Outback Steak Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

I love to have hearty salads for dinner every now and then, but I always have to make sure they are "manly" enough for my husband to eat too. Otherwise I get a few rabbit/chick food comments as we're eating, followed by a bowl of cereal or sandwich for a second meal. This one definitely did the trick! Every time we go to Outback to eat, I always get the exact same dish: 8 oz. sirloin, wedge salad with blue cheese vinaigrette, and a baked sweet potato. I love every single thing about each part of the meal, especially the wedge salad that Neal introduced me to a couple of years ago. The dressing is definitely the best part so I decided to try and recreate it. I used a skirt steak, sliced thinly but I think any type of tender, non-fatty steak would work great. You definitely don't want fat on a steak salad.. I was very impressed at how close this dressing compared to Outback's and I may have licked the remaining drops out of the bowl..

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. steak, grilled with your favorite seasonings/marinade
• I used A1 Peppercorn sauce - my absolute favorite steak sauce!
• 1 bag mixed greens/spring mix
• 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup pecans
• Onion Strings
• 1 large yellow or white onion, sliced into thin strips
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup - 1 cup flour
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• Blue Cheese Vinaigrette:
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp. sour cream
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
• Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

For the Onion Strings:

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Mix the milk and egg together in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and pepper. Dredge onion slices in the milk mixture, then in the flour. Drop onions into the hot oil and let them saute, turning every 30 second to 1 minute. Remove to a paper towel when they become light brown.

For the Blue Cheese Vinaigrette:

Put all ingredients except blue cheese in a food processor/blender and blend until smooth. Add in the blue cheese crumbles and mix again.

To Assemble the Salad:

Layer the mixed greens, tomatoes and pecans on plates. Slice the steak thinly and lay on top of the greens. Top with a handful of onion strings and drizzle the vinaigrette over top. Serve immediately.