A crowd pleaser to be sure. I can’t think of any meal quite as satisfying as what we served at the Auberge. The steak au poivre alongside a Gratin Dauphinois is the kind of meal you want on a cold snowy night – the likes of which we have been having. A culinary surgeon general for this meal. It is not for the weak of heart, let alone anyone with liver, arterial or other medical ailments you may have been burdened with. It’s just too good. I’m sorry. First, let me talk briefly about the Gratin Dauphinois. Yes, like any Chef I have to tinker with the recipe. I can’t help it. But nothing dramatic rest assured. I added a little bit more garlic and butter to rub dish with. The potatoes were same. Good size spuds. I did add additional grated Swiss cheese and a tad more heavy cream to the recipe. It turned out, well spectacularly. My culinary assistant was beside himself and never left my side.
Now about the steak. As I indicated earlier, my butcher handpicked a beautifully marbled strip steak. I mixed crushed green and black peppercorns together then covered the steak wrapping up for 3 hours to let the peppercorn flavor truly permeate the beef. The Cognac cream sauce with green peppercorns worked beautifully with the steak. What a marriage. The final coup de grace was the wine selection which ended up being a 2008 bottle of La Sauvageonne, Les Ruffes, Coteaux du Languedoc. The wine selection is a great blend of Syrah, Grenache, Carignan and Cinsault. It has a wonderful peppery finish and one I definately recommend you try.
In conclusion, this was a great Plat du Jour for the auberge. A real crowd pleaser and most likely we will be serving it again.