Steak with Cherry Port Sauce

Serves 2

Sauce:
Butter
A shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
A branch of rosemary, washed
Port
A handful of dried cherries
salt and pepper to taste

Meat:
1 prime, dry-aged steak
salt
pepper
olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and sweat (cook until translucent, but not brown). Then add the garlic and do the same. Add the branch of rosemary and cook, stirring gently, for about a minute. Pour in some port -- I used a $25 bottle. Save the really expensive stuff for drinking and don't touch the super cheap stuff -- I think I probably added around a cup. Then add a handful of dried cherries. Reduce heat to low and simmer until reduced to around 1/4 cup. Take off the heat and discard rosemary.

While the sauce is simmering, pat the steak dry and sprinkle each side with salt and pepper. Heat a cast iron pan over medium high heat until very hot. Add oil, and when the oil begins to shimmer, add the steak. Cook until the first side is deep brown and flip. Place the pan in the preheated oven. My very thick (nearly 2 inch?) NY Strip took about 10 minutes in the oven.

When done to your liking, remove the steak from the pan and set it in a warm place to rest. Place the pan over medium heat and add the cherry port sauce, scraping to incorporate any browned bits clinging to the pan. When the pan is deglazed, whisk in around a tablespoon of cold butter (called mounting the sauce). Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.

When the steak has rested for 10 minutes, slice it, giving alternate slices to each diner (that way, nobody misses out on the best bits). Top with cherry sauce.

I served this with crème fraîche mashed potatoes and a mesclun salad topped with toasted almonds, blue cheese, avocado and apple in a sherry vinaigrette.