Home-made Peppercorn Sauce for Steak

Having two delicious looking fillet steaks to cook for dinner last night, my mind was in a whirl with different way to cook it. And after much consideration I decided that myself, like most people, just like a steak to be a steak. Pan fried, medium rare, with chips, peas and a perfect sauce on the side.

Peppercorn sauce has long been my favourite and I have tasted many types (from the sublime to the ridiculous!). This is the one we make at our house.

Ingredients:

1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp. whole black peppercorns
1 tsp. oil
25ml sherry (we used sweet, but you can use dry if liked)
75ml brandy
25ml beef stock (cube is fine)
large pinch ground black pepper
50ml double (heavy) cream


In a small bowl, mix the brandy and sherry together. Sweat the onions and the peppercorns on a low heat for ten minutes until onions cooked and peppercorns slightly softened. Pour half of the brandy/sherry mix into the pan and put the other half in a ladle, which has been warmed over the flame. Set light to the ladle full of alcohol and add to the pan to flambé. Be careful! When the flames subside, add the stock and ground pepper. Stir well.

On a medium heat simmer to reduce by half and then add the cream. Stir through. If making steaks at the same time, the steaks should be resting in foil beside you. I tend to pour the resting juices from the meat into the sauce, which ties the flavours in beautifully.

Serve the steak with the sauce on the side. Delicious!

Rhubarb & Strawberry Cobbler

We've been growing rhubarb in our garden for about 4 or 5 years and I have to say, it is the easiest thing to grow! It starts growing in April and keeps giving right up until the end of September. Then it sits quietly in the soil waiting for spring. I currently have rather a lot so I decided to make a dessert last night to go with some strawberries that I had in the fridge looking a bit over ripe.

This sweet cobbler I usually make with blueberries; this was SUCH a refreshing change. A cobbler is from the United States and England and can be either sweet or savoury - I like both. Here I have made my Rhubarb and Strawberry Cobbler.

Ingredients:

500g rhubarb, chopped into inch pieces
small punnet strawberries, quartered
140g sugar, plus 40g
200g plain flour
2 tsp. baking powder
85g butter, cubed
200ml double cream

Method:

Set the oven to 190 C. Put the rhubarb into a saucepan with 140g sugar and a tiny splash of water. Cook for about 5 minutes, so the rhubarb cooks a little, but holds its shape. Drain and put into a 9 inch pie dish. Mix in the strawberries. 

In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and 40g sugar. Rub the butter into the flour mix until it looks like large breadcrumbs. Stir in the cream - it should look like a loose, shaggy dough. Spoon small mounds of the dough, scone sized over the fruit. Don't cover all of the fruit as you want them to bubble up between the cobbler. Bake for 30 minutes until bubbling and golden and serve with softly whipped cream.

This dish is also delicious served cold with ice cream. Its a summery delight!