Steaks with Lobster Béarnaise Sauce

Béarnaise sauce is a sauce made of clarified butter emulsified in egg yolks, white wine vinegar and flavored with herbs. It is considered to be a ‘child’ of the mother Hollandaise sauce, one of the five sauces in the French haute cuisine mother sauce repertoire. The difference is only in their flavoring: Béarnaise uses shallot, chervil, peppercorn, and tarragon, while Hollandaise uses lemon juice or white wine. Its name is related to the province of Béarn, France.

In appearance it is light yellow and opaque, smooth and creamy and Béarnaise is a traditional sauce for steak. Like Hollandaise sauce, there are several methods for the preparation of Béarnaise sauce. The most common preparation is a bain-marie method where a reduction of vinegar is used to acidify the yolks.

The sauce was likely first created by the chef Collinet, the inventor of puffed potatoes (pommes de terre soufflées), and served at the 1836 opening of Le Pavillon Henri IV, a restaurant at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, not far from Paris. Evidence for this is reinforced by the fact that the restaurant was named for Henry IV of France, a gourmet himself, who was born in the province of Béarn.

Steaks with Lobster Bernaise Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 –  2 1/3-pound live lobster
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted  Butter, divided
• 1 Shallot, sliced
• 2 Garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 dried red chile, such as Japones or de árbol
• 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
• 1/4 cup Sherry wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped Shallot
• 1 tablespoon Capers, chopped
• 2 large Egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon fresh Lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Water
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Tarragon
• 6 – 1 1/4-inch-thick Steaks
• Coarse kosher Salt

Cook lobster in large pot of boiling salted water 13 minutes. Using tongs, transfer lobster to rimmed baking sheet. Cool slightly. Twist off claws; reserve for another use. Twist off tail. Scrape out any green tomalley. Using kitchen shears, cut body and legs into 2-inch pieces and place in medium bowl. Cut tail meat from shell; add shell to bowl with body and legs. Cut meat lengthwise into 4 strips, then crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces. Place meat in small bowl, cover, and chill.

Melt 1/2 cup butter in heavy large pot over medium-low heat. Add sliced shallot, garlic, and chile; cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add lobster shell pieces and stir 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium. Add remaining 1/2 cup butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until melted between additions. Add paprika; stir to blend. Strain butter into medium bowl, pressing on solids in strainer to release all butter. Discard solids in strainer. Let lobster butter cool to room temperature. (Lobster meat and butter can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover butter and chill. Return lobster butter to room temperature before continuing.)

Combine vinegar, chopped shallot, and capers in medium saucepan. Boil over high heat until almost all liquid evaporates, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Whisk yolks, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon water in medium bowl. Place bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water. Whisk constantly until mixture is thick, about 3 minutes. Turn off heat. Whisk in lobster butter in 6 additions. Whisk in shallot mixture and tarragon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in reserved lobster meat. Season with salt and pepper. Keep lobster bèarnaise sauce over warm water.

Preheat broiler. Rub steaks with coarse kosher salt and pepper. Broil until cooked to desired doneness, about 6 minutes per side for medium-rare (5 minutes per side if boneless). Serve with lobster bèarnaise sauce.

French Dip Sandwiches

A French dip sandwich, also known as a beef dip, is a hot sandwich consisting of thinly sliced roast beef (or sometimes other meats) on a French roll or baguette. It is usually served au jus (“with juice”), that is, with beef juice from the cooking process. Although the sandwich is most commonly served with a cup of jus or broth on the side of the plate, into which the sandwich is dipped as it is eaten, this is not how the sandwich was served when it was invented.

Despite the name, this American specialty is almost completely unknown in France. The sandwich is not french at all. The name comes from the fact that it is made with a french roll – a medium sized white bread roll that resembles a baguette with a softer crust and makes good sandwiches in general – and it is dipped into beef juices as you eat it. Dipping does not make the bread soggy, much as dipping a cookie into a glass of milk does not make it soggy as long as you pick up the cookie and eat the milk-soaked bit immediately; prolonged soaking will cause sogginess, but that is why the sandwich is called a dip and not a soak.

Two Los Angeles restaurants have claimed to be the birthplace of the French dip sandwich: Cole’s Pacific Electric Buffet  and Philippe. The controversy over who originated the sandwich remains unresolved. Both restaurants were established in 1908. However, Cole’s claims to have originated the sandwich shortly after the restaurant opened in 1908, while Philippe’s claims that owner Philippe Mathieu invented it in 1918. Cole’s was the oldest restaurant or bar in Los Angeles to operate continuously since its opening at the same location. Its streak ended when it closed for remodeling in 2007.

If you’ve never had a French dip sandwich, you’re missing out. The sandwich starts out with beef that is roasted until extremely tender, which is then thinly sliced and put onto a not-too-crusty roll, either with or without cheese. The juice from cooking the meat is collected, seasoned and poured into a small dish. As you eat the sandwich, you dip each bite into the juices on the side, making the meat extra juicy and getting a huge boost of flavor.

French Dip Sandwich

Ingredients:

• 1 – 3 lb. Beef roast
• 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 packages dry Onion soup mix
• 1 – 15 ounce can beef broth
• 6-8 Hoagie buns
• Provolone cheese

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a large dutch oven. Season the beef with salt and pepper to taste. Once the oil is almost to the smoking point, add the beef and sear on all sizes until nicely browned.

Place beef in crock pot. Sprinkle with dry onion soup. Pour beef broth over all. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 8-10 hours.

Remove meat from crockpot and shred.

To assemble sandwiches: Split the hoagie buns and top bottom half with shredded beef. Top with cheese. Place open-faced hoagies (top half too) on baking sheet and broil just until the bread is golden and the cheese has melted.

Ladle juices into small cups for dipping. Serve immediately.