Strip Steak Au Poivre

Basically a super fancy French way to dress a steak, and yet SOOO easy!! The recipe is pretty fool proof in my opinion, you really don't even have to measure anything out. In fact, I used measurments for this, but ended up putting an extra splash of everything in just because I felt like I wanted more.

This is normally made with filet, but dude, I'm on a budget here. Who do I look like? Kate Middleton?? Come on. Also I'm kinda pissed lately because the whole point of cooking a nice steak at home is because its cheaper then going to a restaurant. But lately at the store filet are like $18 a pound! I could hit up The Outback for that, and they will clean up after me! So anyway I went with some nice NY Strips...not as posh, but we ate the hell outta those...

Ingredients:
2 NY Strip steaks (or filet if you don't have bills to pay)
1 large shallot sliced
1/2 cup half and half
1/3 cup congac (aaaaaaw yeah!)
1 pair of balls (cuz you gonna light that congac on FIRE)
2 tbs whole pepper corns (I used black and pink)
salt
1 tbs butter
1 tbs oilive oil
Fresh chopped parsley

Directions:
Coarsly crush the peppercorns in a mortar and pestle, or under a cast iron pan, or VERY breifly in a spice grinder. The point is you want them very texturey. Pat the steaks dry and then librally salt them and coat them in the pepper on both sides (best done on a plate).

In a pan (preferably NOT a non-stick, you wanna get that crust goin on), melt the button with the oil on medium heat. Once they are sufficiently hot (starting to slightly darken and bubble), lay the seaks down in there and hope you hear that sizzle. A strip steak about 1-1.5inches thick should take 4 minutes on each side for a nice medium rare. So cook the one side 4 minutes, flip it ONCE, and cook for 4 minutes. remove the steaks to a plate and cover with a foil tent to keep them warm. 

Lower the heat of the pan and add the shallot. You may need to add a touch more oil. Once the shallots start to soften, remove from heat (especially if you have a gas range) and add the congac. Return to the heat, stir a little to deglaze the pan, then grab your balls, and a BBQ lighter, and ignite it in the pan. It will flame up, which is awesome. Shake the pan gently until the flames disappear (probably will take 20-30 seconds). Then add the half and half, and continue to stir until the sauce thickens.

Once thickened to your liking, plate the steaks and pour the sauce over. Sprinkle with parsley. We served these up with a very simple side salad.