STEAK AU POIVRE

By Lutie

There are very few restaurants left that prepare haute cuisine. One of the best was the Heritage Room in Chicago. They had the best Oysters Rockefeller and Steak Diane I have ever tasted. Another favorite was the Colony East - again Steak Diane that was sinfully delicious. The only one still operating is Café la Cave on Mannheim Road north of O’Hare Airport. They still prepare flaming dishes tableside and I watched and learned all the ingredients they used to prepare their Steak Diane, Steak Au Poivre and Beef Stroganoff.

I don’t flame the dishes, as we tried it once and set off all the smoke alarms in the house. They are just as good without the flames.

I have never measured the ingredients for any of these, and it all depends on how many fillets you are making. I suggest you practice for just the two of you before serving to guests. I’ll give you the approximate amounts and you can go from there.

Ingredients

• Two fillets of beef 1 1/4” thick, sliced in half so steaks are 3/4” thick, flattened slightly
• Freshly ground pepper
• Butter
• 8 Oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
• Brandy
• Whipping Cream
• Beef demi glaze

Preparation

Step 1

Cover each fillet thoroughly with freshly ground pepper. Sauté in 2 Tbs. butter on high heat until you reach desired degree of doneness. Remove and keep warm. Lower heat and add sliced mushrooms (add additional butter if needed), and sauté until browned. Add a splash of brandy to deglaze pan. Add ¾ cup whipping cream and reduce by half. Add demi glaze to a cocoa brown. Return fillets to pan and cook for 1 minute. Season to taste with salt.

Note: The sauce for the steak au poivre (start the recipe by sautéing mushrooms in butter) is fantastic for meat loaf. It turns everyday meatloaf into meatloaf for guests.