Tag Archives: Chef/Partner Robert Del Grande

RDG + Bar Annie & Chefs’ Dinner Benefiting Houston Food Bank

Posted on by

Chef Robert Del Grande from RDG + Bar Annie, shows food radio talk show host Cleverley Stone how to make the dish that he will prepare at the annual Chefs’ Dinner benefiting the Houston Food Bank on April 20, 2011 at the Houstonian Hotel. His Chilled Spring Asparagus Soup with Crab Meat is a light and healthy dish with lots of vegetables.

The annual Chefs’ Dinner benefiting the Houston Food Bank will feature a multi-course meal prepared by several of Houston’s finest chefs. For 137,000 Houstonians each week, however, fine dining is something much simpler, though no less appreciated – a meal made from food provided by Houston Food Bank partner agencies. While their meals may not be fancy, they are wholesome and provide essential nutrients to the families and individuals who receive them.

For ticket information about the Chefs’ Dinner and the Houston Food Bank visit http://www.houstonfoodbank.org/events.aspx?id=2978

For more information about food, wine and dining in Houston, catch Cleverley’s radio show Saturdays at Noon on Talk 650 AM. (By the way, she gives out prizes on every radio show!)

Chilled Spring Asparagus Soup with Crab Meat (Serves 4)
Source: Chef Robert Del Grande, Restaurant RDG + Bar Annie

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Asparagus
  • 8 each spring onions or green onions
  • 1 tbl Butter
  • ½ each White Onion: minced
  • 2 each Garlic: minced
  • ½ each Fennel: minced
  • 2 each Leek: white part only: minced
  • 3 cups Chicken stock
  • 1 tbl Fresh Tarragon leaves: loosely packed
  • 1 cup Heavy cream
  • 1 ½ tsp Salt
  • ¼ tsp Black pepper
  • 8 oz Fresh jumbo lump crab meat: cleaned
  • 1 each Serrano chile: finely sliced (optional: depending on amount of spice desired)
  • 1 tbl Extra virgin olive oil

Directions
1. With a potato peeler, peel the asparagus.
2. Bring a pot of light salted water to a boil. Blanch the asparagus under tender. Remove from the water and chill.
3. In the same boiling water, blanch the green onions until tender. Chill. Roughly chop and reserve.
4. Cut the asparagus in half. Roughly chop the lower stems and reserve. Thinly slice the upper green ends and reserve.
5. In a saucepot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the minced onion, garlic, fennel and leek. Lightly cook the
ingredients until translucent. Do not brown.
6. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for approximately 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
7. Transfer the cooled liquid and the vegetables to a blender. Add the chopped lower ends of the asparagus. Add the tarragon leaves.
Puree until smooth. Add the salt and pepper.
8. Stir in the cream. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Chill.
9. To serve, combine the sliced upper ends of the asparagus with the crab meat, the chopped blanched green onions and the
thinly sliced Serrano chiles. Toss with the extra virgin olive oil. Light salt & pepper. Divide the crab mixture between for soup bowls.
Gently pour in the chilled soup and serve.

Cleverley’s Cooking Corner: Nothing But the Best for your Valentine

Posted on by

Source: Chef/Partner Robert Del Grande of Cafe Annie

You now have the opportunity to cook a famous dish for your perfect Valentine. Houston chef Robert Del Grande from Cafe Annie invented a dish that has been copied by chefs all over the world. It is even taught in cooking schools!

Watch Chef/Partner Robert Del Grande shows Houston restaurant journalist Cleverley Stone how to make his iconic dish that puts his doctorate in biochemistry to good use when he combines coffee with beef to create a unique flavor sensation.

Coffee Roasted Tenderloin of Beef

Ingredients (for 4 persons)

  • Tenderloin of Beef
  • 2 lb tenderloin of beef
  • 2 tbsp virgin olive oil
  • 1 ½ tsp coarse salt
  • ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp Ancho chile powder
  • 4 tbsp very finely ground coffee beans
  • 1 tbl cocoa powder
  • Pinch ground cinnamon

Dark Roasted Mushroom Steak Sauce

  • ½ each white onion: peeled & cut into four sections
  • 4 each peeled garlic cloves
  • 2 each Roma quartered tomatoes
  • 4 ounces Portobello mushrooms with stems removed, cut into 1-inch squares
  • 2 each thick sliced bacon, cut into small pieces
  • 2 each Ancho chiles with stems and seeds removed, torn into small pieces
  • 4 each prunes
  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 tsp salt

Directions for the Tenderloin

  1. Tie the tenderloin of beef with butcher twine at 1/2 inch intervals.
  2. Rub the tenderloin with the olive oil.
  3. Combine the salt, pepper, chile powder, ground coffee, cocoa powder and cinnamon and mix well.
  4. Spread the mixture over a work surface and roll the filet in the mixture to evenly coat the beef.
  5. Allow to marinate approximately 30 minutes.
  6. Preheat an oven to 400F.
  7. Place the tenderloin on a roasting rack in a roasting pan.
  8. Roast the tenderloin for 10 minutes at 400F.
  9. Immediately lower the heat to 250F.
  10. After 20 minutes, check the internal temperature of the tenderloin (125F for medium rare or 135F for medium).
  11. If farther cooking is necessary, return the tenderloin to the oven (still set at 250F) and slowly roast to the desired temperature.
  12. Remove the filet from the oven.
  13. Before carving, allow the tenderloin to rest, uncovered, in a warm place for about 15 minutes.

Dark Roasted Mushroom Steak Sauce

  1. In an oven proof pan, combine the onion, garlic, tomatoes, mushrooms, bacon, Ancho chile and prunes.
  2. Add the olive oil and lightly toss the ingredients.
  3. Roast the ingredients in a 400F oven until the ingredients are well roasted & lightly charred – about 45 minutes.
  4. Allow to cool to room temperature.
  5. Transfer the ingredients with any juices for the pan to a blender.
  6. Add the remaining ingredients and puree until smooth.
  7. Refrigerate until needed.

Serving Suggestion

  1. Remove the string from the tenderloin.
  2. Carve into approximately ½ inch slices.
  3. Arrange a slice of tenderloin on each dinner plate.
  4. Top with the Dark Mushroom Sauce and drizzle with a little additional olive oil.

Suggested Accompaniment

Roasted potatoes or Broiled Asparagus