOW if we want it LATER'

He says, 'I dunno, we'll figure it out'

She sighs (on the inside and outside).  Welcome to vacations at sixtyone45.

(The only way to describe this is like jam...wine-y, garlic-ly, sticky, salty but sweet heavenly jam)  Anyways, fast forward to a long but absolutely fantastic day playing with Little in a splash park, me picking up some cheap & cheerful wines at World Market, and Mr. finally deciding he felt like gourmet sandwiches (translation: good bread, good cheese, good meat)

Nights like this are some of my favorite...Little went down beautifully and we just played in the kitchen, deciding what condiment, what veggie, would compliment the artisan bread and flat irons Mr. ended up picking up later in the day. 

(this shot does not accuratley portray the meat to bread ratio which heavily favoured the latter but as I have mentioned, I am struggling with my shots in this place) Nothing heavy to chat about here. This was just a really really good sandwich.  The bread was a nice, chewy artisan loaf. We both agreed we would try a different type next time (he is a baguette guy, I'm a soft roll. Probably a joke there) The aioli was the best part. We reduced some Jar Jam wine with some cloves of garlic. This went into a mayo and went great with the steaks. Overall, the bread, the aioli, the horseradish cheddar, the steaks, the caramelized onions, the peppery arugula...it all just kinda worked. What else can I say....

...it was just a dam good sandwich.

Flat Iron Steak Sandwich with Red Wine & Garlic Reduction Aioli

For the aioli

1 cup of red wine
6-8 garlic cloves
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 T. Salt

For the onions

1 white onion
2 T butter
2 T olive oil

For the steaks

1.5 lb flat iron steak
3T. Olive Oil
salt and pepper to season
1T Sweet Paprika
1 T. worcestershire sauce

For the sandwich

2 slices of horseradish white cheddar cheese
2 cups of arugula
Artisan Bread

 - Heat the red wine and garlic cloves over med to high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Once liquid begins to thicken, remove garlic cloves, but keep the wine on low to medium high heat.  Put the garlic cloves on a cutting board, sprinkle with the salt and use a knife to mash them into a paste. This will take a bit of work, but the salt draws the moisture out and the garlic becomes a paste. When done, return the garlic to the wine on the stove and continue to reduce to a syrup texture. Remove from heat. When cool, mix into mayo and spread generously on one side of each sandwich.

 - For the onions, heat the butter and oil in pan. Slice onions into thin rings and play in frying pan. Cook slowing on low to medium heat, tossing regularly until a golden brown colour.

- Heat the grill to high heat.  Rub (or marinate) the steaks in the oil and seasoning mixture. Flat irons are best served at medium rare to maintain their tenderness. This will be about 7 minutes per side, depending on thickness. Its important to let the steaks rest at least 5 - 7 minutes before slicing. Once rested, slice on the diagonal, against the grain.

- Assemble the awesome sandwich! You can toast your bread if you like on the grill while the steaks are resting. Spread the aioli on one side of the bread, then cheese, then steak, then onions, then the arugula, and top with the last piece of bread. Enjoy!