Steak Au Poivre

Sorry I'm a little behind here. I'll get caught up shortly. Anyway, today we go with something a little more classic in preparation. Just make sure you get a decent quality meat or this is probably going to fall a little flat. Hunk o' meat with sauce. Nothing fancy and it shouldn't take more than 30-45 minutes. Seriously. This comes courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens.

Menu:
Steak Au Poivre
Farfalle in Wild Mushroom and Browned Shallot Broth
Green Beans with Shallots
Navel orange

Ingredients:
1 Tbls. Cracked Black Pepper

4 Beef Tenderloin steaks (or rib-eye) cut 1 inch thick (~ 1 lb. total)
2 Tbls. Unsalted butter
2 Tbls. Brandy (Beef broth if you want, but I prefer to use the brandy.)
1/3 c. Heavy cream
1/3 c. Beef broth
2 Tsp. Dijon mustard

How to:
1) There are really two ways to crack the peppercorns efficiently. The first is to use a mortar and pestle (My preferred method). The second is to put the peppercorns between two layers of wax paper and do the whack n' bash thing with a saucepan or saute pan. It's up to you. Silly me, I tried to do it with the flat of a knife. I don't recommend it, the peppercorns just kind of fly everywhere, probably to get picked up by little birdies who pass on useful advice.

2) Press the successfully cracked peppercorns into both sides of the steaks with your fingers. Melt the butter in a large skillet/saute pan over medium-high heat and cook the steaks in that. If you're going for medium-rare, it should only be 4-6 minutes per side. If you want medium, it'll be 6-7 minutes on a side. If you want well done, what on earth are you doing using tenderloin?!!??!

3) Transfer the steaks to a serving platter and keep them warm, but keep the dripping that are in the skillet. (Two ways to do this: 1) Cover it with foil, 2) Set the oven for 200 degrees and put the steaks on a cooling rack over a baking pan. Stick them in the oven. They should stay warm without overcooking for quite a while.)

4) Time for the sauce. Stir the brandy into the drippings from the steak. )You did keep those, right?). Stir it up and scrape up all the crusty browned bits of meat from the bottom of the pan. That's where a lot of our flavor is.

5) Stir in the Heavy cream and 1/3 c. Beef broth along with the mustard (if you want it).

6) Cook all of it and keep stirring for 4-5 minutes. There should only be about 1/3 c. of the sauce total. Pour over steaks and serve.

I like to use the mustard in this for the extra tang and kick. Either way though, you really need a good cut of meat because if the meat doesn't hold up, the whole dish will flop and you'll wonder why you bothered. Other than that, it's quick and easy. Just keep an eye on things and make sure the sauce reduces enough. We want it to coat, not run. After all, what's the point if you can't mop it up afterwards with a hunk of bread? After you've tried the base, it might stand up to a little dill or rosemary to season the meat or change some of the textures in the sauce. Not much to fiddle with though.

Tools:
Large skillet/Saute Pan
Mortar and Pestle
Wooden Spoon or wire whisk

Health info:
4 Meat Servings
4 Fat servings (Oh well, can't be perfect all the time)

::Malloreth out::