classy but trashy

Classhy Prince n' Pauper T.V. Dinners

Sarahsbury Steak

Part 2- Cooking Challenge

This week I appropriately brought the challenge over to my wonderful friend Belinda’s house for our weekly “Trashy T.V. Night.” On the DVR menu for the evening we had the sinfully decadent reality line up of “Addicted,” “Sober House with Dr. Drew,” “Real Housewives of New York,” “Top Chef: Masters” and “Project Runway.” Yeah… we don’t eff around. As far as on our plates, it would be a vegetarian Salisbury Steak and a macaroni cheesy enough to rival our viewing choices


Having little to no frame of reference in regards to making Salisbury Steak, I took to the Interweb in order to do some sleuthing. What I discovered was pretty much as I had expected as far as common ingredients and cooking methods were concerned. Using this knowledge as the basis of my recipe, I formulated a plan of action which spoke more to my own classhy tendencies than simple ground beef n’ mystery sauce. And since that doctor guy got to name the original version after himself, I introduce my version: Sarahsbury Steak!

Serves 2
2 soy based “Griller” style patties
1 packet onion soup/ dip mix
1 small can sliced mushrooms (do not drain)
1/8 small yellow onion chopped
2 tbsp Smart Balance or butter, divided
1 egg slightly beaten
3 tbsp bread crumbs
Salt and pepper
1.5 tbsp white truffle oil
2 tsp cornstarch


-Preheat oven to 300 degrees F
-Make one packet of onion soup per the stovetop directions.
-On microwave safe plate, heat soy patties for 1 minute. Set aside.

-Chop about 6 of the sliced mushrooms. Drain ½ the liquid from the can and set aside. Remaining mushrooms and liquid are unneeded and can be refrigerated.

-Sauté onions and mushrooms in 1 tbsp Smart Balance until onions are lightly browned.

-In a medium mixing bowl, hand shred soy patties and mix in with freshly sautéed veggies, egg, bread crumbs and salt and pepper.

-Form soy mixture into two even oval shaped patties.

-Heat 1 tbsp Smart Balance in a non-stick skillet. Once SB is melted, add truffle oil and swirl pan to mix.

-Immediately add patties and reduce stove to medium heat. Cook for 3-4 minutes, flip and cook additional 3-4 min (or until nicely browned and sticking together).

-Remove patties to oven safe plate and place in warmed oven until sauce is done.
-Top with sauce and serve!

For Sauce:
-Combine ¾ cup onion soup and mushroom juice into patty pan over medium heat. Set aside remaining soup.
-Slowly stir in cornstarch to thicken.

Consider this both a fair warning and an iron clad promise: there will be a significant amount of mac and cheese making going down on this website. I never met a mac I didn’t like and the lengths (or depths) to which I’ll go for my favorite food know no bounds. So while I make some killer mac n’ cheese from scratch, I also love to use a box of Kraft Deluxe, Velveeta Shells and Cheese or Annie’s…well…anything (!) as the base of my mac n’ cheese-coctions. That said, I employed the use of my oldest and dearest friend, Kraft Deluxe, for this week’s side dish, REALitY Cheesy Mac:

1 box Kraft Deluxe Original

1/8 cup Smart Balance

¼ cup crumbled Point Reyes Bleu Cheese

¼ cup fresh grated Romano Cheese

-Bring remaining (3.25 cups) onion soup from Sarahsbury Steak sauce to a boil. Add macaroni, return to boil, reduce heat and cook until tender (about 9 minutes).

-Drain cooked macaroni, add included cheese packet, extra cheeses and Smart Balance.
-Apologize to arteries and enjoy!

After transferring my Sarahsbury Steak and REALitY Cheesy Mac to their respective T.V. tray compartments, I was absolutely taken with how similar my dish looked to the original frozen meal! The scents of truffle oil, onion and creamy cheesiness filling Belinda’s apartment, however, definitely hinted that we were in for much more than a run of the mill Salisbury experience. Sure enough, we tucked into our meal just as we began our recording of “Addicted,” and what a perfect programming choice it was! We both devoured our perfectly cooked flavor soaked steaks and marveled at the ridiculous, over the top, absolutely habit forming cheesy goodness of the macaroni and cheese. I will certainly be recreating this dish in the future as it was definitely not a meal to soon be forgotten!