Upon the ‘almost’ completion of a purely precautionary series of treatments, my daughter and I celebrated in style the night before my last treatment. Not wishing to let the actual finality escape, I decided to go it alone. Having just touted the ease and scrumptiousness of fondant potatoes, and having a potato on hand, I decided to test my ‘easy’ hypothesis and pair them with a nice filet I had just brought home from the market.
Once prepped, the potatoes take 25-30 minutes on the stovetop, plenty of time to prepare and cook the filet, and to prepare a nice salad. In fact, it’s textbook process from start to dining.
The first time I made the potatoes, I ladled the butter, beef stock, rosemary, and thyme poaching liquid over the potatoes as they cooked. Even so, I had quite a bit left over. What to do with it? Here’s where the piddling comes in.
The first online cooking demo I ever took was on stovetop filet preparation (The Chopping Block, of course), and the finish was au poivre – cracked pepper. If you look for a pepper sauce recipe, you’ll most likely find the French version, rich with cream and cognac, and pepper, of course. I was more interested in the pepper part, and had a feeling that the poaching liquid from the potatoes just might be the vehicle.
When the potatoes were done and on the plate, and while the filet was resting, I used a small sauce pan, and ladled some of the poaching liquid into it. Next, a generous addition of fresh ground pepper (the coarser the better), gave me the flavor I wanted. A sprinkling of flour (and you could use cornstarch or arrowroot) helped thicken it a bit, and by jove, I think I got it.
A word about the filet. What I learned was to turn the heat on under the pan a good 20 or so minutes before you’re ready to cook. You want it very hot. Then, just before you put the meat on, put a ‘knob’ of butter in the pan (it’ll melt and sizzle), and put the filet in the butter. A few minutes on each side, and you’re done.
Always remember to celebrate well, whether alone or in the company of others. Life’s too short to do otherwise. Bon appétit!!
never 2 old 2 start cooking 
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