Steak Archiduc (Archduke Steak)

Ingredients

• 12 ounces steak, 2 pieces 1 inch thick (rib eye , sirloin , tournedos)
• 4 ounces button mushrooms
• 1 cup creme fraiche (unsweetened cream 30-40%)
• 3 ounces garden cress
• 1 teaspoon port wine
• 4 teaspoons butter
• 1 pinch salt & pepper

Directions

1. 1

   (If you are making Belgian fries with this http://www.recipezaar.com/288751 do everything including the first cooking of them before you start . it's all in the recipe above).

2. 2

   The first part is to fry up the mushrooms for later , we need em fried to add to the sauce , finely slice the mushrooms , the finer you slice em the more taste they give and the better your dish looks , i would suggest 8 slices per inch . Add about 2 teaspoons worth of butter in a hot pan , let your butter bubble out , when it's all quiet in the pan add the mushrooms and a small pich of salt. Your mushrooms will loose their moisture very quickly , so keep stirring them with a wooden spoon . when they are brown, reduced in size , and the moisture is gone , slide em in a bowl for later use.

3. 3

   Preheat your oven at the lowest setting 120-140°F (and put your plates in there).

4. 4

   Cooking the steaks . First of all , make sure there is fat on your meat . you don't necessarily have to eat it later , it is necessary for the cooking process . Frying a steak is done in a heavy cast iron frying pan , so if you have one , now is a good time to bring it out. Start by sprinkling some salt and pepper on both sides of the steak . Put 2 teaspoons of butter in your hot (quite high temp , max if cooker is electric) pan , let it quiet down , add in the steak ( it should chirp while putting it in there if it makes no sound your pan isn't hot enough ) well done = 3 minutes per side , 2 for saignant , 1 for bleux . while cooking move the meat around a bit , the fat on the meat should melt and make sure your meat doesn't burn. Put your steaks on a plate in the preheated oven so they can settle (your oven temperature should be low enough so they don't cook any more).

5. 5

   (now is the time to throw in the first batch of fries for the second cooking).

6. 6

   The sauce : Don't clean your pan after cooking ! you need the juices and the gristle in there for your flavor . Add the crème fraîche to your pan , put in the mushrooms you cooked earlier , add a pinch of salt and pepper and _keep stirring_ the sauce (on a high flame) until it is thick and creamy (take your time). Now add the teaspoon of port ( this is essential for the taste , as always when using alcohol in cooking , there is no actual alcohol in your dish , since it will have evaporated by the time you eat) .-your fries should be ready, take the basket out and shake em- Take the steaks out of the oven , put them on individual plates . If there is some juice on the plate you used in the oven , add that to the sauce , stir it in , divide the sauce on top of both steaks. Divide the garden cress onto the 2 plates(if you can't find garden cress , use finely sliced radish). Add Fries to the rest of the plate.

7. 7

   Have a nice meal !

8. 8

   (garden cress is very different from watercress , don't get confused , on wikipedia there are pictures of both).