Beef Tenderloin

This was the 5th Course of the Chamber Dinner Party.

I decided to do the Tenderloin Sous Vide, which is a relatively new process, and one I have just recently started playing around with. As with most new and shiny things, it has a good bit of my attention.

To start, I took a full tenderloin and trimmed it of its fat and silver skin. I then cut it in half, seasoned it with salt & pepper and vacuum sealed the halves separately.


I took my immersion circulatory and heated a container of water to 131 degrees Fahrenheit. I then put the sealed bags of tenderloin in the water and cooked them for a little over an hour.


I cut the bags open and let the meat rest for about 20 minutes.


I then took a pan and got it nice and hot with some olive oil. And started to sear the meat.


When I got all the sides nice and seared, I added butter, some garlic cloves, and some fresh thyme.



I tilted the pan and basted the meat with the butter to add flavor and shine.




I then took the meat out of the pan, and let it rest for another 15 to 20 minutes.

I then sliced the meat into moderately thin pieces.



For the topping, I cut parsnips into small matchsticks (Julienne) and then fried then in hot oil.




To plate, we spooned the parsnip risotto into molds.


I placed a few slices of the tenderloin onto the center of the risotto and then spooned the mushroom demi glace on top.


I garnished it with chopped fine herbs and some fried parsnips.

Parsnip Risotto

This is the Risotto I made to go with the Beef Tenderloin at the Chamber Dinner Party.

Risotto is one of my favorite things to make. It requires constant attention and is not something you can just walk away from. Traditionally, it is a meal in itself, but I love using it as a accompaniment.

I first took about 5 or 6 Medium Parsnips, peeled and cored them, then cut them in a rough chop. I got a pan with olive oil very hot & then quickly cooked them.


I wanted to get that nice golden color on the outside without overcooking them. I seasoned them lightly and refrigerated them.

I chopped up about 6 shallots and about 8 garlic cloves & sauteed them in olive oil until they were cooked throughout.


I then added about 2 cups of arborio rice.


I stirred the rice around for about a minute, getting it well coated with the olive oil and toasting the rice slightly.


I then added about 2 to 2 1/2 Cups of White Wine. I like adding more wine than people normally would. I think it gives the rice a much better flavor.


I stirred the rice until almost all the wine had incorporated into it. I then added about 1/2 a cup of chicken stock.


I stirred the rice until all the stock incorporated into it, and then would add 1/2 cup of chicken stock, repeating this process until the rice was fully cooked (about 5 to 7 times).

With most all other rice, you don't want to stir it at all, because you don't want the starch to come off the rice. With risotto, you want to stir it constantly, to get all that starch off the rice. The more you stir it, the creamier it will be.

When the rice was finished, I added the parsnips, about 2 to 3 cups grated Parmesan cheese, and tasted for salt.

Mushroom Demi Glace

This is the sauce I used with the Beef Tenderloin at the Chamber Dinner Party.

Demi takes a long time to make, but it isn't something you have to be constantly attentive with.

I started making a standard beef stock. I bought a whole bunch of what HEB calls "soup bones" and put them on a half sheet pan.


I roasted them until I got a nice dark color. You can make beef stock without roasting the bones if you want your sauce to be lighter in color. But I wanted a nice dark color and a richness that comes from caramelization.


I then rubbed the tops and sides of the bones with tomato paste.


I then continued to roast the bones till I liked the color. The paste will help with the color, but it will especially help with building a rich flavor.


I then put the bones into a pot and deglazed the roasting pan with red wine. I turned on one of the burners to help me scrape all of the goodness off the bottom of the pan.


I then put the deglazing liquid into the pot and then filled it about 3-4 inches above the bones with water & brought it to a simmer.


I then put the burner all the way down on low. When you make a stock, you don't want it to be at a boil or a simmer, as there will be too much evaporation. You want it just hot enough were bubbles occasionally break to the surface.

I skimmed the top of pot for all the scum that builds up and the oil that rises to the top. I let the stock cook over night on the low low heat.


I skimmed the top again for scum and oil. I then added Carrots, Onions, Celery and Black Peppercorns & cooked the stock on that low low heat for another 3 hours.


I removed the bones from the stock and strained it through a fine mesh strainer into another sauce pot.


What I had was a beef stock. In order to turn it into a true demi, I needed to reduce it down to about 1/2 to 1/3 to really concentrate the flavors.



I then put it in a container and refrigerated it. Demi will last in the refrigerator for months.


To finish, I trimmed about half a pound of oyster mushrooms, taking off their stems and cutting the large pieces in half.


I sautéed them in a hot pan with hot oil until I liked their color.


I seasoned the mushrooms & then added about half of the cold demi to the pan.


I let it all incorporate together then added a little butter to the pan, and tasted it for seasoning.

Chocolate Coconut Cream Cake (C4)

This is a dessert I serve out at Camp that I call C4. For the dinner party, I cut it into diamonds and served it with a coconut caramel, but it is essentially the same cake I make for the camp.

For the chocolate cake, I first prepared 3 half sheet pans. I sprayed them, put parchment on top & them lightly sprayed the parchment.


I took two of the Duncan Hines cake mixes from the store & just made the batter according to their directions. I then portioned the cake batter equally between the 3 sheet pans.


I then spread the batter out, as equally as I could.


I baked them in a 350 degree oven until they were done, about 20-25 minutes.


I them put the cakes in the freezer, as frozen cake sheets are so much easier to work with.

For the topping, I took a couple of cups of sweetened coconut flakes and spread them out on a sheet pan. I toasted them in a 350 oven until they were golden, about 8 minutes.


For the coconut pastry cream, I scaled out the following:
2 Cans Coconut Milk (13.5oz each)
1 1/3 Cups Sugar
12oz Heavy Cream

1 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Cup Milk
7T Cornstarch

9ea Egg Yolks
Pinch of Salt

I heated up the Coconut Milk, Sugar & Heavy Cream and kept the other two mixtures in separate mixing bowls.


I brought the Coconut milk mixture up to a simmer and then cut off the heat. I tempered the liquid into the eggs, ladle by ladle while constantly stirring, so that the eggs didn't scramble.



After I had brought to temperature of the eggs up by tempering in the hot coconut milk mixture, I added them back to the pot.


I whisked the cornstarch mixture together, making sure there were no lumps and added it to the pot, constantly whisking. I turned the heat back on (about a medium-low) and stirred it until the pastry cream thickened.


I took the pot off heat and added in:
3T Butter
1oz Vanilla
2/3 Cup Sweetened Coconut Flakes



I stirred it around until it was all incorporated and then put it in the fridge to chill.

To make the cake, I inverted a sheet pan and put a piece of parchment on top, then put the first layer of frozen chocolate cake on top of the pan.


I put half of the coconut pastry cream on top of the first layer of the cake and spread it out evenly.


I then added the second layer of cake on top.



I then added the second half of the coconut pastry cream on the second layer of chocolate cake and spread it out evenly.


And then added the last layer of chocolate cake to the top.


To finish the cake, I cut it into diamond pieces, and piped whip cream onto the top.



I then added the coconut caramel over the top.


And then sprinkled the coconut topping over the cakes.