Dinner and Debauchery, at Liberty

I've been wanting to have a dinner party for a while, now. Now that the holidays have passed, the timing seemed right. I managed to con a couple from work and some new friends from the Liberty Lofts to join me for a meal this last Saturday.

While I had some ambitions to wow the crowd with wild mushroom risotto or an authentic paella, I took the wise advice of one of my guests and kept it simple.

I've been wanting to try a Steak Au Poivre. Beef and I have always gotten along well in the kitchen so this seemed just the thing.

Alton Brown has never done me wrong. I began with his recipe.

Alton's Recipe

But of course I can never leave anything alone. I added a Little porcini mushroom and some shallots to the pan for the cream sauce. I also don't generally keep congac around but I found some white wine worked quite well.

Laying all of this on top of some mashed potatoes seemed a perfect comfort food move for midwinter.

All in all I think we did pretty well. Dinner was tasty. The company was exceptional. Everyone pitched in with kitchen and DJ duties. There was plenty of wine.

It was a good night. Thanks to all who came to play. It was a genuine pleasure to host.

The leftovers were pretty good, too.