Meat and Potatoes for Company

• recipe

  Potatoes Lyonnaise

  Buttery, earthy, and sweet, this French bistro take on skillet potatoes and onions usually requires tons of time—and butter. Could we get away with using less?

• recipe

  Pepper-Crusted Filet Mignon

  Black peppercorns bring a welcome flavor boost—but also a punishing blast of heat--to this mild-tasting cut. Could we lose the pain without giving up the flavor?

• recipe

  Blue Cheese Chive Butter

  This is an excellent accompaniment to Pepper-Crusted Filet Mignon.

• recipe

  Port Cherry Reduction Sauce

  This sauce was created as an accompaniment for Pepper-Crusted Filet Mignon.

• equipment

  Cocktail Shakers

  Bartenders ask: Shaken or Stirred? We asked: Cobbler or Boston style?

• taste test

  Filet Mignon

  Should you spend $80 a pound on prime filets?

• science

  Taming Peppercorn Heat

  Test-kitchen staffers with more sensitive palates were relieved to learn that the pungent heat of black peppercorns can be mellowed by a brief simmer in oil. But we were curious as to the cause.