This is an elegant, and gourmet dish that is easy to prepare and perfect to serve for a special dinner. The Alderwood Sea Salt (a very fine and mild salt), is used to salt and tenderize the steaks. The Smoked Whole Peppercorns and Fennel Seeds coat the steaks and provide an outstanding pepper flavor to the meat. Finally, the rich cream sauce has just the right flavors, and it totally enhances the final steak . This is a really exquisite dish that will be a big hit for any steak lover.
Ingredients:
2 Steaks (about 8 ounces each)- rib-eye, filet mignon, or NY Strip steaks
2-3 Tblspns Whole Smoked Black Peppercorns
2 tsp Fennel Seeds
2 tsp Alderwood Smoked Sea Salt
2 Tblspns butter
2 Tblspns oil (not olive oil)
3 Tblspns shallots, chopped
1/2 cup beef broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup cognac
2 tsp Dijon mustard
Chopped Fresh Onion Chives
Directions:
Pat dry the steaks and remove any large fat pieces. Salt all sides of the steak with the Alderwood Sea Salt. Place the salted steaks in the refrigerator for about 2 hours. Using a heavy skillet, pound the Peppercorns and Fennel Seeds between two sheets of waxed paper until the seeds are coarsely chopped. Remove the steaks from the refrigerator and press the Peppercorn mixture into both sides of the steaks. Let the peppered steaks stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before cooking. Heat a heavy skillet and then add the butter and oil to the skillet. Cook the butter and oil until hot, but not smoky. Cook the steaks for 4 -5 minutes on each side (this will be a medium rare steak). Transfer the steaks to a serving plate and keep warm. To make the sauce, pour the excess fat out of the skillet and then cook the shallots for about a minute. Add the beef broth and deglaze the pan. Add the cream and the cognac and cook this mixture for about a minute, until the sauce thickens slightly. Whisk in the Dijon mustard and add a pinch of the Alderwood sea salt, if needed. Pour the sauce over the steaks and then sprinkle the top of each steak with the chopped chives. Serve immediately.
