Horseradish and Herb Crusted Standing Rib Roast

I know,  I keep promising that I will come back. And then I come back for one or two posts and then I vanish. But this time, since things have died down a bit in my personal life, I promise I'm back. For real. You see, the wedding is over! We are married! And now I have TONS of fun wedding gifts for the kitchen to play with. My posts in the future should be more aesthetically pleasing, at least. 

This is a very impressive dish that is actually quite easy to make. My mom originally gave me this recipe and I make it pretty much any time I see a standing rib roast on sale at Publix. The great thing about the dish is that it's easily modifiable based on how many people you're having for dinner, and once you get it in the oven, it's very low maintenance. And it's VERY pretty.

Oh, and by the way, I've come up with a new trick for the blog. Whenever there is a step or a tip that I have that is optional, but will really elevate the end product, I'll insert it with the heading "Gourmet Tip."

Total Prep Time: 15 min (not counting time it may take to soften butter and let meat come to room temperature)

Total Cook Time: 1.5 hrs-3 hrs depending on size of roast

Ingredients:

Standing Rib Roast (the size you get will depend on the number of people you are cooking for. The general rule of thumb is that one rib will typically feed about two people, but since we are typically hungrier, I try to think more that one person will eat 2/3 of a rib--also they typically don't sell them any smaller than two ribs at a time, otherwise it's just a bone-in rib-eye steak)

1/2 cup bread crumbs

3 tbsp prepared horseradish

3 tbsp softened butter

finely minced thyme, rosemary and sage to taste

salt and black pepper to taste

Gourmet Tip: Meat cooks so much better if you bring it out of the fridge anywhere from 15 minutes to 30 minutes before you plan on cooking it. Why? You want your meat to rise to its cooking temperature quickly--whether you are searing it or roasting it. Otherwise there's a better chance the meat will steam, which will leave it colorless, crustless, gray and rubbery. Or just won't have as good of a texture. My tip is to just pull the meat out of the fridge before you do any of your prep work and set it on the counter so it can warm up a little bit. I typically will open the package, rinse the meat, and then let it dry on some paper towels and covered loosely by a paper towel, since we all know that dry meat cooks better than wet meat.

Preheat your oven to 350. 

If you have softened butter by leaving it on the counter, good for you. I commend you. Otherwise, put your butter in a microwave safe bowl (don't slice it, just put the whole hunk in there) and nuke it for 10 seconds. You want it to come out at this consistency:

Add the horseradish and the finely minced herbs to the butter and mix well, creating a paste.

You want there to be enough herbs in the butter mixture so that you can see them, but you don't want to be entirely herby. I can't tell you how many sprigs of each herb to use, but try to evenly distribute them throughout the butter mixture.

Place your roast a small roasting pan where your standing rib roast fits snugly (I typically use a square 8X8 non-stick pan for a smaller roast). Salt and pepper all surfaces of the roast. Then, stand your roast up so that the bone is closest to the pan, and coat the top of the roast with your butter mixture.

After you evenly coat the butter mixture on top of the roast, sprinkle with bread crumbs. If you want to get super fancy, you can put parmesan cheese in with the bread crumbs, but just a tiny bit.

Then, put your roast in the oven. For cooking times, I have calculated that the roast cooks best at approximately 22 minutes per 8 ounces. That will give you a pretty rare roast, but I'd rather you undercook at first, and then put a meat thermometer in to find out it needs a little more time, rather than end up with an overcooked piece of meat. 

When you check the temperature, make sure you don't touch the bone with the meat thermometer. I like to check it in a couple of places in the center of the roast so that I can get an "average" reading. For medium rare center, you want the center to be at about 140. Remember, you're going to let it rest for about 15 minutes after you pull it out, and the temperature will continue to go up about five degrees.

Shhh, it's resting.

After you let it rest (some people tent tin foil over it while it rests but I tend to find that this steams the crust that I worked so hard to make crispy), you will slice it and serve. The best way to slice is to go vertically between the bones, then carve off of the bones. 

Serve, and enjoy!!!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Mmmm, brussels sprouts. This is one of my absolute favorite side dishes to make...and actually, not only are they good for dinner, but if you make them in advance, chill them in the fridge, and serve them with the lemon dill aioli I described in this post, they make a great party appetizer. I recently made them for a friend's baby shower, and labeled them ever so adorably...

