pink peppercorns

Green Peppercorn Steak au Poivre avec Poire, n’est-ce pas?

03 Jun 2011
Green Peppercorn Crusted Filet of Beef

Sometimes I need inspiration to get my butt in the kitchen. Sometimes that inspiration comes from food. Sometimes it comes from friends and sometimes it comes from words. Even French words. 

I like words. I like alliteration. I like French words.

Poivre et Poire! How could I not make that? And how come I never thought of using those words, err, I mean ingredients together before?

But this recipe has more going for it than merely an overly cute name. It's an amalgamation of a combination of several classic ideas.

It did not start out that way. 

I set off to make a pretty straightforward seared steak with a green peppercorn pan sauce. I'm sure you have made something similar. Hot pan, crusty bits of beef– deglazed with cognac. Add some stock and finish with a bit of cream or butter.

Which makes a nice sauce but leaves you with a pretty boring piece of meat. Because the only steak I had in the house was filet. Now filet has a nice soft (buttery– there I said it) texture. But that's about all it has. It a bit flat in the flavor department. I pretty much never make filet of beef without adding something to give it some weight. A nice sauce is a good start but it's not really far enough by half. The classic is a green peppercorn cream sauce. But a creamy sauce and a soft-textured piece of beef make me want to bite my own tongue. Really it's just too soft a combination in most cases.

Sippity Sup Continues »
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Green Peppercorn Filet of Beef with Pear Vinegar Pan Sauce

reen Peppercorn Filet of Beef with Pear Vinegar Pan Sauce
By jgreghenry Published June 3, 2011
Prep time: 20
Yield:1 ()

Ingredients:

  • 1 t whole allspice berries, crushed
  • 1 T whole pink peppercorns, lightly crushed
  • 3 T green peppercorns in brine, drained
  • 1 T butter, softened
  • 1 t brown sugar
  • 0 salt as needed
  • 4 filets of beef in individually-sized proportions
  • 1 T canola oil, or more as needed
  • 0.25 c pear vinegar, or other fruity vinegar
  • 1 c chicken stock

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In a small bowl combine all the peppercorns, butter and brown sugar, stirring to form a paste. Set aside. Add the oil to an oven proof or cast iron skillet. Set over medium high heat until the oil shimmers. Pat the steaks dry with a paper towel. Generously salt the filets on both sides. Then smear 1/4 of the paste onto each filet. Add the meat to the hot skillet, peppercorn side down. It will pop and sizzle. Sear until well-browned, about 3 minutes. Flip the meat and move it to the oven to finish cooking to your desired doneness, or to an interior temperature of 125 degrees F for medium-rare. Do not crowd the filets use multiple skillets if necessary. When finished cooking move the filets to a plate to rest. Set the skillet over medium heat. Deglaze the pan with the pear vinegar. Add the chicken stock and reduce by half until slightly thickened. Strain the sauce into a small bowl. Discard solids. Serve the steaks, peppercorn side up on a plate with a drizzle of the pear vinegar pan sauce.

Notes:

serves 4

Default Pasta: Chicken Livers with Truffles, Pink Peppercorns & S.Pellegrino

02 Feb 2010
ingredients for chicken liver pasta

Quick boil some water!

No I'm not having a baby– it's Default Pasta Night!

At my house Default Pasta makes regular appearances. In fact I'd even go so far as to call these appearances star turns. That's because learning how to bring forth quick, flavorful weeknight meals can be a lifesaver, and a toe-tapper as you will see.

There are a lot of good reasons to master the concept of Default Pasta. Maybe you have not been to the grocery store for weeks and the fridge and pantry are pretty bare. But never fear, because if you follow my rules for Default Pasta you can make any meal special.

Of course in my world (well, most of our worlds really) Default Pasta Night happens at the end of a long day, you are tired, hungry and just want to turn the TV on and sing and dance along with Glee. Singing and dancing with hot soup is hell on the carpet, and you are sure to burn your vocal chords. That's where the Default Pasta rules come in and that's what the pot of boiling water I used as my opening hook is for; cooking dried pasta, the greatest friend a weeknight cook has ever had.

