recipe : steak with béarnaise

yesterday was bastille day and, as a francophile, i honored france's national celebration with food. tuesday i picked up very acceptable pastries at the french bakery in crossroads mall. my two croissants, one raspberry, one marionberry with cream cheese, were still fluffy-flaky even day old. the dark chocolate dipped coconut macaroons, however, were too dense. i abandoned mine mid-munch.

for dinner i attempted something new. i turned to my generation's julia child, the great barefoot contessa, and opened up her cookbook barefoot in paris. steak with béarnaise looked the best, and i knew with ina's guidance, all would taste splendid. i had two simple sides: grilled artichoke and fresh radishes in a bowl of kosher salt. i chose a viognier for the "white wine" in ina's recipe.

i made some changes. stu (hubby) grilled the new york steaks (grocer was out of rib eye) instead of pan searing. since i dislike tarragon, i subbed basil which i have lots of right now.

it was one of the best steaks i've ever had. the béarnaise, with it's 2 sticks of butter, flawlessly accompanied our garden-grown grilled artichokes. anything left was sopped up with grilled baguette. YUM. it was fast and easy, can't beat that.

original recipe : steak with béarnaise
(please excuse the capitol letters)

Ingredients

For the sauce:

1/4 cup Champagne vinegar

1/4 cup good white wine

2 tablespoons minced shallots

3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves, divided

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 extra-large egg yolks

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

6 (1-inch thick) rib eye steaks

Olive Oil

Coarsely ground black pepper

Directions

For the sauce, put the Champagne vinegar, white wine, shallots, 1 tablespoon tarragon leaves, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is reduced to a few tablespoons. Cool slightly.

Place the cooled mixture with the egg yolks and 1 teaspoon salt in the jar of a blender and blend for 30 seconds. With blender on, slowly pour the hot butter through the opening in the lid. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of tarragon leaves and blend only for a second. If the sauce is too thick, add a tablespoon of white wine to thin. Keep at room temperature until serving.

Season the steaks liberally with salt and coarsely ground black pepper on both sides. Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a large saute pan over high heat until it's almost smoking, then sear the steaks on each side for 1 minute. Lower the heat to low and cook the steaks for about 7 to 10 minutes, turning once, until very rare in the middle. Remove to a plate, cover tightly with aluminum foil and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Serve with the Bearnaise sauce on the side.

Note: To make the sauce in advance, prepare an hour before serving and allow it to sit in the blender. Before serving, add 1 tablespoon of the hottest tap water and blend for a few seconds.

thinking of paris,

paulette

...did you try this recipe? how did it go?