Name: Steak au Poivre
Yield: 4 Servings
Ingredients: 2 1½"-thick New York strip steaks (about 1½ lb. total); Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper; 1 Tbsp. whole black peppercorns; 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil; 4 garlic cloves, 2 smashed, 2 thinly sliced; 3 sprigs thyme; 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided; 1 large shallot, finely chopped; ⅓ cup cognac, dry sherry, or brandy; ½ cup heavy cream; Flaky sea salt

Photo by Taylor Peden and Jen Munk / Courtesy Clarkson Potter, Random House

I recently had textbook-perfect steak au poivre at Gjusta in Venice, CA. If you haven’t had it before, it’s a classic French dish of steak drenched in creamy pepper sauce. It’s old school, but I think it deserves a comeback, which is why it got a spot in my first cookbook, out this April. A nice cut of steak is pan-fried (turn on all your vents and open the windows), and its juices, along with cognac, cream, and black pepper turn into a pan sauce of your 10 p.m. Parisian dinner dreams. Make sure to use freshly ground pepper, which has a brighter, fresher flavor than the preground stuff. Whether you use a mortar and pestle or a pepper mill, grind or crack the peppercorns as coarsely as possible so they add big pops of flavor and crunch. —Molly Baz

What you’ll need

Mortar and Pestle
$30 At Amazon
Cast Iron Skillet
$40 At Amazon
Cutting Board
$10 At IKEA
Instant-Read Thermometer
$35 At Thermoworks

Recipe notes

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