Steak au Poivre- Pepper steak
"This recipe is verbatim to how dad sent it to me in 1998. It’s also good with sautéed mushrooms!" - Meg

Good steak (filet mignon)
Marinate the steak with a sprinkling of brandy and lots of fresh ground pepper- the pepper should literally cover the meat. Marinate steak for 2 hours.
Fry meat in a frying pan with a good coating of good olive oil/unsalted butter about ½ and ½. Cook until brown on one side then flip to the other side to brown,
Remove the steak to a plate or bowl and gently fry some chopped shallots in the oil still in the pan- just a few and do not burn them or the oil.
Place the meat back in the pan with the shallots. CAREFULLY pour in brandy from marinating (I often add more for flavor) tilt the pan slightly- the brandy should then FLAME HALF-WAY TO THE SKY when lit from the stove burner- BE CAREFUL- shake the pan slightly until the flames die out.
Remove the meat back to the plate and pour room temperature heavy cream (how much? How much sauce do you want? Probably a 1/3 to ½ of a cup for two people) and heat gently stirring in all other bits from the pan.
Stir in ½ to a full tablespoon of tomato paste- amount depends on how tomatoey and how pink-red you want the sauce.
Put the meat back into the pan, pouring in all sauces that have collected on the plate with the meat. Mix the sauce in the pan and pour over the meat.
Place the meat on individual serving plates and spoon the sauce over the meat. This goes especially well with frites (page ?)

I vaguely remember this recipe from growing up, but know that it is courtesy of Charles and Liliane. I have made it as an adult- it is a crowd pleaser and a beautiful presentation. Easy to make and you get to set it on fire, what more could you want!