Steak Au Poivre (Peppered Steaks With Cognac Cream Sauce) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon beef bouillon
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon marsala wine or 1 tablespoon madeira wine
1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/4 cup cognac
Steaks
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
4 (8 ounce) sirloin steaks, each 1-inch thick (room temperature)
2 tablespoons peppercorns, crushed (To crush, place the peppercorns in a plastic bag and flatten them with flat side of meat mallet)
garlic salt, to taste
1/2 loaf French bread, cut into 1-inch thick rounds & toasted on both sides

Preparation

In a saucepan, heat the cream until it reduces by half (20-30 minutes).
In a saute pan, heat the oil and butter.
Spread crushed peppercorns on a work surface.
Pat the steaks dry and coat both sides with an even layer of peppercorns, pressing in with heel of hand to make adhere; season to taste with garlic salt.
Lay the steaks in the pan.
Sear steaks over high heat to desired doneness (the steaks are medium-rare when they feel slightly resistant to touch and you can see a faint pearling of red juice on the surface).
Add bouillon, lemon juice, wine, and salt to the sauce, and stir.
When the steaks have cooked, remove them from the pan; pour in the brandy.
Ignite the brandy and, once the flames die down, stir to deglaze the pan; then add the brandy to the cream sauce.
Place each steak on a toasted slice of bread and top with sauce.