Birthday dinner no. 41

Walt and I started making and eating French steak au poivre as his birthday dinner in 1982. That makes this one number 41. This year, we bought a thick steak called a faux-filet from the local butcher. Instead of Cognac, we made a sauce with Calvados (apple brandy) from Normandy, along with crème fraîche, veal stock, and Dijon mustard. And a good amount of crushed black peppercorns, of course.

Surprisingly, the sauce, despite all that pepper, is pretty mild. It's also very tasty. The raw steak gets coated with crushed pepper and "marinates" for an hour or two before being seared in a hot frying pan. The meat absorbs the peppery flavor, and the brandy and cream tone it all down. Here's a link to a 2020 post about French steak au poivre, including a recipe. BTW, we didn't eat all of this. We have leftovers for today or tomorrow.