French Friday

The reason I have been thinking about peppercorns and white versus black, is because last Friday, I made French dinner, and I used a lot of pepper. I went through my Balthazar book and ultimately decided to make Steak Au Poivre, inspired by my lovely friend AndieC's dinner she recently made for her boy. I knew this could be risky, because my boy isn't big on pepper, but I figured, it's french, it's a huge steak!, and it has a rich indulgent cream sauce to balance the pepper...plus I can make my favorite creamy pea risotto and roasted root veggies as a side, serve with red wine and we're all happy.



I highly encourage you try this dish because I thought it was amazing, so please don't be deterred when I say Drew didn't love it. He said the pepper was burning his mouth! He made a big mistake though by not eating it with the sauce, and really he's just a baby with spices. The peppercorn crust imparts such a level of heat that the sherry cream sauce is necessary to temper it.

I didn't quite follow Balthazar's recipe for the sauce because I didn't have any stock at home, but in hindsight, I probably would like that sauce better than the one I used since the stock makes it a little thinner. Balthazar also used black, red, and green peppercorns, and I'm still learning about black and white, so I had to adapt here too. Way too much to handle tonight.

Steak Au Poivre i.e. pepper steak

Serves 2

2 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 fillet mignons or sirloin steaks
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/3 cup Cognac (or sherry or brandy)
3/4 cup low-sodium beef or chicken broth (beef adds the dark color)
1/3 cup heavy cream (or half n half)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 shallot
1/4 cup chopped onion

Coarsely crush the peppercorns in a grinder, food processor or the base of a heavy saucepan. Season the steaks with 1 tsp salt on each side, then spread the peppercorns evenly onto a plate and press the fillets, on both sides, into the pepper until it coats the surface coating it completely.


Be heavy on the pepper, it is after all a pepper steak, and it's not too spicy!


Melt the butter and oil in a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat, and as soon as they turn golden and smoke, place the steaks in the pan. For medium-rare, cook for 4 minutes on each side, until a nice crust forms. Once done, remove the steaks to a plate, cover with foil and set aside.


Love that pink center.

Now work on the sauce...pour off the excess fat but do not wipe or scrape the pan clean.


Add in the chopped onion and saute for a minute or two, then add the garlic and shallots and continue sauteing until translucent. Pour in the cognac/sherry to deglaze the pan, turn up the heat and allow the alcohol to burn off and it is reduced by half, about 6 minutes.


Here's where I would add my beef or chicken stock if I didn't forget it! Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium and maintain a simmer until sauce reduces by half, about 30 minutes. Strain the sauce to remove the chunks and whisk in the cream. The sauce should be smooth, fairly thin, and dark. Stir in a tablespoon of cognac and butter for a little burst of flavor and spoon over the steak.


I made some pea risotto and roasted brussel sprouts and carrots for sides.


Peel the carrots, cut ex-es into the bottom of the brussel sprouts, drizzle with olive oil and S&P and roast at 400 for 20 minutes.


Risotto is one of my favorite sides. Here I made it my normal way with garlic, onions, white wine, chick stock, risotto, cream and parmesan, and added in the frozen peas at the end, stirring until they warmed through.



I'm sorry Drew for burning your mouth with peppercorns, but I'm not sorry for this deliciousness! For the record, Drew agreed that it looked just like the picture and he was being sensitive, so there.