Birthday Steak au Poivre...

Meg and I caught the movie Julie and Julia the other night which, along with my birthday, inspired a trip through our volume of the Mastering The Art of French Cooking. What's the easiest thing in the book that I love? That's easy: Steak au Poivre. My reaction when I see a nice steak is to fire up the grill but this steak is cooked in a skillet. Hmmm... Oh, and then they put a sauce on it. Huh? Flaming brandy?

I wrote for help. My friend Roger, who years ago helped me understand how to use my fingers to tell when a steak is done, was kind enough to send along some helpful hints including 1) use some good beef stock for the sauce and 2) use a sear/oven technique to cook the steak.

So last night Meg and I melded Roger and Julia's ideas together and went for it using a cast iron skillet and a non-flaming approach to adding the brandy as we finished off the sauce.

Add to that some delicious roasted vegetables (potatoes, onions, fennel, celeriac with rosemary and olive oil) and a fantastic Maple Walnut Apple Crisp that Meg made with our own apples and it was a feast!

Buvez: Smashed Pumpkin Ale from Shipyard Brewing (preparation) and a 2000 Januik Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington State (from the dark years).