Filet au Poivre

Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 2

Ingredients
■2 whole Beef Fillets Or Other Good Steaks
■2 Tablespoons Butter
■Kosher Salt And Freshly Ground Pepper
■2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
■¼ cups Brandy
■2 Tablespoons (additional) Brandy
■½ cups Heavy Cream
■1 Tablespoon Good Peppercorns, Crushed

Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Sprinkle both sides of steak with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Melt butter in a medium ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. When skillet is hot, brown steaks on both sides, about 45 seconds per side. Place skillet into the hot oven for about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove pan from oven and remove steaks to a separate plate.

Return pan to stovetop over low heat. Add Dijon and brandy, then whisk together. Add heavy cream and crushed peppercorns, whisking to combine. Allow to bubble for about 45 seconds, then remove from heat.

Spoon sauce over steaks and serve.

Scrumptious!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/12/filet-au-poivre/

Lia’s Dark Chocolate Truffles

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 36

Ingredients
■7 ounces, fluid Heavy Cream
■2 ounces, fluid Corn Syrup
■15 ounces, weight Dark Chocolate, Unmelted, Tempered, Chopped
■½ ounces, weight Soft Butter
■1-½ ounce, fluid Liqueur: Brandy, Kahlua, Schnapps, Chambord, Grand Marnier
■2 pounds Dark Chocolate, Melted And Tempered, For Precoating And Dipping
Preparation Instructions
Combine cream and corn syrup and bring to a boil.

Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and let sit for about sixty seconds to allow the chocolate to melt.

Whisk together, checking to see if all the chocolate is melted. If needed, place briefly over a warm water bath, but do not exceed 94 degrees.

Stir in soft butter. Then stream in the liqueur and mix until homogeneous.

Pour ganache into a large shallow pan. Let it rest at room temperature until slightly firm. Agitate/stir around the ganache with a spatula to break it up a bit.

Scoop truffles onto parchment paper and let sit until firm enough to handle.

Roll into balls and precoat in tempered chocolate. Dip again once the first layer of chocolate is set.

If desired, roll in cocoa powder. Truffles should look beautifully imperfect!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/12/lias-dark-chocolate-truffles/

Whiskey Maple Cream Sauce

Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 12

Ingredients

■1-½ cup Heavy Cream
■5 Tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup
■3 Tablespoons Light Corn Syrup
■1 Tablespoon Whiskey (can Add More If Desired)

Preparation Instructions

Combine cream, maple syrup, and corn syrup in a saucepan and stir to combine. Cook over medium-low to medium heat, stirring constantly, for 15 minutes or until sauce is reduced and thick (sauce should bubble slightly as it’s cooking.)

When sauce is thick, remove from heat and stir in whiskey. Return to heat for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.

Pour into a container and refrigerate until completely chilled. Stir before serving.

Drizzle over pies!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/11/whiskey-maple-cream-sauce/

Delicious Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

3 cups half-and-half
2 cup sugar

8 to 9 large egg yolks

3 cups heavy cream

Heat half-and-half and 2 cups sugar in a separate saucepan over low heat, adding vanilla “caviar” to the mixture. (You can also drop in the scraped vanilla bean, just to extract all the flavor. Discard before moving to the next step.) Turn off heat when mixture is totally heated.

Add heavy cream to a separate bowl.

Beat egg yolks by hand or with an electric mixer until yolks are pale yellow and slightly thick.

Temper the egg yolks by slowly drizzling in 1 1/2 cups of hot half-and-half mixture, whisking constantly. After that, pour the egg yolk/half-and-half mixture into the pan containing the rest of the half-and-half mixture. Cook over low to medium-low heat (depending on how hot your stove gets) until quite thick, stirring constantly. Drain custard using a fine mesh strainer, then pour into the bowl with the cream. Stir to combine.

Chill mixture completely, then freeze in an ice cream maker until thick. Place container in freezer to harden for at least eight hours.

Serve with something chocolate! Or, if you’re in a bind, serve with blackberry cobbler. (I won’t tell anyone.)

Enjoy!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/07/vanilla-bean-ice-cream/

P.W.’s Homemade Chocolate Milk Mix for the Fridge

1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate pieces

Heat cream over medium-high heat until slightly boiling. Add chocolate pieces and turn off heat. Whisk slowly until chocolate is melted and mixture is very smooth. Pour into a container and keep in the fridge up to two weeks. Mix with cold or warm milk, depending on how frightful the weather outside is.

Note: Mixture, after refrigerated, will be quite thick. Just stir well in cold milk and you’ll be fine.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/10/decadent-chocolate-milk/

Sherried Tomato Soup

6 tablespoons melted butter
1 medium onion, diced
1 46-ounce bottle or can tomato juice
2 14 ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 to 3 tablespoons chicken base
3 to 6 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
Black Pepper
1 cup cooking sherry
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
chopped fresh parsley
chopped fresh basil

Saute diced onions in butter until transluscent. Add canned tomatoes. Add tomato juice, sugar, pinch of salt, and black pepper and stir. Bring to a near boil, then turn off heat. Add in sherry and cream and stir. Add in parsley and basil to taste, adjust other seasoning, and serve with yummy, crusty bread on a cold, blustery, dreary, depressing, rainy, snowy day. Then close your eyes. And give thanks for soups like this.

Love,
Pioneer Woman

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/02/sherried_tomato_soup/