How to Make Steak au Poivre

Steak? Good. Heavy cream? Great. The chance to set a pan of cognac on fire? Fantastic. Here’s how to make a delicious steak au poivre, a surprisingly easy (but extremely fancy-looking) French dish.

What You Need:
 - 2 steaks, 1 to 1½ inches thick
 - 2 tablespoons cracked peppercorns
 - 1 teaspoon olive oil
 - 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
 - 1/3 cup cognac
 - 1 cup heavy cream

Step 1: Coat boat sides of each steak with peppercorns and set aside.

Step 2: Add the olive oil and butter to a large frying pan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, place the steaks in the pan.

Step 3: Cook for 4 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan, set aside and cover the steaks with tinfoil.

Step 4: Add the cognac to the same pan you used to cook the steaks and use a long lighter to set the alcohol on fire, aka flambé.

Step 5: Once the alcohol has burned off, return the pan to the stove top and pour in the heavy cream. Mix well, scraping up all that good stuff from the bottom of the pan as you bring the mixture to a boil.

Step 6: Return the steaks to the pan to coat them with sauce before serving.