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Seared Strip Steak with Green Peppercorn Cognac Cream Sauce

Dinner for Natalie Saturday night:

• Great Bay Breeze Martinis
• Homemade Guacamole (made by Sarah)
• Pan Roasted Baby Artichokes with Lemon and Garlic
• Seared Strip Steak with Cognac Green Peppercorn Cream Sauce (my own improvisation)
• Sauteed Green Beans with Red Onion and Radicchio [Fine Cooking #62]
• Espresso Creme Brulee
• Roasted Red Baby Potatoes
• Casa Lapostolle Sauvignon Blanc (eh, too much mineral for my tastes)
• Graham Beck 2003 Pinotage (we all really liked this, very earthy and leathery)

And for breakfast the next morning, Herb and Onion Frittata which I had tested out last week.

Some notes... I was curious to try out Baby Artichokes. Definitely easier to prep for this recipe since you don't need to remove the choke, but one package of Baby Artichokes was not really enough for three people. The steaks were seared on each side until nicely caramelized and then put into a 350 oven while I made the sauce. They came out absolutely perfectly medium rare -- I will probably never be able do this again.

The sauce was minced shallots, about 3 Tbsp green peppercorns (in brine) crushed, 1/2 cup cognac, 2 cans of beef stock reduced to 3/4 cup and around 3/8 to 1/2 cup cream -- and it was way too salty, so I ended up cutting it with about a cup of water and further fiddling with flour, butter and milk to try and save it. In the end, it was fine, although it ended up lacking some flavor. I think my saltiness problems were due to not soaking and rinsing the peppercorns enough, and over-reducing the beef stock.

The espresso creme brulee was a big hit, and actually came out with the right custard consistency -- I think I've finally found the recipe that works for me.