Next Time You Heat Up A Frozen Steak Dinner, Add Some Of This To The Tray (It's Delicious)

A steak dinner doesn't have to cost you a hundred bucks a head at a fine dining steakhouse. In fact, you don't even have to cook it yourself. Frozen steak dinners are a convenient commodity that most brands offer, and they usually include a side or two. However, you can always take store-bought steak dinners from good to great with a few additions. So, next time you heat up a frozen steak dinner, add some blue cheese to the tray.

Steak and blue cheese make a heavenly pairing in the vein of "opposites attract." A funky, tangy, robust blue cheese complements and cuts through the richness of the ultra-umami intensity inherent in steak. Since both ingredients are flavor powerhouses, neither is lost or muted when paired. The creamy, melt-in-your-mouth consistency of blue cheese is also a decadent textural contrast to the meaty chew of a steak.

Of course, there are various types of blue cheese to choose from. You don't have to believe the myth that all blue cheese is super-strong and intense. If you're new to, and daunted by, the idea of smothering a frozen steak with blue cheese, you can start with a milder variety, such as gorgonzola. Stilton is a stronger blue cheese variety made with cow's milk, offering nutty, salty flavors. One of the strongest and funkiest blue cheese varieties is the French Roquefort. Unlike Stilton, Roquefort is made using sheep's milk, giving it a gamier funk and zippier finish.

Blue cheese, no matter what variety, is creamy and crumbly. You could easily sprinkle some blue cheese crumbles over your steak dinner tray when you remove it from the oven or microwave. However, you can bring things into a more sophisticated realm with even more ingredients, especially if blue cheese is a little strong for you.

For example, you can blend blue cheese with some Greek yogurt or sour cream before spreading it over your hot steak dinner. You can also make a blue cheese sauce over the stove with cream, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper to pour over the microwaved steak dinner, like we do in this recipe for blue cheese and caramelized onion-smothered filet mignons. Get even fancier by making a blue cheese crust for your steak; stir blue cheese crumbles with spices, herbs, and aromatics to form a paste before slathering it onto microwaved steak. Then, cement the crust onto the steak by placing it under a broiler for a minute.

Frozen steak dinners aren't the only steak dishes that benefit from blue cheese. You can also utilize blue cheese to dress up your next steak sandwich. If you have leftover steak, it tastes delicious over a salad with blue cheese crumbles or blue cheese dressing.