What did you cook or eat today? (October 2025)

[Barriehie]

My first attempt at steak au poivre.

Not a total failure, as the pepper crust was intact and the bottom had a nice sear. And overall it was delicious and tender. But my sauce would not thicken. And I wasn't in the mood to make a slurry as a quick fix. The sauce was tasty, but thin. And ran all over the steak and hid the crust

Stirring the sauce and playing with the heat let the steak get away from me about 7 degrees, but I prefer pink over red anyway. Still, with the pepper flavoring, I was shooting for a bit more rare.

Never having had it before, I was surprised at how the pepper did not overtake things. I guess the searing/roasting tames the peppercorns?

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Looks pretty good! I looked at a couple of recipes for that and didn't see where any kind of thickener was being added to the sauce; mostly just cook until it coats the back of a spoon?

 

[msmofet]

My first attempt at steak au poivre.

Not a total failure, as the pepper crust was intact and the bottom had a nice sear. And overall it was delicious and tender. But my sauce would not thicken. And I wasn't in the mood to make a slurry as a quick fix. The sauce was tasty, but thin. And ran all over the steak and hid the crust

Stirring the sauce and playing with the heat let the steak get away from me about 7 degrees, but I prefer pink over red anyway. Still, with the pepper flavoring, I was shooting for a bit more rare.

Never having had it before, I was surprised at how the pepper did not overtake things. I guess the searing/roasting tames the peppercorns?

View attachment 134511

View attachment 134512

Beautiful!!

 

[msmofet]

Went out with DD and her friend for dinner. Lee's Hawaiian Islander. We shared a Pu Pu Platter, Chicken Almond Ding, and Pork Fried rice. I had Two Mai Tai's and a Margarita, very potent drinks. LOL

Edit: Good thing DD did the driving.

 

[PAcanis]

Looks pretty good! I looked at a couple of recipes for that and didn't see where any kind of thickener was being added to the sauce; mostly just cook until it coats the back of a spoon?

Thanks!

That was the method of the recipe I used.

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from skillet and discard garlic and thyme. Add shallot and any reserved cracked peppercorns, return to medium heat, and cook, stirring, until shallot is tender, about 2 minutes.

Add brandy or cognac. (To prevent an unexpected flare-up if working over gas, you can turn off the burner, add the alcohol, then reignite the burner.) Cook until raw alcohol smell has burned off and brandy has almost completely evaporated.

Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer, stirring and scraping up any browned bits. Whisk in cream or crème fraîche, then simmer, stirring often, until sauce has reduced enough to glaze a spoon. Whisk in mustard. Season with salt.

Source: Classic Steak au Poivre Recipe

Basically my liquids were:
1Tbs fat from cooking steak
1Tbs butter for shallots
2Tbs cognac (poof!)
3/4c chicken broth
3/4c heavy cream

I must have cooked that down 20 minutes after bringing to a bubbling simmer and it just wasn't thickening. So by then I just said close enough, lol.

Next time (I should have bought another filet at half price. dang it.) I'm going to halve the chicken broth. Or reduce it before adding the cream.

Edit: forgot the little bit of dijon mustard at the very end.

 

[Barriehie]

Thanks!

That was the method of the recipe I used.

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from skillet and discard garlic and thyme. Add shallot and any reserved cracked peppercorns, return to medium heat, and cook, stirring, until shallot is tender, about 2 minutes.

Add brandy or cognac. (To prevent an unexpected flare-up if working over gas, you can turn off the burner, add the alcohol, then reignite the burner.) Cook until raw alcohol smell has burned off and brandy has almost completely evaporated.

Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer, stirring and scraping up any browned bits. Whisk in cream or crème fraîche, then simmer, stirring often, until sauce has reduced enough to glaze a spoon. Whisk in mustard. Season with salt.

Source: Classic Steak au Poivre Recipe

Basically my liquids were:
1Tbs fat from cooking steak
1Tbs butter for shallots
2Tbs cognac (poof!)
3/4c chicken broth
3/4c heavy cream

I must have cooked that down 20 minutes after bringing to a bubbling simmer and it just wasn't thickening. So by then I just said close enough, lol.

Next time (I should have bought another filet at half price. dang it.) I'm going to halve the chicken broth. Or reduce it before adding the cream.

Edit: forgot the little bit of dijon mustard at the very end.

Sneak in a Tbsp of flour...

 

[PAcanis]

That should work, too

Treat it like the gravy it is!

 

[msmofet]

Sneak in a Tbsp of flour...

Or a bit of roux like you make ahead.

 

[Barriehie]

Or a bit of roux like you make ahead.

Good idea! I don't think many people have made ahead roux in the fridge.

 

[badjak]

I wouldn't put flour.
Just reduce the liquid you add. You can always add more (and I would put the garlic back in)
You can also flambée the brandy. I love doing that. Must be my inner pyromaniac

 

[msmofet]

Good idea! I don't think many people have made ahead roux in the fridge.

I don't. When I make a pan gravy, I do a quick roux with butter added to whatever fat rendered in the pan, flour, and broth. I like a thick gravy, so I only cook my roux a minute to so. The longer you cook roux the less it thickens.

 

[PAcanis]

The cognac was flambeed. That's why I said poof

 

[badjak]

The cognac was flambeed. That's why I said poof

Sorry, I read over the poof bit

 

[SandwichShortOfAPicnic]

Son requested scallops for breakfast so I came up with this. I’m calling it Kitchen Sink Scallops because of the number of components. I was concerned it would be too much but they all went together deliciously. By the time everyone had rousted themselves it was 11am so it became brunch.

Sweet Patagonian Scallops with peppadew peppers, asparagus roasted in ghee, lemon and rosemary salt, double yolked egg, foaming lemon hollandaise sauce topped with, chilli crisp, soy oyster sauce drizzle, chives and crispy pancetta all on garlic buttered toast.

They loved it, said it was the best breakfast they’d ever had. Which was over egging it but it was tasty and I’d defo do it again

 

[Gone Hiking]

Some things from this week. (I can't get pics to load right from Imgur for some reason, so I'll try uploading them.)

NY Strip steaks with Sauce Espagnole, and sauteed garlic green beans with bacon and roasted mushrooms.

Seaweed stuffed sea scallops with a fish stock reduction, beech mushrooms, and sliced cucumber.

Grilled shrimp with pommes boulangère.

Smoked brisket chili finishing up right up.

 

[JAS_OH1]

I wouldn't put flour.
Just reduce the liquid you add. You can always add more (and I would put the garlic back in)

Totally agree.