I smell onions

Crip TOL came over last night for dinner. I was grateful to have someone else's digestive system to experiment on besides my own. Last night was 'grilled gaucho steak pitas'.

I will say that the dinner was excellent, I'm not bragging, I just followed the recipe. The problem is, I have a very hard time following recipes exactly. Sometimes it's because I don't have the necessary ingredients and I have to improvise, or I simply think that I could do better.

Last night's recipe called for a skirt steak, I don't think so, there's nothing worse than gnawing away tough piece of meat, so I used 2 really good New York strips. I was also supposed to marinate briefly in chili oil, which I skipped because I thought it would be too much with the chimichurri sauce. I added spinach to pita, and did not combine the thinly sliced beef in the chimichurri sauce, because I thought it might be overpowering. Well it turned out great.

Here is my revised recipe:

1 large red onion, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing
2 good sized New York Strip Steaks
4 fresh pita breads
2 vine-ripened tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 pound blue cheese, thinly sliced, or crumbled
Fresh ground black pepper
Montreal steak seasoning
Large handful of fresh baby spinach

Chimichurri Sauce:
1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, finely chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Place the parsley, bay leaves, garlic, paprika, oregano, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Pulse until combined. Put the sauce in a glass or plastic container, using as needed. Chimichurri will last for up to 1 month, refrigerated. Makes 2 1/2 cups.

Barbecue should be at about 400*.

Lightly brush the onion slices with olive oil and add some fresh ground black pepper.
Place on the grill and cook with the steak for about 3 to 4 minutes.
Lightly sprinkle the steak with the Montreal steak seasoning, be sure that the steaks are at room temperature before barbecuing. Cook the steak for 1 1/2 minutes, turning 4 times, a total of 6-7 minutes. Transfer to a platter and wait 4 minutes before slicing.
Keep the pitas warm in a 150* oven.
Slice the meat into 1/2-inch slices
Serve the sliced meat and grilled onions on one platter, and the tomatoes, thinly sliced blue cheese, and the baby spinach on another.
Serve chimichurri sauce on the side with a spoon, to spoon a little into the pita as desired.

Yummy!