The Chefs Black Book

Lone Star Steakhouse® Lettuce Wedge Salad

Why waste time chopping up the lettuce when you can just
hack a head into four chunks, dress it up and serve? This
unique presentation is not only easy to make, but also a
deliciously different way to serve your next salad. The creamy
bleu cheese dressing is a cinch to make from scratch and tastes
much better than anything you'll buy in a store. Add a bit of
extra crumbled bleu over the top, some freshly diced tomatoes,
and you're well on your way to a fancy-pants side salad that'll
surely impress.

Bleu Cheese Dressing
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup crumbled bleu cheese
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 head iceberg lettuce
1 cup crumbled bleu cheese
1 cup diced tomato (1 large tomato)
Do the wedge.

1. Use an electric mixer to combine all ingredients for bleu
cheese dressing in a medium bowl.
2. Slice a head of iceberg lettuce into quarters through the
stem end. Cut the stem off of the wedges and arrange each one
on a plate.
3. Spoon about 1/4 cup of bleu cheese dressing over each lettuce
wedge.
4. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of crumbled bleu cheese over the dressing.
5. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of diced tomato over the top and serve.
Makes 4 servings.

Lone Star Steakhouse® Chili

When the weather gets cold it's time to fire up the stovetop.
This chain makes a tasty chili that warms the bones on a nippy
fall day. This clone recipe is easy-to-make, low-fat and
delicious. And if it's super brisk outside, you might want to add
an additional tablespoon of diced jalapeno to aggressively stoke
those internal flames.

1 pound ground beef
1 diced onion
1 tablespoon diced fresh jalapeno pepper
1 15-ounce can kidney beans with liquid
1 14.5-ounce can peeled diced tomatoes
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 bay leaf
Garnish
grated cheddar cheese
diced onion
canned whole jalapeno chili peppers
Hot enough for you?

1. Brown ground beef in a large saucepan over medium heat. Drain fat.
2. Add onion and pepper and sauté for about two minutes.
3. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 1 hour, stirring
occasionally. Serve one cup in a bowl with the optional cheese,
diced onion and whole jalapeno garnish on top.
Makes 4 servings.

Lone Star Steakhouse® Baked Sweet Potato

It saddles on up next to your entree at this huge steakhouse
chain, but it's not what it claims to be. Sure, the menu says
"baked sweet potato," but you're actually getting a sweet and
tender red-skinned yam underneath all that yummy melted butter
and cinnamon/sugar. And don't just get any yam for this top secret
clone. You want to use garnet yams, if you have a choice. Then be
sure to cook them long enough that the sugar in the yams begins
to squirt out and burn in a couple of spots. Each yam should be
tender, but not mushy. The skin on the outside will turn from red
to greyish-brown, and inside it will be a hearty shade of black.

4 garnet yams
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup whipped butter

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake yams for 45 to 75 minutes
(bigger yams take longer to cook). When they are done, the outside
will have darkened and the inside will be soft. You may see liquid
from the potato oozing out and charring. When the potato is sliced
open, the inside of the skin will be charred black from the
caramelizing sugar in the potato. This is a perfectly cooked potato.
3. To serve, slice a potato down the center. Add two tablespoons of
whipped butter, then sprinkle some cinnamon/sugar over the top.
Makes 4 servings.