Steak au Poivre
Thursday, 10 September 2009
Last Saturday, I cooked a steak for the very first time.
Romantic Dinner for Two
Harthill Farm Cabernet Sauvignon
New York Strip Steak au Poivre
Organic Green Beans
Ina’s Potatoes
Organic Spinach and Romaine Salad with Fig Vinaigrette
Ghirardelli Twilight Delight Chocolate
I was curious to try the method from Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home by Julia Child and Jacques Pepin. Steak au Poivre is one of the Daddy Monkey’s favorite meals, and I can’t believe I never made it before. Two very thick steaks are coated with cracked black pepper and salt, then seared in a very hot cast iron skillet. They are then finished in a 250 degree oven for about 25 more minutes. (Longer if you do not like it rare.)
The steaks are removed to rest, then a minced shallot is added to the pan, the pan is deglazed with cognac and stock and reduced down. A big fat tablespoon of butter is swirled in at the end, to give the sauce more body and flavor.
It was incredibly easy and by far the most delicious steak I had ever eaten. It seems like sacrilege to put a steak in the oven but this works, and the results are far more reliable than our cheap gas grill.
No. 1 — September 10th, 2009 at 8:23 am
Wow! My husband would just lay down and die if I made him a steak like that! Or any steak at all, for that matter. Lucky Daddy Monkey!
No. 2 — September 10th, 2009 at 11:16 am
What a beautiful meal!!!!!! I am so happy to have seen that. This is why blogging is so great. We all get little extra reasons to think our friends and people in general are just really, really cool.
No. 3 — September 10th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
True, true, what the others said. I love these little glimpses, esp from across the world. YUM. If you were deglazing iwth cognac, I think that is something I want to know about. Becasue it makes me happy. Yes, Daddy Monkey rocks, but he is one lucky dude to have you as momma, wife, and chef.
No. 4 — September 10th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
beautiful steak-esp. for a make-steak-virgin. mmmm.
No. 5 — September 10th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
It truly was so easy and incredible beyond words, BUT it did make the house smell like MEAT for a good 12 hours.
I also have to say that the photo does not do it justice. That steak was easily an inch and a half thick. Maybe more. Thank you Whole Foods…the only place we ever buy steak. You get what you pay for.
And I just so happened to have the cognac on hand. It was an xmas gift years ago and we never drink it. You couldn’t really taste the cognac flavor, it was very subtle.
No. 6 — September 10th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Sounds wonderful. I’ve been reading Julia Child’s biography of her life in France and she’s inspired me to try to whip all sorts of indulgences!
No. 7 — September 15th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I LOVE watching Julia and Jacques on PBS on Sundays…always inspiring and so I know I have to try this one…it looks easy and yummy! I had my first whole foods steak a few weeks ago and wow–you are right–you get what you pay for–hard to buy it anywhere else now!