A sauce to accompany fillet steak

[Monocock]

I have 8 coming for dinner next weekend. I plan to serve asparagus (home grown) with Serrano ham and melted butter to start. Then it's well hung (not like that ) Angus fillet steak with potato gratin and green beans.

My question is, what simple (ideally can done beforehand) sauce can I do to go with the fillet steak? There are both women and men eating if that makes a difference. I thought about a red wine and balsamic reduction but I'm concerned it'll be too wintry for the season.

Any thoughts?

[CaptCrispy]

How about any of these (with a rue, basic white sauce as a base)

With garlic
Cheese or cheese and garlic
Mushroom or mushroom and garlic and/or cheese
Black pepper or black pepper and mushroom
Cheese, spring onion and galic

If you use skimmed milk with a little cream for the liquid it will still be quite light and not too wintery?

[TheKentishFledgling]

Personally with steak I LOVE a simple Roquefort sauce - just little pieces of Roquefort melted in with cream or creme fraiche. Divine!

E

[shortstripper]

A Stilton cream and mushroom sauce is always a winner in our house. Easy to make, just chuck some chopped mushrooms, chopped up Stilton and a tub of cream in a bain marie and stir once or twice when it's all melted.

Edited to add ... I guess that might be too heavy? So why not slice and bake mixed peppers with sundried tomatoes in some good olive oil. When well cooked they're lovely piled on a decent steak. I'm salivating now!

SS

[JoeC]

I like a good piece of meet to be unadorned. The French really know how to ruin a steak by dousing it in cream, cheese and butter. They've also convinced most of the world that the French way is best. At least they know how to cook a steak, shame they can't leave it be after that.

[Paul_Sengupta]

Personally, on a good fillet steak, I don't think you can beat a simple herb butter. After that, depending on the mood, either the stilton and mushroom as has been mentioned above, or a nice red wine sauce, would be my choices.

Perhaps a bit late for the dinner party now...

[GrahamB]

How about any of these (with a rue, basic white sauce as a base)

I love street food.

[Crow 94]

Steak au Poivre Ma Façon

Speciality of the Belle Terrace Restaurant, Copenhagen. Copied from Graham Kerr recipe book - very '70s but very good indeed. Use dried herbs.

For 2 servings

1 large sirloin or 2 X 8oz sirloin steaks.(Substitute fillet if desired)
1 1/2 oz clarified butter
1 tsp rosemary leaves
1 tsp sage leaves
rock salt to season
coarsely ground white peppercorns to season
2 fl oz cognac
3 fl oz double cream
3 x 1 1/2 inch squares jellied veal stock
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp sour german mustard
roughly ground white peppercorns to season

Prepare

Remove fat and gristle from meat and cut into two steaks. Warm cognac. Roughly crush peppercorns. Measure cream. Cut veal stock into squares.

Assemble

1. Beat steaks to flatten a little, season with salt and press roughly ground peppercorns into each side.
2. Heat butter in frying pan and when hot add rosemary and sage (remove herbs after one minute otherwsie they will then burn). Add steaks and brown on each side. Pour over warmed cognac and light.
3. Remove steaks from pan, place in serving dish and keep warm. Into cooking pan add veal jelly and when melted add the cream and stir pan to deglaze. Add the mustards to the sauce and the black peppercorns, bring to the boil, pour over the steaks and serve.

PS Think there is a typo in the original recipe ingredients regarding the peppercorns ie white x 2 stages. It was written by Graham Kerr at his BBC height, take notes Rustle, so perhaps play safe and use white and black for the different stages.Or just black or green or both.