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Julia Child Steak au Poivre

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Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns, roughly ground
  • 2 filet mignon steaks ½ – ¾ pound each, about 2½” thick – other thick (at least 1” thick) steaks work well, too
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil for frying and 4 tablespoons for the peppercorn marinade
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ⅓ cup Cognac or brandy
  • 1 tablespoon salt

Instructions
 

  • Preparation:
  • Pat steaks dry and allow to come to room temperature while you prepare the peppercorns.
  • Place the ground peppercorns in a medium skillet with the 4 tablespoons of oil and heat it over medium-low temperature about five minutes, until you can smell the peppercorns infusing their essential oils into the olive oil. Remove this mixture to a measuring cup or small bowl, add the tablespoon salt and mix well. Wipe the skillet out well with a paper towel.
  • Coat both sides of the steaks with the peppercorn mixture. In the skillet, heat the butter and the other tablespoon of olive oil over moderate-high heat until hot, just until it starts smoking, then sear the steaks for 4 minutes (3 – 3½ minutes for thinner steaks) on each side for medium rare. Transfer steaks to serving plates.
  • Pour off excess fat from the skillet and add the cream and Cognac. Boil the mixture, scraping up browned bits, until the sauce thickens and coats back of spoon, about 1 minute. Season the sauce with salt and spoon over steaks.
  • Serve with pommes frites, a nice salad and crusty bread.