Although J and I aren’t actually cooking a CorkPopper dinner this week in light of Christmas (followed by our trip to Argentina), I couldn’t help but post a recipe for this week’s winning wine anyway. The big, bold flavors in the Chateau Laubarit scream (to me, at least) for a beautiful steak, and what could be better than a delicious (and classically French) Steak au Poivre (Steak with Pepper Sauce)?
Steak au Poivre
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 boneless steaks (choose your favorite cut)
1/2 tablespoon coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1/4 stick unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup Cognac
Just over 1/4 cup heavy cream
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 200°F.
Pat steaks dry and season both sides with kosher salt.
Coarsely crush peppercorns in a sealed plastic bag with the bottom of a heavy skillet, then press pepper evenly onto both sides of steaks.
Heat a large, heavy skillet (cast-iron if you have it) over medium-high heat until hot then add oil. Saute the steaks, turning over just once until medium rare (about 3 minutes each side). Transfer the steaks to a platter and keep warm in the oven while making the sauce.
Scrape any fat from the skillet, then add the shallots and half of the butter, cooking over medium-low heat until the shallots are well-browned and any other browned bits have been scraped up (about 4 minutes or so).
Add the Cognac and boil until liquid is reduced to a glaze (just a couple of minutes). Add the cream and any meat juices that have accumulated on the platter. Boil, stirring occasionally, until reduced by about half (another 4 minutes). Add the remaining butter and cook over low heat, swirling the skillet, until the butter is fully incorporated.
Serve the sauce with the steaks.
* The nice image you see is courtesy of SeductionMeals.com. Looks delish!!
