Best. Steak. Ever.

Fellow Home Chef/Next Food Network Star Wannabe/foodie/wine enthusiast Erika dropped by last night for what can really only be described as a sinfully good evening of food and wine. Both of us were experimenting with old favorites tonight: hers a sweet and fruity baked brie wrapped in fillo dough--mine an indulgent cut of beef tenderloin (aka filet mignon aka frickin delicious) with a French cognac sauce.

I had never had baked brie before, so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. Erika sliced a couple of quarters of brief in half, covered the bottom halves with peach preserves and sliced almonds, and laid the top halves over the combination. Then she wrapped them in fillo dough (which will now make tons of appearances here in coming weeks), spread with a little butter, and we stuck them in the oven.

Holy crap. So simple. So profoundly amazing. The light sweetness of the preserves plus the bold flavor of the smoothly melted cheese matched up perfectly with the soft crisp of the almonds and (in my opinion) the flaky fillo dough. There wasn't a single bit left.


In the meanwhile, I was going to work on the tenderloins. I dashed a bit of kosher salt and coarsely ground black peppercorns (about 1/4 of their original size) along with some cumin and coriander and pressed them into my room temperature steaks. Then covered with melted butter and drizzled with honey, hoping it would make the steaks caramelize on the outside and hold in the flavor of my spices. I pan seared them over high heat in a bit more butter and olive oil, about two minutes on each side, and the strategy worked. The honey caramelized to give the steaks a beautiful, crusty outside, with very few juices left over in the pan. Perfect.

Then tossed them in the over for about 12 minutes at 350 degrees for medium rare. While the steaks were cooking, I added a dash of butter, about a quarter cup of cream, a couple of splashes of cognac, a heaping tablespoon of hot chinese mustard, salt, pepper, and some beef stock and reduced by half over medium-high heat. Pulled the steak out and let it sit for five minutes before spooning the sauce over it and serving with my green bean frites (green beans brushed with olive oil, salted, peppered, and baked at 350 for about 15 minutes, or until a little shrivelled). Best steak I've ever made. Bar none. And arguably the best steak I've ever had. Period. (Unfortunately, Erika cannot say the same. I undercooked hers, terrified I was going to pull out a well done tenderloin. Whoops! Sorry, Erika!)