Top Sirloin with tomato, red onion, and basil

I was looking through a Redbook magazine while getting my hair done.  I came across a recipe that sounded really good.  This is the modified version.

There wasn’t enough balsamic vinegar so my friend recommended mixing balsamic vinegar and sherry cooking wine.  As the balsamic vinegar and sherry cooking wine cooked, it filled the air with a strong vinegar smell, which prompted my friend’s son to search out the gas mask kept in the house and he put it on.  He sat at the table and wore the mask until the food was served.   

A small town market doesn’t really have much of a choice in cheese so instead of goat cheese we used ricotta cheese, very nice mellow taste added to the salad.

1/2 c balsamic vinegar Modena

¼ c sherry cooking wine

5 large plum tomatoes, julienned

1 red onion, julienned

¼ fresh basil, julienned

1 Tsp kosher salt

1 Tsp fresh ground red pepper

5 top sirloin steaks (approx 4 oz each)

1 TBSP olive oil

5 TBSP  Ricotta Cheese

Combine balsamic vinegar and sherry cooking wine in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil and turn down to simmer until reduced to about ½.

Combine tomatoes, red onion, 1 TPBS of the balsamic vinegar and sherry sauce, ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper in bowl and mix.  Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot.  Cook steaks for 3 minutes on each side, longer if you want the steaks cooked more than medium rare.  Transfer steaks to a plate to sit for 5 minutes.  Divide vegetable mix between 5 plates, set a steak on top of each pile of vegetables.  Add a TBSP of ricotta cheese on top of each steak.  Divide the rest of the sauce between the 5 plates, drizzling on top of the pile.