Steak au Poivre | Friptura de Vita cu Sos de Piper

I've had this unforgettable recipe for the very first time in a small German city called Koblenz.  At first, it seemed like an innocent steak with a creamy sauce.  And then, an explosion of spice hit me - it tingled my mouth and invited a refreshing sip of German beer.  I've been a fan of this steak recipe ever since, and hope you become one too.

Ingredients (per each person):
 - 1 steak
 - 3 tablespoons of olive oil
 - Spices: salt and pepper
 - 3 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream
 - 1 teaspoon of green peppercorns
 - Half a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce

Pre-preparation (one day in advance):
 - I like to marinade the meat for about 24 hours.  I add about a tablespoon of olive oil on one side of the steak, generously sprinkle some salt and pepper, and rub them in gently with your fingers (or with a spoon).  Turn the steak over, and repeat the process.  Then cover with a plastic foil, and place in the fridge for a day.

Preparation:
 - There are two easy approaches to prepare the steak: grill or panfry.

 - For grilling, heat up your grill and cook the steaks as you know best.

 - For panfrying, Heat up a pan to medium-high heat.  When ready, place the marinated steak in it.  Cook for about 2 minutes on one side, turn, and cook for another 2 minutes.  If you like the steak medium or well done, you may want to cover the pan while cooking.  If you like it rare, you may want to replace the pan with a lightbulb.  :)

 - When all the steaks are ready (I assume you want to share this recipe with family or friends), you need to proceed to preparing the accompanying sauce.  Use the same pan where you cooked the steaks: the leftovers from cooking the steak will add extra flavor to the sauce (optionally, add the Worcestershire sauce if you want extra flavor).  If you grilled the steaks, you need a pan for the sauce, and you'll also need to use the Worcestershire sauce to add some color.

 - Heat up the pan.  Add the heavy whipping cream, the green peppercorns, and the Worcestershire sauce to the pan.  Cook for about 30 seconds to a minute, while gently mixing with a wooden spatula.  The cream will suck in the Worcestershire sauce and some of the juices left over from the cooked steaks, and will start turning brownish.  When ready, add the sauce over the steak.  Serve immediately, while all the ingredients are hot and tasty.

Presentation:
 - Present next to a couple of colorful side dishes.  Here, the steak is presented accompanied by Garlic Carrot Fries and Yellow Wax Bean Salad.