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417 Cooking Class: Hickok's Steakhouse

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Hickok's Steakhouse and Brewery is relatively new to the Springfield scene. The baby of a restaurant is not even a year old, but already it's found a comfy home downtown. It's the newest third of the Agrario-slash-Hickok's-slash-Patton Alley Pub trifecta of tastiness on Patton Avenue-a block of the city that Eric Zackrison has somewhat taken over with these three decidedly different restaurants. Where Patton Alley Pub has more beers than you can shake a pilsner glass at, and Agrario has classy items such as Denver lamb ribs served with apple slaw, Hickok's takes a more down-home steakhouse approach to the business. The restaurant has a drawing (by local painter Susan Somer-Luarca) of Wild Bill Hickok on the brick wall, newsprint menus, a wild West feel, lots of brick and wood decor and a microbrewery, and it offers steak, steak and more steak to families and hip downtown-dwellers alike.

The menu even offers a challenge to daring diners: the infamous Dinner for Four. It's four pounds of sirloin, four dinner salads, four sides of mashed potatoes, four sides of sautéed vegetables and a banana split for four. It's intended for-you guessed it-four people. But the offer is on the table for individuals who want to take it on themselves. If they eat every last bite of it on their own, it's free. Some people have tried to complete the daunting task, says Sous Chef Dave Geier, but not many. No one has succeeded. The most valiant effort only got the person halfway through the meal, he says.

Course 1:

Iceberg Wedge Salad with chucky bleu cheese dressing and bacon crumbles
Serves up to 30 people.

Chunky bleu cheese dressing:
2 quarts mayonnaise
8 ounces bleu cheese crumbles
16 ounces sour cream
12 ounces buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 ounces pureed yellow onion
2 cloves pureed garlic
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

For Each Salad:
1⁄4 head of iceberg lettuce
3 ounces chunky bleu cheese dressing
1⁄4 cup bleu cheese crumbles
2 tablespoons crisp chopped bacon
1⁄4 cup chopped red onion

To prepare dressing:
Combine ingredients. Mix well. Recipe yields more than 30 servings (great for parties!). Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator; keep for no more than seven days.

To prepare each salad:
Place ingredients on the plate one at time, in the order listed.