Day 13: Leon's-Inspired Steak Sandwich and Chickpea Salad

We don't eat out a lot, so when we do, we want our meals to be memorable -- whether they are at a four-star restaurant or the neighborhood pub. One of our favorite places to eat is Leon's Full Service in Decatur. It's got wonderful food and great cocktails. While Jim explores all corners of the menu, I order the same exact meal every time we eat there: a steak sandwich, cooked medium rare, and a side of chickpea-cherry salad. Then I very carefully eat half of my sandwich and take the other half home for lunch the next day. As for the chickpea salad, well, there are never any leftovers.

We've debated stopping by Leon's during Restaurant Free Month just to have a drink, but we realize that we'd end up ordering some of their incredible french fries... so instead we've settled for recreating our favorites at home.

Last night Jim made a steak sandwich that was every bit as luscious as Leon's, and I cooked up a delicious chickpea-dried cherry-basil salad as a side. Here's what we did: Jim roasted red peppers under the oven broiler, then pan-roasted a sirloin. We topped ciabatta bread (NOT homemade) with a little mayo, arugula, roasted red peppers, thinly sliced steak, and gruyere cheese. (I added a little horseradish, which Jim avoids at all costs, to mine.)

While the steak sandwich preparations were underway, I cooked a pot of chickpeas on the stove. As the steak rested, I put the chickpeas in a baking dish, drizzled a tiny bit of olive oil and some red wine vinegar over them, added strips of fresh basil and chopped dried cherries, and stirred it all together. I put the baking dish in the oven for ten minutes or so at 350. When the chickpeas were nice and hot, I added a little more red wine vinegar and tossed in small cubes of smoked provolone. (The key here is that the provolone cubes get warm but do not turn into a gooey mess.) I don't know if this is anything close to the way that Leon's prepares their chickpea salad, but I can say that it is delicious!

The steak sandwiches, too, were gorgeous. And, like Leon's, the leftovers were every bit as good today!

Is there a restaurant meal you wish you could recreate at home? Do tell!