Kristen here: Last nights meal was "Steak Béarnaise". Delightful! We had a lovely french bistro style dinner on the table in only about 40 minutes! It could have gone even more quickly but I was simultaneously helping a kid with his homework, holding my baby, teaching Erik how to drill the Kindergartener on his phonograms and chit chatting with our dear friend, Rob as he worked on a carving over our doorway. The recipe was so simple and clear, that despite all of those things (and the fact that I can be so spacey), it still turned out very well.
This recipe comes from "Barefoot in Paris", Ina Garten's textbook on french cuisine. Early last year, I tried my first recipe out of it, a Creme Brulee. If the book could make Creme Brulee entirely possible, I figured it was worth deeper exploration.
The highlight of tonights meal was clearly the Bearnaise sauce. It was creamy and a fabulous compliment to two very nice steaks. It was a sharp contrast to the typical American style steak sauces and toppings (think A-1, BBQ sauce, Montreal Steak Seasoning or a compound blue cheese butter). While those things have their place in the world of red meat, they do tend to mask the flavor of the steaks. This sauce allowed the flavor of the meat to shine through. The sauce began with a combination of white wine (I chose a Sonoma Sau Blanc), champagne vinegar, minced shallots, sea salt, pepper, and chopped Tarragon. A drier white would probably been a better choice- a buttery Chardonnay possibly? Once those ingredients were reduced, they were set aside to cool, awaiting the addition of several egg yolks, and hot melted butter (a lot of it). Then all that was left was a quick trip through the blender, and Voila! Easy as pie (or steak).
Kristen - that looks so beautiful and delicious! What did you serve it with? And what cut of steak is it? Or does it matter? I'm thinking I might venture into the world of french cuisine if it is as easy as you make it sound...
ReplyDeleteHi blog buddy! I served it with a crusty french baguette (ti's carries an organic baguette that is par baked, so you crisp it in the oven, only 1.99, totally delish!), and green peas without seasoning. I used NY steaks, the recipe calls for ribeye's though- either would be lovely. I don't think it would be as good with other cuts (sirloin, tri tip, etc...)- I think this sauce really needs a higher end cut to go with. Take heart though, ribeyes, ny's, and t-bones all find their way to sale prices at costco from time to time. That is when I stock up!
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