Steak with Flame Sauce

This recipe does have a fancy name, Steak au Poivre to be exact. But I prefer steak with flame sauce. Trust me, it's appropriate.

Ingredients:
2 tenderloin steaks, 6 to 8 ounces each and no more than 1 1/2" thick
coarse sea salt
2 tbsp whole peppercorns
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp. olive oil
1/3 c. Cognac, plus 1 tsp.
1 c. heavy cream


Remove the steaks from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour prior to cooking. Sprinkle all sides with salt.

 

Coarsely crush the peppercorns with a mortar and pestle. Coat each side of the steaks with the crushed peppercorns.

In a skillet (we used cast iron) over medium heat, melt the butter and olive oil. As soon as the butter and oil begin to turn golden and smoke, gently place the steaks in the pan. Cook about 4 minutes a side. When the steaks are cooked to your liking (we prefer medium rare on the rare-ish side), remove them from the pan and onto a plate. Cover with aluminum foil and let rest. Pour any excess fat from the pan (we sop it up with a paper towel and then discard). Do not, however, clean the crusty bits from the pan.

Remove the pan from the heat and add 1/3 c. Cognac to the pan and ignite with a stick lighter. Shake the pan a bit until the flames die and the alcohol has burned off.

Place the pan back on the stove and add the cream. Bring the mixture up to a boil and whisk until it coats the back of a spoon. Add the remaining tsp. of Cognac and season with salt.

Add the steaks back into the pan and coat with the sauce. Serve the steaks with a heavy drizzle of the cream sauce.