Fletch and a Steak Sandwich...and a Steak Sandwich

Welcome to the actual first blog entry for Sandwich Cinema! For this inaugural posting, we kicked things off with Bloody Marys, steak sandwiches, and the 1985 comedy classic, Fletch. 

I've seen Fletch one or two times, though probably not within the last 10 years, and unfortunately, re-watching this movie made me think of a comment Paul Feig made once in which he stated that re-watching movies is a dangerous endeavor, as our emotions become so tied to our memories of movies, that upon re-watching, they're often not as good as we remembered them to be. That's kinda how Fletch went last night. 

I watched the movie with my friends Dan, Elizabeth, and Katie, with the latter 2 having never seen the film before, and here are a few of our thoughts on this movie: 

• Everybody is in this movie. Pre-West Wing VP Tim Matheson. Joe Don Baker. Tyra Collette's mom from Friday Night Lights. NORM! The meekest Geena Davis you've ever seen (including pre-runaway Thelma & Louise), and of course, Chevy Chase. 
• The movie feels like a vehicle for Chevy Chase to be Chevy Chase. This really ruined things for Katie, who mentioned that all day long, everybody kept telling her what a jerk Chevy Chase is in real life, making it impossible for her to even come close to liking the movie. Katie: "It's like when you find out that Bing Crosby beat the crap out of his kids, and then you try to watch White Christmas."
• Dan: "I haven't been thinking that this movie is really loud...until the synth soundtrack kicks in. Then it's absurdly loud." 
• This movie has one of the most unintentionally hilarious car chase scenes ever. A cop car hits a bush and then goes airborne, flipping over in the air. A motorcycle cop then hits a much smaller bush, catapulting him sideways off his motorcycle. 
• Elizabeth: "I think a lot of really great things came out of the 80s but.....this wasn't one of them."
• Like, half the jokes really land. But, I will say, the ones that do land, land well. 

I think the most astute observations of the night came from Dan who, realizing that this came out about a year after the original Beverly Hill's Cop, remarked that this movie was basically a non-law enforcement version of that movie. Dan: "I saw Beverly Hills Cop semi-recently and they’re really the same -- charismatic SNL veteran has a star-vehicle where he gets to do a lot of physical comedy set to a very synth heavy score."

Despite not being as non-stop hilarious as I remembered it to be, the movie is still quite enjoyable, funny, and extremely quote worthy. It's one of those 80s comedies where every line of dialogue is a quippy one-liner, operating nearly-independent of the lines that come before or after it. 

When trying to think of movies to watch / sandwiches to make for this website, this movie jumped to the front of the list because I really wanted to make steak sandwiches, which Chevy Chase orders on the tab of an ill-behaving country club member in the movie. And y'all ..... these sandwiches were GREAT.

Here's the final product: 

The Steak Sandwich Itself

The Recipe (based upon a recipe given to me by my good friend, Austin R.)

• Sturdy bread, such as Ciabatta or a Rustic Italian
• 1-2 Ribeye or New York Strip Steaks (I got 2 Ribeyes to feed 4 people with a little leftover)
• Provolone Cheese
• Baby Arugula
• Salt & Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Butter

The Tangy Sauce                                                                                         

• 3 Tbsp Mayonnaise                                       
• 3 Tbsp Ketchup                                               
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard                               
• 1 Tbsp Chopped Parsley                             
• Drizzle of Honey                                            
• Salt and Pepper to Taste                              
• Splash of Apple Cider Vinegar                      

The Chimichurri

• 2 Cups Italian Parsley
• 4 Peeled/Smashed Cloves of Garlic
• 1/4 Cups Fresh Oregano
• 1 Cup Olive Oil 
• 1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
• 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
• Salt and Pepper to Taste

Step 1: Make Your Sauce -- Making your sauce should be fast and can be done as much as a day ahead of time to give the flavors time to blend (especially the chimichurri). For both sauces, you can just combine all the ingredients and you're pretty much done. The chimichurri sauce will need to be blended in a blender / food processor / bullet, but just throw everything in and boom. Done. 

Step 2: Cook Your Steak -- At least 30 minutes before you want to cook your steak, take your steak out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. Put a cast iron skillet on the stove, drizzle olive oil, and turn the temperature up to high. Once a drop of water sizzles and dances in the skillet, your steak is ready to cook. Pat your steaks dry, generously season both sides with salt and pepper, and place into the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes, then flip. Cook again for two minutes, then flip again. This time, add about a tablespoon of butter to the pan and start spooning the melted butter over the steak. Do this for 2 minutes, flip, 2 minutes, flip, 1 minute, flip, 1 minute, flip. In the end, each side should get about 5 minutes on each side. Take the steak from the pan, place on cutting board, and tent the meat so that it can rest - 5 min.

Step 3: Toast Your Bread and Cut Your Meat -- Throw your bread into a 400 degree oven for about 5 min while the steak rests. Once the steak is rested, slice into strips on an angle against the grain. 

Step 4: Assemble -- Take your bread out of the oven, cut it, and place a slice of provolone on the bottom piece of bread. Spread some of the tangy sauce on the provolone, top with steak slices, and drizzle some of the chimichurri sauce on top. Finally, top with a hand full of baby arugula and top with the other half of the bread. 

Total Meat Carnage

Enjoy!