From the French Chef TV show, or at least from one of my two copies of the paperback.
Get a nice, wet-aged choice strip steak for this. When I get prime dry aged beef, I sear it over wood for the flavor, and if I sauce it, I build the sauce separately. In this dish, the flavors need to come together, so you don't need to spend the extra money if you can get a nice steak cheaper. I would still make sure its 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick, though. Bring it to room temperature, rinse and pat dry. Trim if necessary. One big thick strip can serve two people.
Get 1 tsp of various peppercorns (I use malabar, tellichery and sarawak white) for each steak as its the combination that lends to the wondrous flavor of this dish. Crush them with your chef's knife and spread them out across 2 steaks worth of real estate on your cutting board. Spread an equal amount of coarse sea salt onto the pepper. place the steak on one half of the spices, then flip onto the other.
Preheat a stainless or cast iron skillet with a little butter and oil. Get it hot and place in the steaks (2 are better than one here because some burning may occur in the area of the pan not covered by one steak, so if cooking only one, you may have to fool with it a bit.) When the bottom is seared, flip it. It is done to medium rare when it feels firm to the touch and some liquid starts to form on top. Remove it to the plate and allow it to rest.
Lower the heat. For each steak: Place 1 Tbsp minced shallots and 1 tbsp butter into the pan. Do not allow it to burn. Add 1/4 cup dry vermouth. Then measure 1 tsp. of wondra or cornstarch and stir in 1/4 cup of chicken stock (beef would be better, but I don't use boullion and my chicken stock s fresh). Add the stock and fully deglaze the pan with a wooden spoon until you get gravy (a minute or so.) Pour it over the steak.
Serve this with sauteed mushrooms and potato wedges grilled with olive oil and salt. A fruit forward California Cabernet works here, as the flavor of the pepper isn't bowled over by the fruit.
Thanks Julia!