This is the story of two newlyweds. Like many recently-married ladies, this gal was excited to try new recipes for her husband.

One day, the new wife found a recipe for Salisbury Steak in a magazine. 

“This’ll be great!” she thought.

The next evening after work, she hurried home with all the ingredients for a wonderful, home-cooked meal.

Little did she know she was about to create a “meal” that would go down in family lore as “the grossest thing ever. . . ”

Okay, so the wife was me.

And I hadn’t quite perfected the art of paring down a recipe for six into a meal for two.

The beef looked like a puffer fish because there were way too many eggs and bread crumbs for the amount of meat.

And the onions I used were not “finely chopped.” They were more like something you might see contestants on “Survivor” eating.

But my husband was sweet about it . . . until he saw that I hated it, too. Then all bets were off.

Now, 10 years later, we still talk about that meal. During cold and flu season I’ll ask my husband how he’s feeling when he’s under the weather.  His answer?

“Like I just ate some Salisbury Steak.”

It’s taken on a new meaning in our house. But I prefer to think it brought us closer. Like one of those traumatic events you live through together and nothing seems that important anymore. Like in a hurricane, a tornado, floods, fires . . .

I’ve grown so much as a cook in 10 years. So I think a decade is enough time to break the spell of the Salisbury Steak. I’m ready to get back on that oniony saddle again, so to speak.

This time it’s personal.

So here’s a much better recipe for Salisbury Steak I found on www.cooks.com.

I know how to follow instructions now and I’m thinking I will use this ground beef so I won’t have to do my own onions at all. They’re already in the meat. 

Try it and see if you have great results you can share!

In a recent post, I told you that my mother-in-law had given us a wonderful seasoning that we love to use on our steaks.

Well, I finally got her to give up the goods. And it turns out this seasoning is her mother’s recipe. I always knew Liz Lansing was a spicy lady — but I had no idea she was this brilliant!

Liz’s legacy will live on in our house through amazingly-flavored steaks (and her great-grandchildren, of course).

Try it and see what you think! 

Seasoning Salt by Liz Lansing

2 c salt
1T garlic powder or 3T of garlic salt
2T pepper
1t nutmeg
1/4 cup paprika
1T onion powder or 3T onion salt
1T oregano, thyme or basil
1T celery salt
1T chili powder
Mix together

It’s Friday and it’s steak night at my house.  I’m going to savor every moment of it.  

After a week of rushing around and gnawing Lean Cuisine meals periodically, I deserve it.

Jaden at www.steamykitchen.com gives us this yummy recipe for adding a punch of incredible flavor to any steak.

Garlic-Herb Butter

1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
handful of fresh herbs (any combination is fine, try basil and parsley)
1-3 cloves of garlic, smushed in garlic press

To make the Garlic-Herb Butter, combine all ingredients. Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap. Spoon butter mixture on wrap. Roll and shape butter into a log. Refrigerate to firm up for 30 minutes. Slice into 1/4” disks to top the grilled steaks. You can make butter up to 3 days in advance. Make sure you use unsalted butter.

You can try this garlicky idea after using Jaden’s suggestion for coating your steak with sea salt for 15 minutes to an hour to tenderize it. She says to wash off the salt after that time and then pat it dry.

Don’t worry, you’re not really eating all that salt. It’s just a great way to break down the proteins in the steak before you grill it to make it nice and soft.

That’s all it takes to create really luscious, flavor-filled steaks.