Steak au Poivre

I had no idea what 'au Poivre' meant, so I looked it up on Wikipedia.  The recipe from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook is almost exactly the same!  I thought it was very simple and tasty.  I wish I would've bought some Peppercorn, because I think it would've added more flavor, but regular black pepper was good too.  I used all beef broth instead of the brandy, just because I didn't want to spend more money than I had to!  I also added some onions to the sauce, and they only added to the flavor!  I wish I would have let the sauce reduce a little bit more for the consistency (maybe boil for 8 minutes instead of 5), but like I said, it still tasted good!

Steak au Poivre

•  1 tablespoon cracked black pepper (peppercorn)
• 4 beef tenderloin steaks 
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup brandy or beef broth
• 1/4 cup beef broth
• 1/2 cup whipping cream (no substitutes)
• 2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard

Use your fingers to press the pper onto both sides of the steaks. In a large skillet cook steaks in hot butter over medium heat to desired doneness, turning once. Transfer steaks to a serving platter, reserving drippings in skillet; keep warm.

Remove skillet from burner and allow tos tand for 1 minute. For sauce, combine brandy and beef broth (or all beef broth); carefully stir into drippings in skillet, scraping up crusty browned bits. Stir in whipping cream and mustard. Bring to boiling. Boil gently, uncovered, over medium heat for 5-6 minutes or until mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup, stirring occasionally. Spoon sauce over steaks to serve.