Entertaining - A Favorite Sauce

Want to take your steak frites to another level? Try adding Bernaise sauce to the combo. There's really nothing better. Or, if you really want to wow friends by taking an otherwise simple steak to new heights, try Steak Oscar by adding asparagus, lump crab, and then bernaise over the top. Here's our favorite recipe for the sauce:

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons- white wine vinegar
1/4 cup - white wine
1 - shallot thinly chopped
8 - black peppercorns
4 sprigs of - tarragon
3 - egg yolks
1 cup - butter (unsalted) clarified
2 teaspoons - lemon juice
1 pinch - salt and pepper

Steps:

* Place the vinegar, wine, shallots and peppercorns into a shallow saute pan.
* Reduce this mixture until approximately 2 tablespoons are left. Add the sprigs of tarragon half way into the reduction time.
* Strain through a fine mesh strainer and set off to the side.
* Set up a water bath like the pictorial shows.
* Place your egg yolks into the bowl and slowly whisk in 2 tablespoons of the reduction.
* Whisk the eggs rapidly over the water bath until frothy and then slowly pour in the clarified butter.
* Whisk quickly to emulsify the eggs and butter. Thicken it to the point that it falls from the whisk in ribbons.
* Once the sauce is thickened, remove it from the heat and whisk in the lemon juice and season to taste with any salt or pepper (although you probably won't need much more than a pinch of salt).

Here's a neat trick--the sauce will break if you keep it exposed to direct heat, and it will thicken to the point of becoming rather unappetizing if you let it cool for too long. Instead, let it cool for just a minute or two in the bowl, and then store it in a thermos until you're ready to use it. It'll keep this way for close to an hour. The result, pure heaven:

If you refrain from adding the reduced vinegar mixture, you'll have a classic hollandaise sauce, which is a favorite over asparagus (or any number of other foods):