evenstranger
Cook
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2007
- Messages
- 91
Well, I watched Alton Brown last week make a cognac cream sauce for his steaks and said to myself "Eh, why not?" Now, I've never used cognac... I've never TASTED cognac, so I had no idea whether I'd even like it, much less a sauce made with it. SO, I went to the liquor store and bought... Yes, you guessed it... ONE airplane sized bottle of cognac. The guy at the counter was looking at me like I had two heads. I gave a one word explanation "Recipe." and left.
So, I got home and did a quick inventory. Alton recommended peppercorns in brine, drained and crushed - I had hard, dry peppercorns. Alton recommended heavy cream - I had half&half. This wasn't looking good.
Undaunted, I seared the steaks, put them in the oven to stay warm, and started my sauce. I deglazed the pan with some store bought beef stock, added some coarsely ground pepper, and just for fun, a can of mushrooms. I let it reduce for about five minutes. Then I added the cognac, half&half and a little salt and let it reduce again another five to seven minutes. The sauce thickened up almost all at once and almost got too thick.
I took the steaks out of the oven, plated them, and drizzled (ok, glopped... I did say it was thick, right?) the sauce on top. My wife RAVED about the sauce and I have to admit my mouth has been watering for more ever since.
So, apart from the thickness, the sauce was a hit! We will definitely be doing it again, but this time, removing the pan from heat before it gets too thick.
Give it a shot and let me know how it goes!
Enjoy!
So, I got home and did a quick inventory. Alton recommended peppercorns in brine, drained and crushed - I had hard, dry peppercorns. Alton recommended heavy cream - I had half&half. This wasn't looking good.
Undaunted, I seared the steaks, put them in the oven to stay warm, and started my sauce. I deglazed the pan with some store bought beef stock, added some coarsely ground pepper, and just for fun, a can of mushrooms. I let it reduce for about five minutes. Then I added the cognac, half&half and a little salt and let it reduce again another five to seven minutes. The sauce thickened up almost all at once and almost got too thick.
I took the steaks out of the oven, plated them, and drizzled (ok, glopped... I did say it was thick, right?) the sauce on top. My wife RAVED about the sauce and I have to admit my mouth has been watering for more ever since.
So, apart from the thickness, the sauce was a hit! We will definitely be doing it again, but this time, removing the pan from heat before it gets too thick.
Give it a shot and let me know how it goes!
Enjoy!