Recipe: Steak au Poivre

I do love the French! I know most people (Americans) don’t have much good to say about the French, however when I was in Europe we met the nicest and most helpful people in Paris. It completely changed my view of the French. We met some wonderful people, and had a great time enjoying the city and the food!

Me outside the Moulin Rouge

I know that if for nothing else people will always like the French for their food!

I don’t do too many French dishes, mainly because of the old joke; “what are the three main ingredients in French cooking? Butter…butter…butter!”

Although every once in a while a nice French inspired dinner is welcome. I’ve had Steak au Poivre (ow-pwav) not only in French restaurants but also had to try it when I was in Paris and it is just marvelous. When I found a recipe for it online I was pretty impressed at how simple it is to make at home. Most French food does require a little more expertise but this was easy and relatively quick to make. The key to this dish is really the sauce, and to make a good French sauce you need fond!

Fond is the leftover juices and bits that are left in the skillet after you cook the meat. A good fond is what makes a great sauce!

Software

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used white truffle butter for additional flavor)

1 medium shallot, minced

1 cup beef broth (I used stock, didn’t go as well. I had a hard time reducing)

3/4 cup chicken broth (Same note as above)

1/4 cup heavy cream (organic!)

1/4 cup brandy (you see I did use VSOP for a little better flavor)

1 tsp champagne vinegar (this is expensive, so if you want use lemon juice)

Salt

4 steaks (I used sirloin but would have rather used strip, mine were about 6-8oz)

1 tbsp crushed black peppercorns (I used coarse ground and that was a mistake)

Hardware

Large skillet

Second slightly smaller pan

Tongs

Aluminum foil

First we are going to start the sauce! Put the skillet on the burner and set the heat to medium. Add 1 tbsp of the butter and let it foam. When that subsides, add the shallot. Sweat the shallot stirring occasionally for about 2 minutes.

Then add the broths, crank the heat to high, and keep it boiling until it’s reduced to 1/2 cup should be about 8 minutes for this part.

After that’s reduced pour the sauce base into a container for later and wipe out the skillet.

For the steaks you want to start by hitting both sides with salt. Then rub one side of each steak with about 1 teaspoon crushed peppercorns, use the heal of your hand to press peppercorns into steaks that will make them adhere better. (again I used coarse ground pepper and it was not a good idea, the steaks were a little too peppery for me, stick with the peppercorns)

Put the skillet back on the burner over medium heat until it gets hot, 4 minutes is a safe point. Then add the steaks with the unpeppered-side down. When you have added all the steaks crank up the heat to medium-high.

Here is the little secret; press down firm on steaks with bottom of that second skillet I had you grab! Resist all urge to move the steaks! We want them well browned and crusted, which should be about 6 minutes.

Use the tongs and flip the steaks. Again do the same thing with the skillet as before, figure about 4 minutes longer for a medium-rare. (5 if you want medium)

Transfer steaks to plate and loosely place aluminum foil over them to keep warm.

DO NOT CLEAN THE SKILLET!!!! Remember we need the Fond!

Now let’s finish the sauce! Pour the reduced broth back in the skillet, also add the cream, and brandy. Increase the heat to high and bring it all to a boil.

As it comes to a boil start scraping the bottom of the skillet with wooden spoon to break up the fond. When you have most of the fond up gently whisk it to incorporate it into the sauce.

Keep simmering until the sauce is a deep golden brown and thick enough to coat back of a spoon, this should take at least 5 minutes.

When you reach that point take it off the heat and whisk in the remaining butter and the vinegar. Taste it and add salt to your liking.

Then we plate it all! Put the steaks down on their serving plates and spoon the sauce over them, cut, eat and enjoy!

Review: Volnay Bistro Bar (Wayzata)

A lovely Fall Areal of Wayzata

It is no big secret to my friends that my favorite place in the Twin Cities is a little suburb called Wayzata (Y-zet-ta). It is situated right off of Lake Minnetonka and it just has all the charm of a small town without the pick-up trucks.

So in this quaint little suburb is a equally quaint little place I love to visit called Volnay Bistro Bar. In recent months I have been to, what I call, the big three French restaurants in Mpls/St. Paul and this is number Un (that’s one in French, see I’m cultured).

I determined the “big three” by using this simple formula, they must serve typical French food, I need to not be able to pronounce at least 3 menu items, and the ambiance must remind me of Pairs’ cafés. So for your reference my “big three” are, in order, Volnay (Wayzata), Pardon My French (Eagan), and Meritage (St. Paul).

So back to Volnay, I may review the other two another time but I want to tout Volnay right now. Summer is a great time to go there as they have patio seating with live music (usually jazz or something smooth) and partial views of the lake. However I never balk at the ambiance of the main dining room. If I ever get my dream of owning a restaurant I want it to look like Volnay.

The dinner menu is just sublime. There are some very important staples of French cuisine, including duck a l'orange (best I’ve ever had) and Beef Bourgine, along with some more tame items for the less adventurous, French onion soup and an array of safety salads.

Their wine list is quite extensive however they only have a handful of wines by the glass and their cheapest bottle was $45. It would not have been a big deal if we can ever decide on a bottle for the table but my friends and I all have different tastes so I was left with only a coffee.

After ordering they bring out fresh baked bread with European style butter. The main difference between American butter and European is that the latter has a higher butterfat content, which makes it more yummy, to use the technical term. Along with the bread you are also served an amuse-bouche. Which in my experience is usually only enjoyed at the finest of five star establishments but Volnay is out to impress and they do! The presentation of the main course is just perfect, a design that draws all attention to the main focus of the meal. I of course had the duck a l'orange which is served on a mascarpone and walnut risotto. The duck was so tender and perfectly done I didn’t have to use my knife. The skin was nice and crisp and flavorful as well. The duck is orange marinated and drizzled with an orange glaze. The orange is subtle enough that I get all the flavors of the meal coming though. I have had at other establishments a l'orange that was completely over powered by the orange flavor that it was like eating marmalade. Not here though, perfect…just perfect.

After such a rich meal I couldn’t even think of dessert although as you can guess all the selections look as good as you would expect from a French bistro.

Overall I will be returning to Volnay. I need to try some other dishes after all it was hard to choose just one! The ambiance is just wonderful it did remind me of the cafés of Paris and the service is always a delight. Please if you are in the area spend an evening there and I promise you will remember it always!

*UPDATE: As of January 1 2011 Volnay closed their doors. I will truly miss them. Thank you for the good times!*