[9ballprodigy]

hey guys, the chef of my kitchen has issued a challenge: create any dish with any ingredient. the criticism will be on flavor balance, seasoning, and execution.

i am a big fan of french bistro cooking. so i chose steak au poivre.

my question is this: is the sauce cream based or made with a reduction of veal stock?

i always did mine by creating a pan sauce by deglazing with cream and cognac. i just learned of other places do with with veal stock and demi glace instead of cream. which way is the most authentic??

oh, and btw, i plan to serve this with rosemary and sea salt roasted fingerling poatoes and top off the steak with sauteed mushrooms.

how's it sound?

[Cat Man]

Both!
The perfect au poivre has a great veal demi w/booze, blended with a sour cream/butter/heavy cream sauce. Of coarse (pun intended) lots of pepper.

In my opinion

Cat Man

[kuan]

I've always done it something like..

Shallots, Cognac, green peppercorns, demi, touch of cream (optional), monte au beurre.

Nowadays though, while many might appreciate a traditional Steak au Poivre, it might be a good idea to try and modernize it a bit.

[bluezebra]

kuan I think that's great advice!

But keep the steak. Everyone loves steak.

[Blade55440]

mmm that sounds really good. I think that's going to be the next dish I make for my friends.

[bluezebra]

Hey instead of the heavy cream sauce, why not make a compound butter with the au poivre that incorporates the cognac and green peppercorns? That would update it.

Then you could serve it plated with red and gold baby beets and your salted fingerlings!?

[Ma Facon]

Slice NY strip steak 1/8" thick, 6-8 oz. portion 2-3 slices. Place the sautee fork on one end or the "order" of sliced steak and roll it up around the sautee fork. Heat a sautee pan until very hot, Add 1-1 1/2 oz. clarified butter and swirl, Unroll beef from fork into the pan, Turn over after a brief period on the first side, Roll the steak back on the fork and unroll onto warm serving plate,Add shallots, Green peppercorns,(at this point add "YOUR" mushrooms), Cognac, "flame" reduce, add veal demi, a splash of Lea&Perrins, Reduce briefly until proper consistency and either add cream or butter, Spoon sauce over steak and enjoy.........

[chrose]

Originally Posted by kuan

I've always done it something like..

Shallots, Cognac, green peppercorns, demi, touch of cream (optional), monte au beurre.

.

I have always done it like Kuan, although I have also done it substituting red wine for the Cognac as well.

[Ma Facon]

The original Q also includes execution, Originally designed as a tableside dish, Hackers have torn it apart since. Bastards............


Answer me this: Why change a dish that is time proven? Again , There is nothing new under the sun. If originality can not be put on a plate Get a job in construction, Or ????? You can't change the Sun, Sky, or the color of the green grass.

[9ballprodigy]

well, i went in the competition and presented my dish. in terms of execution and flavor, i think i got a B. the major problem was my potatoes. i couldn't find fingerling potatoes so i went ahead and cubed up from red potatoes instead. seasoning was dead on, but i guess some of the potatoes were undercooked. i was there with 7 other prep guys like myself and i think i presented a clean dish with sophisticated plating. a small arangement of the roasted potatoes on one end of a rectangular plate and my steak (tenderloin fillet) on the other end, topped with the mushrooms, a small green garnish, and a blob/smear of the pan sauce between the two. the chef really liked the sauce and wanted more of it on the dish rather than a condiment-like portion. the kitchen ran out of brandy so i couldn't use it to deglaze. i tried with red wine and the sauce turned sour. so as a last-minute attempt, i browned some butter up, grounded some pepper into it, dumped a quarter cup of white wine in there, reduced, cream, salted it, and finished it off with a pat of butter. turned out ok i guess since the chef liked it.

here were my competitor's dishes: along with a brief criticism expressed by the chef. the restaurant is in hawaii so you see a lot of asian and pacific rim flavors.

1. seafood and grits: scallops were over done.
2. beef wellington with a butter bean salad and sherry vinaigrette: beef was over done and plating was a tad on the complicated side
3. furikake (a japanese seasoning consisting of dried seaweed flakes and sesame seeds) crusted salmon, with a miso (fermented soybean paste) cream sauce on top of lemongrass rice: the plating was overly complicated and used a bowl instead of a plate. the result was the sauce ran over the fish and into the rice and overpowered it.
4. paplova (sp?) with a passion fruit sauce topped with starfruit, kiwi and strawberries: it was excellent. the chef wished that she could have incorporated more local fruits rather than fruits that have come over seas.
5. pan seared duck breast with orange mashed potatoes with a mango sauce and asparagus: breast was over cooked, too much sauce.
6. a korean dish featuring a spicy-sweet chili sauce tossed with cucumber, cabbage, with steamed rice cakes: it was a vegan dish, simplistic, but the chef had no real qualm with it other than the rice cake was store bought.
7. ravioli filled with goat cheese and pipikaula (a smoked meat... think really tender, and juicy beef jerky): the chef didn't get a chance to eat it because there was only two pieces and we all basically grabbed a fork and dug in for the tasting.

i wish i could attach photos for you guys.

[bluezebra]

Thanks for posting your results!!! Congrats!