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Steak Nekhbet

Ingredients
1 rib-eye steak, 12-14 oz
1 onion or 2 shallots
2 Tsp - 1 Tbl of tomato paste
3 oz Cognac
4 oz dry, white wine
1/4 Tsp ground cayenne pepper
3-4 oz heavy cream
butter
salt
black pepper
Method
Slice the onion thinly. Wipe the excess moisture from the steak with paper towels. Dot the surface of one side of the steak with small chunks of cold butter. Season this side with salt and pepper. Press the salt and pepper, firmly, into the surface of the steak. Repeat with the other side.

Heat up a heavy-walled 10-12 inch aluminium skillet over a medium-high flame. Sear the steak, on both sides. Test it for doneness by poking it. It should put up some resistance. Remove the steak from the pan.

Add 1 Tbl of butter to the pan. Throw the sliced onion in. Season with salt and sweat the onions down. Add the tomato paste and continue sauting until the paste is slighly caramelized. Turn off the flame. Add the Cognac and stand back. Ignite the Cognac with a long match or a firestick. Allow the towering inferno of flames to die down. Turn the flame back on. Throw in the wine and cayenne pepper. Scrape the bottom of the pan to liberate all the gripped-on residue. Reduce the liquid over a medium-low flame. Pour any accumulated juices, exuded from the steak back into the pan. When the liquid is reduced by half, add the heavy cream. Reduce this until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Adjust for seasoning with black pepper. Immerse the steak into the pan sauce.

note
This sauce is potent - more so than appears in the recipe. It takes on a brownish, rather than a reddish tint, due to many caramelizations and reductions.