Valentine’s Day is on a Monday this year.


Can you say Lame-o?


If you’re planning to go out or do something special, you’ll probably be doing it on Friday or Saturday, no?
And, you’ll still want to do something a little extra special the day of, right?


If I were you, and I hadn’t already made this like 3 times in the past month, I would absolutely make this Filet au Poivre for my sweetie.



This is restaurant quality stuff, my friends.
No wait – scratch that.
Once you master this recipe, you will become a filet snob when out at restaurants. You will now be able to make steak better than about 80% of restaurants.


If that scares you and you’d rather live in steak mediocrity, turn away now.


Are you still there?
Welcome, my steak loving friend.


Before we do anything else, you need to travel on over to Steamy Kitchen and read Jaden’s prescription for salting a steak. Andrew and I have started doing this religiously and it really does make such a difference. The steaks for this recipe start with salting.


Steaks salted? Good, let’s go…


Gather all of your ingredients together. If you don’t have cognac, use brandy. If you don’t have shallots, use garlic. If you don’t have creme fraiche, use 1/2 cup heavy cream.

Melt your butter in a cast iron skillet.
Coat your filets in freshly ground pepper.

Turn your heat up to high (you’ll probably want to run your vent fan as well) and brown each side for about a minute.

Pop your steaks in the oven and let them cook for about 4 minutes (3 if you like them a little rare, 5 if you like them a little more cooked).


While the steaks are in the oven, measure out and prepare all of the remaining ingredients. This next bit will go pretty fast…

Remove the cast iron and transfer the steaks to a separate plate.
Over medium heat, saute the shallots for about 1 minute.

Add the mustard.

Add the cognac. Whisk together until combined.

Add the creme fraiche and the peppercorns.

Whisk together and allow to simmer for about a minute. Remove from heat.

Prepare a bed of arugula.

Place your gorgeous steak on top.

Smother with sauce.


See that gorgeous center? Yum!

Filet au Poivre

2 filets
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
2 T butter
1 T peppercorns
1 scallion, sliced
2 T dijon mustard
1/4 cup cognac
2 T creme fraiche
2 cups arugula
Preparation:
Salt steak using Steamy Kitchen method (if not, also coat steaks with salt when you coat with the pepper).
Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Melt butter in cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Coat steaks with freshly ground pepper. Turn heat up to high and brown filets, about 1 minute per side. Transfer skillet to oven. Cook for about 4 minutes for medium-rare.
Meanwhile, coarsely grind peppercorns using a mortar and pestle. (If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can put the peppercorns in a ziploc bag and crush with a rolling pin. A coffee grinder also works.)
Measure out all other ingredients and have at the ready.
Remove skillet from oven and transfer steaks to a plate.
Over medium heat, saute shallots for about 2 minutes. Add dijon mustard. Scrape browned bits from bottom of pan. Add cognac. Mix well using a whisk.
Add creme fraiche and crushed peppercorns. Whisk well. Allow to simmer for about a minute. Remove from heat.
Prepare a bed of arugula on each plate (about 1 cup per plate). Top with cooked filet. Smother filet with sauce.

Last Year – Lemon Angel Food Cake