When I was a young man, I worked at my Father’s Restaurant on the line at nights.  One of the most often-ordered dishes on the menu was the “Danko Special”.  It was a dish that my dad developed — we ate it out our house for as long as I can remember — it consisted of a dish that had some Yugoslavian accents, some 1950′s-60′s-style dining accents, and just a little bit “magic dust “sprinkled on it by our Cordon Bleu-trained chef, Michel Gehin.

The Copper Hills Restaurant Burned down in 2001, and the Danko Special hasn’t been served in any commercial form since 1991. I want to release this recipe to those that remember ordering it, others that wonder just what the heck all the fuss about the Copper Hills might have been about, and finally as a recipe that you’d enjoy. This recipe is for all of you that have ordered it in a some “past life”. This special time for me seems so long ago; I never thought that there would be a Globe Miami without a Copper Hills. You know who you are, and you’re all part of my extended family. Remember what it was called (Danko is pronounced “Don’-Ko”).

First, you’ll need a Top Sirloin Steak.  New York is pretty good, Filet is OK.  I like the Top Sirloin for the marble and flavor — I think that the filet doesn’t have enough fat for my purposes, and the New York has the fat in the “wrong place”.  Your mileage will vary — this is just the way that it was done. Then you’ll need the vegetables for the dish:

• 1 medium Bell Pepper
• 1 medium Onion
• 1 medium Tomato
• 1/2 cup fresh mushrooms (Crimini – Italian Brown)
• 1-2 cloves of fresh minced garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

You’ll need 1 tbsp of butter and olive oil, plus cooking sherry (there’s a substitute for this, but will get into alternatives in a moment).

To cook it “Danko’s way”:

preparation:

• Peel tomato by dipping in boiling water until the skin can be picked off.
• Slice the Bell Pepper in half across their “waist”, then remove the seeds and rinds.
• Slice the onion in half across the “waist”.
• Slice the mushrooms in “pie slice” wedges, about 6 per medium mushroom.

Cooking:

• Fry the steak in butter and olive oil until it’s done to your taste.
• WHILE the steak is cooking, take a saute pan with olive oil and put the bell peppers and onions in.  You’ll want to brown each side.  When one side is done, add the mushrooms and garlic.  You may need to add more oil if the mushrooms begin to suck it up.  Once the mushrooms are in, add your tomato.  You’ll want to gently roll the tomato around until it is browned all over as much as possible.  All the vegetables should finish at the same time.  Once the vegetables are near finished, add the cooking wine and flame.  The steak should be done now.  Plate the steak on a heated dinner plate.  Add the vegetables over the top of the steak, then pour the wine/oil drippings all round.  Douse the top with chopped parsley and serve.

Alternative methods

I won’t lie that I like to cook and I prefer to “modernize” the Danko special a bit.  Here are my suggested variations.  Mix and match as you see fit:

• Get your veggies at a farmer’s market.
• Use Dry Vermouth instead of Cooking Sherry  (Marsala ain’t bad, either).
• Julienne the onions and peppers — it’s more fun when you add yellow and red, and even more fun if you throw in a “Big Jim” Chile.  When you serve the vegetable mix, plate it first and use it as a “bed” for the steak.  The tomato and the mushrooms go in last still, along with the juice.
• You can broil the tomato with a light dust of Parmesan, Asiago or any sharp Italian cheese.
• The original recipe calling for Crimini mushrooms is great.  Whip on a forest mushroom mix, Chanterelles,etc.
• Try it with lumpy mashed potatoes with horseradish, polenta or even hash browns!

Bon Apetit.  Have fun.

This is the House Dressing of the Copper Hills Motel in Miami, Arizona

My Dad got his house dressing from Navarre’s in Phoenix. It became Danko’s Salad Dressing in Globe-Miami, and was quite famous in the area.  This popularity was carried up and down Highway 60 by the travelers that stopped at his Best Western Restaurant and Hotel over the 35 years from the time my Dad built it, until he sold it in 1990.  The dressing disappeared after this; Navarre’s was long gone by then and the new owners changed the entire menu.

This salad dressing is Atomic Age stuff.  1950′s/1960′s Steak House Salad Dressing. Red flocked wall paper, dark woods and antique mirrors, with burly middle-aged male waiters. Men with coats and ties, ladies in cocktail dresses, stoles and alligator clutch-purses.  Ashtrays on the table.  Rumaki appetizers. This is no-BS salad dressing that “Mad Men” ordered, followed by “I’ll have a bourbon and water and the lady will have a Vodka Martini, up”.  This dressing has been pretty much a family secret (except I think I’m the only one in the family that’s ever made it besides my Dad, who passed in 2000).  I had friends, girlfriends, girlfriend’s moms and others ask me for this recipe for years.

The Copper Hills burnt down in early 2001, and they hadn’t served the dressing for 11 years before that. And since just about anyone that knew how to make it is long gone to the four winds, I’m releasing it for general consumption.  But.**

**You’re on your honor here — give the Devil (my dad) his due and call it what it is — Danko’s Dressing.  Trust me, the guy is a ghost and he will come and get his haunt on up in your house or restaurant; he had a wicked and expensive sense of humor — you’ve been warned.

So here’s the recipe:

Makes 1 gallon.

• 1/2 cup Black Pepper (heavy, coarse grind)
• 2.5 teaspoons Sugar
• 2.5 tablespoons Salt
• 1 1/2+ cups Wine Vinegar (1.6 to be exact, which is 2.5 teaspoons over 1.5 cups)
• 6 1/2 tablespoons Dry Mustard
• 1/2 bottle of Lee & Perrins Worchester Sauce (regular size, not something from Costco)
• 2 Finely minced onions
• 2 1/2 tablespoons brown gravy flavoring
• juice of 4 lemons
• 3/4+ cup of finely crushed fresh garlic
• 9 1/2 cups corn oil

This is basically an oil/vinegar emulsion dressing.  Start with a really good mixer and put the vinegar, onions, 1/4 of lemon juice and the pepper with the mixer whirling around at a good clip. S-l-o-w-l-y add the oil, drop by drop, bit by bit at first until it starts to emulsify. Remember that the oil must be added extremely sparingly at first until it comes together, then poured in a small but steady stream.  As the oil is finished, add the rest of the ingredients, tasting  from time to time.  Once all the ingredients are together, add more mustard if necessary.  Store refrigerated but not too cold, because the whole thing will break the closer to freezing it is.  Some persons have used egg yolks but you gotta use it fast if you do and I wouldn’t serve raw eggs in a restaurant setting.  Your mileage may vary.

To make sure this thing stays stable when you make it and you don’t waste a gallon of ingredients, you can cut these ingredients down to make a quart or less.

Key points to prevent your dressing from breaking:

1. DO NOT add all the vinegar and lemon juice at the beginning, Keep 3/4 of the lemon juice for the end
2. DO NOT over-agitate it in the food processor, (which is why traditional chefs favor whisking it by hand)
3. DO NOT place it in a fridge that is too cold.

if you are troubled by emulsions and you want to review a good article in getting it right, here’s a link. Have fun, serve it with half Ice Berg, Half Romaine and add some other weeds like endive for a little extra texture. Croutons are mandatory.  Serve it with a New York covered in peppercorns, Pittsburgh-style.  You’re eating like Don Draper (Mad Men) now, baby.