This steak crostini with creamy au poivre sauce (creamy peppercorn sauce) tastes like a small dish you’d find at your favorite steak house. This fancy appetizer is perfectly matched with dirty martinis for the best steak appetizer pairing.
Check out some of my other quick and easy happy hour snacks like my dill pickle cheese ball or my tomato bruschetta dip
I’ll have a steak crostini and a dirty martini please!
Whats on the crostini?
- starting with a toasted french baguette slice
- a thin layer of Boursin garlic + herb cheese
- a NY strip steak slice with peppercorn crust
- drizzled with rich and creamy au poivre sauce
- topped with a little fresh chives for freshness and color
Essentially the perfect pairing! Picture it: you’re sitting at a dimly lit bar at your favorite steak house (my perfect night)
Its busy, you’ve got a great new going out top on, the music is pumpin’ and you’re beyond ready for an extra dirty martini and a little snack!
This weeks drink + snack combo is none other than the dirty martini and these absolutely delectable steak crostini bites with creamy peppercorn sauce
If you’re serving up dirty martinis (my fav martini glasses!), you need this fancy steak appetizer
Ingredients for a steak crostini:
- NY strip steak
- Whole peppercorns
- Kosher salt
- French baguette
- Olive oil
- Shallot
- Chives
- Boursin cheese
- Butter
- Cognac or brandy
- Beef stock
- Heavy cream
to make the crostini:
- Prepare crostinis: thinly slice 12 baguette slices, brush with a thin layer of olive oil and add to a large sheet pan. Bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes or until golden and toasty.
- Prepare the steak: bring your steak to room temp to ensure even cooking, coat in a crushed peppercorn crust and sprinkle with kosher salt. Heat a stainless steel saute pan on high until water droplets dance around the pan. Add oil and sear for 3-4 minutes on each side for medium-rare (depending on steak thickness)
- Wrap the steak with foil to rest and prepare the sauce (see below)
My top steak crostini tips
- Buy a thicker steak: if cooking steak ever feels intimidating, go for the bigger cut. It’s way easier to not over cook a thicker steak. A thin steak can go from medium-rare to well done in a minute or two!
- Don’t skip the whole peppercorns: crushing whole peppercorns gives the steak and sauce some deep, unique zippy flavor! You can use a mortar and pestle or crush them in a ziplock bag with a gin bottle like I did, ha!
- Prep everything before you start: once the steak is cooked, the crostinis come together so quickly! Have the crostinis toasted and all your sauce ingredients ready before you drop the steak in
- Crostinis burn easily! I’ve burned a lot of crostinis okay?! It happens. Watch them closely in the oven. They really only need 5-7 minutes for a nice golden toast.
to make the au poivre sauce:
- Melt butter: in the same pan the steak was prepared in, add a knob of butter and lower pan to medium heat
- Cook the shallot: add in diced shallot to the melted butter and cook for 3-4 minutes or until softened
- Add in the cognac or brandy and cook for 1-2 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed
- Add in the beef stock and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until the mixture has thickened a bit
- Finish with the cream and butter and stir together once more. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes or until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon
What is a crostini?!
A crostini is Italian for basically a tiny toast! A thin slice of bread (like a baguette) is brushed with olive oil or melted butter and toasted on a sheet pan in the oven until golden brown.
Crostinis can be topped with all sorts of toppings like my strawberry bruschetta crostini or used as a great dipper for things like whipped ricotta dip or my new fav bruschetta dip
What should I serve with the steak crostini?
- Ideally you would serve these up with a round of dirty gin martinis to compliment the peppery notes from the steak and sauce
- If you like more of a fruity drink, do a gin basil smash
- A martini spritz is also a great alternative to a dirty martini
- To match the NY strip steak you could do a Sex and the City cosmo!
I seriously love seeing what you guys are making and sharing your creations with
the Everyday Elizabeth community!
If you make this bruschetta dip recipe, be sure to tag me on pinterest and instagram
and leave a review below!
Steak Crostini with Creamy Au Poivre Sauce
Servings: 12 crostinis
These steak crostinis start with a golden toasted baguette slice, a thin spread of Boursin cheese and then topped with a seared peppercorn steak slice and drizzled with a creamy and rich au poivre sauce.
ingredients
- 1 small french baguette cut into 12 slices
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil divided
- ½ wheel Boursin cheese, garlic and herb flavor
- 1 10-12 oz NY strip steak
- 2 tbsp whole peppercorns crushed
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter divided
- 1 shallot finely diced
- ¼ cup cognac or brandy
- ½ cup beef stock
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp chives finely chopped
instructions
For the crostini:
- Preheat oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the steak from the refrigerator to bring to room temp.
- Arrange baguette slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Brush both sides lightly with olive oil. Bake for 5-10 minutes, until golden and toasted. Note, every oven is different and these can burn quickly so keep an eye out!
- Prepare and measure sauce ingredients on a tray: 4 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 shallot finely diced, 1/4 cup cognac, 1/2 cup beef stock, 1/2 cup heavy cream, chives for topping (set aside and prepare the steak)
For the steak:
- Crush peppercorns so they are in halves and quarter pieces. You can do this but placing them in a ziplock bag and crushing with a bottle, a mortar and pestle or use the most coarse setting on your pepper mill
- Blot the steak on all sides with a paper towel to remove moisture for an even crust. Sprinkle the sides generously with the crushed black peppercorns and press into the steak to create a thick peppercorn crust. Hold onto any remaining crushed peppercorns for the sauce. Sprinkle each side of the steak generously with kosher salt.
- Heat a medium stainless steel or cast iron skillet on medium-high heat. The pan is ready when a few droplets of water begin to 'dance' in the pan. Add in the remaining olive oil and swirl around the pan. Add in the steak and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side (depending on thickness). Do not move the steaks around, let them cook undisturbed on each side to ensure a golden peppercorn crust. If needed, turn the steak on its side to sear the fat cap for 30 seconds. For a medium temp steak the internal temperature should be 140 F (rare 125-130 F)
- Remove the steak from the pan and lower the heat to medium-low. Place the steak on a cutting board and wrap tightly with foil to rest and stay warm.
For the sauce:
- When the pan has lowered in heat, add 2 ttbsp of butter to the pan. Once melted add in the shallot and a sprinkle of any remaining crush blacked peppercorns. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the shallot is tender
- Add in the cognac, stir together and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the alcohol smell has burned off and most of the liquid is absorbed. By now most of the pan will be deglazed on bottom, if not scrape the bottom of the pan for brown peppery bits. Note: If cooking on a gas stove, be careful adding in the cognac, pour it in either away from the flame or turning off the burner while adding to avoid igniting the pan from the alcohol.
- Add in the beef stock and stir together. Bring to a gentle simmer and stir the sauce a few times. Add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and the heavy cream and stir once more. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer or until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Taste test for salt and season to your liking. Turn the pans heat down to low to keep warm and begin crostini assembly
Assembly:
- Spread a thin layer of boursin cheese onto the toasted crostini and place on a serving platter.
- Remove the foil and thinly cut the steak against the grain of the meat into 12 thin slices. Add a slice onto each crostini and drizzle each piece with au poivre sauce. Top with freshly chopped chives and serve immediately.
notes
if you want to be really fancy, you can warm your plate up a bit before serving and it will help keep the crostinis from going cold! (just like your favorite steak restaurant would)
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