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Terrine de Campagne with pink Peppercorns

Terrine de Campagne with pink Peppercorns
By jgreghenry Published November 28, 2009
Prep time: 360
Yield:1 ()

Ingredients:

  • 0.5 lb lean pork (such as loin) cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 c chciken livers, trimmed
  • 4 sli bacon roughly chopped
  • 1 t salt
  • 0.5 t black peppercoens, lightly crushed
  • 1 T pink peppercorns, lightly crushed
  • 3 T brandy
  • 2 medium shallots, minced
  • 2 egg, lightly beaten
  • 8 bay leaves, whole
  • 12 sli bacon, left whole

Directions

12 or 13 slices of bacon 1. Put the pork loin cubes, chicken livers and roughly chopped bacon into the bowl of your food processor equipped with the blade attachment. 2. Pulse the mixture 12 or 15 times, scraping the sides down 2 or 3 times during the process. You are looking for a very varied texture. Do not over process. 3. Once you are happy with the texture move the meat mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add the salt, pink and black peppercorns and the brandy. Stir to incorporate. Next, add 2 lightly beaten eggs along with the shallots. Mix this all together quite well. 4. Choose a three cup terrine mold, or some other oven proof dish of appropriate size and shape 5. Lay a single file line of bay leaves along the bottom of my terrine. These are mostly for flavor, but they can be a pretty decoration as well. Either way, they are and optional. 6. Line the long sides of terrine with strips of bacon. Leave enough bacon hanging over both sides to cover the top. Line the entire length of the mold. But the two ends should be left open with out a bacon covering. 7. Spoon the meat mixture into the terrine mold. Filling nearly all the way to the top, but leave about 1/4 inch of space. Fold the hanging bacon up and over the entire top of the terrine. 8. If your mold has a lid put that onto cover the terrine. If not, cut a piece of parchment to size and wrap the whole terrine all the way around in aluminum foil. Let the flavors come together in the refrigerator at least 6 hours. Overnight is better. 9. When you are ready to cook the terrine preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the covered terrine in a large baking dish and pour water into the baking dish to come halfway up the sides of the terrine. 10. Bake this in the bain-marie for 1 1/2 hours, or until the pâté starts to pull away from the sides of the mold. 11. Lift the terrine out of the water and set it aside to cool completely while still covered. 12. Once it is cool, drain off any extra liquid in the terrine mold. You may need to run a knife along the edges of the mold to be assured that it is not sticking. 13. Invert the mold onto a serving platter. Use a very sharp serrated knife to cut the pâté into slices. Serve with crusty bread and any combination of traditional accompaniments.

Notes:

serves 10 Source: This recipe is adapted from one in Maria Villegas’ and Sarah Randall’s Cookbook The Food Of France

Caramelized Balsamic Onion Pink Peppercorn Pizza with Rosemary & Goat Cheese

Caramelized Balsamic Onion Pink Peppercorn Pizza with Rosemary & Goat Cheese
By jgreghenry Published September 9, 2009
Prep time: 60
Yield:1 ()

Ingredients:

  • 12 oven roasted cipolline onions
  • 0 balsamic vinegar
  • 1 T sugar
  • 1 pn salt, plus more to taste
  • 1 t rosemary leaves, minced
  • 25 pink peppercorns, lightly crushed
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 T unsalted butter
  • 0 store bought pizza dough
  • 6 oz goat cheese

Directions

1. Put a pizza stone a 450 degree F pre-heated oven. 2. Roughly chop the onions. Add enough balsamic to cover, along with sugar, salt and about 3/4 of the crushed pink peppercorns. Let Marinate 2-3 hours. 3. Strain the onions over a bowl, setting the marinade aside for use later in this recipe. 4. Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions to the pan and stir well. Lower the heat and let the onions caramelize further, stirring frequently. Do not cook too fast or they will fry rather than caramelize. 5. Once they are nicely colored, add the balsamic marinade to the pan, along with the butter. Stir frequently and let the mixture cook down to a jammy consistency. 6. Meanwhile, rest your dough at room temperature at least 1/2 hour. Then form into a 12” round. 7. Spread the onion mixture over the center of the pizza leaving a 3/4 inch border of crust. Atop this mixture place 8 or so rounds of goat cheese. Garnish with decorative bits of rosemary and brush the edges of the pizza with olive oil. Carefully slide the pizza onto the pre-heated pizza stone and bake 12-15 minutes until bubbly and the goat cheese is beginning to brown. 8. Remove the pizza from the oven and garnish with the remaining pink peppercorns. Serve Hot.

Notes:

The pink peppercorns are widely available growing on street corners in my area, but they can also be found at specialty markets and gourmet shops. They are not a vital ingredient to this recipe, but do add a floral and pepper nuance to the “sweet and sour” onions and are well worth the effort in hunting them down.