Steak Sandwiches for Non-Rich-Bitches

I keep promising this recipe for Steak Sandwiches and not delivering. It's been a year and a half now.

Let me explain why! When I set out to build this recipe, it was following an episode of Tyler Florence's show where he made steak panini. Now, don't get me wrong; his recipes are amazing. What is not amazing, however, is that when I added up the total just to make four sandwiches as he detailed, the cost was more than my monthly grocery budget.

So I thought, how could I make something equally delicious to this sandwich? There's got to be an easier way. I learned by developing my own recipe that the secret is all in the beef.

It doesn't hurt to throw it on a bigass loaf of french bread, either. This sandwich will serve two really hungry people, four not-as-hungry people, or six skinny-bitch-lying-to-the-world never hungry people.

Steak Loaf
2-3 pounds sirloin, tri-tip, or london broil beef - all that matters is that it's the one on sale
1 loaf fresh French Bread (Safeway puts out fresh bread at about 4-5 pm. So does Albertson's, but Albertson's is the devil and if you shop there you're dishonorably discharged from this army.)
1 head green leaf-lettuce or romaine, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
4 cups mozzarella
1 stick butter
1 head garlic, peeled and minced

For the Marinade:
1 small bottle or 1 cup red wine (if you cannot cook with wine for whatever reason, that's okay. Use italian dressing and use 1-2 tbsp red wine vinegar in its place. For what it's worth, the alcohol DOES cook off when using wine while cooking.)
1 bottle zesty Italian dressing OR 1 package Good Seasons Italian dressing made according to directions
3 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
Garlic Powder
Fresh ground sea salt
Fresh cracked black pepper
Optional: Thyme, Bay Leaf, Horseradish, Au Jus

The day before:
Take whatever liquid you've chosen to use for your marinade - be it the dressing, the wine, or both - and put it in a sturdy ziploc bag. Take your cut of meat and work out some aggression - stab it all over with a fork. Place it in the bag. Seal, placing in the fridge to marinate up to two days. Turn it over a few times so you get all that juice in the meat.

Get to cookin'!:
Take your roast out and put in a roasting pan; give it a little love and massage in some of the marinade. Whisper sweet nothings. Combine the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and thyme if using and make a dry rub. Rub the powder into the meat liberally (this is your call on how much seasoning you want - just don't go overboard on the salt. Try different kinds of pepper, or more thyme, and there's never enough garlic powder). Place it in the oven and roast slowly for about an hour on 200-degrees. You could put it in the Crock Pot as well for a little while. The key is, DO NOT ROAST UNTIL DONE. You only want to brown it. If you had the time/inclination, you could brown it in a pan as well.

When the roast is nicely browned, starting slicing it up into thin pieces. When you have a big pile of sliced beef, arrange it in a single layer on a cookie sheet or in a roasting pan, whatever you have room for. Season again with your dry rub, this time just sprinkling, and crank up your oven to 350 degrees. As it roasts, occasionally toss a few pats of butter on the meat to keep it juicy. Alternately, you can use beef broth or Worchestershire sauce. Roast to desired doneness. I like ours medium-well, so about a half hour.

Take out your beef and let it rest. Cut your bread lengthwise in half and spread both sides with minced garlic and butter. Wrap in foil; place in 350 degree oven for ten minutes. Open up the loaf and liberally spread with mozzarella cheese, toasting beneath the broiler for five to ten minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. While your bread's doing that, take your lettuce and tomato and make a salad with either oil and vinegar or Italian dressing, your choice.

Assemble the sammich: Place steak all along one half. Put your salad on the other half, or serve to one side. Dish up the optional au jus and horseradish and cut the loaf into as many servings as you like. If you don't finish it, don't sweat it: It's even better the next day, re-grilled in a frying pan.