Mmmm…steak. It had been way too long since I had a good steak. And by too long I mean probably about a month, but that’s how much I love steak. I had seen this recipe on an episode of Good Eats and figured I had to make it. What sealed the deal over any other normal steak? Hennessey. I love Hennessey. I know it’s classless and weird, but ever since sampling it with a former co-worker who happened to also be in the Bloods (seriously), I was all for it. And obviously, you don’t want to go wasting expensive, Napoleon cognac on a steak sauce.
This post’s video features my first attempt at SETTING FOOD ON FIRE. It’s really quite exciting, but I do feel like I have to add in the normal prerequisite warning. Though everything went well, we were not smart about this. Instead of using a stick lighter or a long match like normal people, we went with lighting a pencil with the stove and using that to light the flame. Effective, but not a good idea. So please, be smarter than we were.
Steak au Poivre (serves 2)
- 2 filet steaks, 1-1 1/2 inches thick
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2-3 Tbsp coarse ground pepper
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup cognac
Sprinkle each side of the filet with salt. Cover a plate with an even layer of crushed black peppercorns. Lay steaks down and coat on each side with pepper. Melt butter in a skillet until it begins to foam and brown. 
Cook steaks on each side for about 4 minutes for medium-rare (we did 3 minutes and got a good rare steak.) Remove steaks to a plate and cover with tin foil.
Pour off excess grease from the pan, but don’t remove any of the good bits that have fallen out. Here’s where the fun begins. Remove the pan from the heat and pour in cognac. Light sauce with a stick lighter and shake pan until the flames go out.
Then add cream and let boil for 5-6 minutes, until sauce coats the back of a spoon. Season with salt and maybe a bit more cognac. Serve over steak.
February 19, 2010 at 1:08 am |
I miss you guys!! What a sweet video — Jaya, your expression was priceless :)