Steak au Poivre with Fingerling Potatoes (a steak dinner recipe for two) is a restaurant quality meal you can have on your table at home in about 30 minutes!  Boneless Certified Angus Beef ® brand strip steaks are seasoned with salt and pepper, then pan-seared to your desired doneness and topped with a rich sauce and served alongside crispy fingerling potatoes. If you're searching looking for romantic steak dinner recipes for two, you've come to the right place!

There are days when it's just me and my husband at the dinner table. Funny, after all these years, I never thought that I would ever be cooking again for just the two of us...but here I am.  I cook dinners for two more than I thought I ever would.

Last week, I stumbled upon a recipe for Steak au Poivre (literally translated as "pepper steak") on the Certified Angus Beef ® brand website that sounded amazing!  And guess what?  It was written as a recipe for two! I altered it just a bit to fit what I had on hand and what I could find at the store, but this recipe really delivers!  And...the best part is that it's not only easy, but also quick to make! Which is a win-win in my book!

This Steak au Poivre with Fingerling Potatoes is a great example of an easy steak dinner recipe for two. It's so pretty too...it makes a wonderful romantic steak dinner for any day, but especially for Valentine's Day.

What is the best type of steak?

My favorite cuts of steak are flat iron steak, sirloin steak (NY or Kansas City Strip Steaks), and ribeye steaks (also called Delmonico). I also love a good filet mignon, but my budget doesn't allow for me to purchase them that often.  All are tender and flavorful. For this recipe, I love to use Certified Angus Beef ® strip steaks.  

How to make Steak au Poivre with Fingerling Potatoes

The original recipe called for a 16 ounce boneless strip steak.  I found some beautiful Certified Angus Beef ® strip steaks at my grocery store that weighed about 8 oz. each, so I elected to purchase two smaller steaks instead of one big one.

The original recipe has you crush whole peppercorns. For ease of preparation, I also decided to turn the grind in my pepper grinder to coarse, instead of crushing whole peppercorns for the seasoning. This worked out perfectly!

Once I seasoned the steaks, I prepared the fingerlings for roasting, then popped them into a hot oven to roast while I cooked the steaks. 

How to pan sear steaks

In this recipe, the steaks are pan-seared. Cooking them this way is perfect for this time of year.  I'm not one to brave the harsh elements of winter to grill outdoors!  I like using a cast iron skillet for pan-searing because it heats up evenly and holds the temperature well.  If you don't have a cast iron skillet, be sure to use a nice, heavy bottomed skillet for best results. 

Once the steaks hit the hot oil/butter mixture...you'll want to let them sit without moving.  This forms a beautiful brown crust that you can only get from pan-searing!  When the crust forms, you can flip the steaks to brown the other side.  That brown crust equals flavor! 

We like our steaks rare/med-rare.  So I removed the steaks from the skillet when the internal temperature (tested with an instant read thermometer) reached around 125 degrees F. I tented with foil and allowed them to sit while I prepared the sauce. The temperature will rise another 5 degrees or so while they are resting. (You can use this handy Degree of Doneness guide to help you cook your steaks to your desired doneness) 

How to make sauce for Steak au Poivre with Fingerling Potatoes

The sauce is so easy to make!  The original recipe calls for shallots, which are sweet and perfect for this recipe, but I only had a sweet onion.  I diced it small and it worked great! I also used reduced-fat sour cream and had no issues with the sauce breaking.

I finished up the sauce, just as it was time to take the potatoes out of the oven and plated everything up. The whole meal from start to finish took about 30 minutes!

Steak au Poivre with Fingerling Potatoes

By Renee Paj

Boneless Certified Angus Beef ® brand strip steaks are seasoned with salt and pepper, then pan-seared to your desired doneness and topped with a rich sauce and served alongside crispy fingerling potatoes.

Ingredients

• 1 pound fingerling potatoes, washed and dried and cut in half
• 1 TBS olive oil
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 (8 ounce) Certified Angus Beef ® boneless strip steaks
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 TBS coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 TBS vegetable oil
• 3 TBS unsalted butter, (reserve 2 TBS in fridge for sauce)
• 1 TBS finely minced shallot OR sweet onion
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 1/4 cup beef or chicken stock
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 TBS sour cream
• coarse ground black pepper, for garnish, if desired

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Season steaks with 1 tsp. kosher salt and 1 TBS coarsely ground black pepper. Set aside.
2. Line a 1/4 sheet pan with parchment or lightly oil. In small bowl, combine the fingerling potatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper (as much as you desire). Spread potatoes out on prepared pan in single layer. Put in oven to roast for 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft and browned.
3. In heavy skillet (I like cast iron) heat 1 TBS vegetable oil and 1 TBS unsalted butter over med-high heat. When the butter starts to foam, add steaks. Do not move. Turn heat down to medium and sear about 5-6 minutes on one side, then turn and sear on other side. Check steaks for your desired degree of doneness with an instant read thermometer. Remove steaks when internal temperature is 5 degrees less than your desired degree of doneness temperature. Tent with foil and allow to rest while you prepare the sauce.
4. Remove all but about 1 TBS of oil from pan. On med heat, saute shallot/onion for about 2-3 minutes. Add brandy. Take care, as the mixture may flame as the alcohol burns off. Cook for one minute or until brandy begins to thicken. Add stock and bring up to a boil, then reduce until slightly thickened.
5. Whisk in Dijon, sour cream and the rest of the reserved butter. Remove from heat and check for salt and pepper. Add as desired.
6. At this time, the potatoes should be just ready to come out of the oven. Remove potatoes. Slice steaks against the grain.
7. To plate, add about a 1/4 of the sauce to a plate, place steak on top, drizzle with another 1/4 of sauce. Sprinkle with more coarse ground black pepper, if desired.  Place half of potatoes next to steak. Repeat with other plate. 

Yield: 2 servings
Prep Time: 00 hrs. 10 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 30 mins.
Total time: 40 mins.

Recipe used with permission of Certified Angus Beef ® brand

Printable Recipe

Pin Steak au Poivre with Fingerling Potatoes for Two!

What should I serve with steak?

This meal for Steak au Poivre with Fingerling potatoes is the perfect romantic steak dinner recipe for two. Serve it with a simple green salad dressed with your favorite salad dressing for an impressive dinner. Not feeling like a salad? It's also great served with these Honey Dijon Roasted Carrots or this Roasted Broccoli with Garlic Cheese Sauce recipe.

Like what you see?  Follow RKA on all these social networks!!

Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and Instagram