Ok, ok, I know, cheesy. But still! Cute! And also very delicious! Roasting the brussels sprouts gives them a much different texture and flavor than when you eat them steamed. When you steam them, they smell a little....cabbagey. But the roasting changes it to a nutty, slightly peppery flavor. They're great. I promise you. 

Total Prep Time: 25 minutes

Total Cook Time: 20 minutes

What you will need:

1 package brussels sprouts (this package is a prop; I had already started cooking with sprouts from Black Hog Farm)

1/2 lemon 

1 1/2 tbsps (approximately) olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

First things first is to wash/clean your brussels sprouts. Since they are basically little heads of cabbage, they get dirt in between some of their leaves (particularly the outer leaves). Also, sometimes the grocery store sells them to you with a piece of little woody stem still stuck on them, so you'll want to cut the bottoms of them and peel off the outer leaves if they look wilty and damaged. Wilty is a technical term.

Preheat your oven to 400. 425 is preferable, but I tend to steer towards 400 since my oven likes to create a lot of smoke. Which makes J unhappy, because then he's stuck fanning our smoke detector with a kitchen towel while I finish cooking.

Next, put them in a pot with a lid, with approximately 1 inch of water. Cook them on medium high, allowing steam to escape, for approximately 6-8 minutes (after the water starts boiling and they start steaming). You want them to be firm, and bright green in color, but beware that they are completely raw on the inside. The best way to find out is to either cut one in half, or taste it. After they are done, drain them in a colander and let them cool.

After they cool for approximately 10 minutes, cut them in half, lengthwise. 

Once they are all cut, it helps to press them gently with paper towels, as the more water you get off of them, the crispier they will be after roasting. If you are pressed for time, this is not a necessary step.

Put the halves in a large bowl, and coat with the olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Add more salt and pepper than you think you will need, as it soaks in. Drizzle with lemon juice, then toss to coat the sprouts evenly with the liquid.

Cover a baking sheet with tin foil (this avoids messy clean up and scrubbing later!) and spread the sprouts in a single layer on the sheet, Place in the oven for approximately ten minutes. Stir them around, trying to get the other side of the sprouts to face top up.

Let the sprouts cook for about another ten minutes, then peek in the oven. You're going to have to eyeball the crisp factor, but make sure they don't burn. Burnt brussels sprouts are not so tasty.

Serve, and enjoy!

Balsamic Roasted Cauliflower

This is a quick side dish that is low-cal, low-carb, and pairs nicely with any sort of italian main dish. The texture is good and doesn't have that mealy, mushy taste that steamed cauliflower can sometimes acquire.

Total Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Cook Time: 20 minutes

What you will need:

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp of olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
italian seasoning (all to taste)

Preheat your oven to 400. You can cook this dish anywhere from 375-425, just adjust your cooking times a bit if you have other things in the oven too.

Cut the cauliflower head into florets and put in a large mixing bowl. The easiest way to cut a head of cauliflower is to turn it upside down and to use the tip of the knife to cut in a circular pattern around the stem to loosen it, then crack it off and cut the florets from there. Make sure that you dry the cauliflower after you wash it very thoroughly, as water on the florets will cause them to steam, rather than to roast.

Add in all of the other ingredients to the mixing bowl, and mix well. Don't be afraid to use a good bit of salt on this--the taste cooks away as the cauliflower roasts. 

Cover a baking sheet in tin foil (this makes cleanup so much easier!) and spread the cauliflower around so that it is in a single layer.

Pop it in the oven. About halfway through cooking time, stir it around with a wooden spoon so that it cooks evenly. Then serve, and enjoy!

Thanksgiving Turkey: The Express Version

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and some of you may have committed to hosting a Thanksgiving dinner without ever having cooked a turkey before. Or perhaps you are going to your relatives' for Thanksgiving and you are slightly sad, since it means that you will not have the leftovers in your refrigerator to make delicious post-Thanksgiving sandwiches (because let's face it, the post-Thanksgiving sandwich is much better than the main event). This is an easy, "express" version of a roasted Thanksgiving turkey that you can totally handle in one afternoon. It's a good "practice turkey" so you can learn the properties of roasting a bird like this and obtaining crispy skin without going through all the hassle of brining and extended prep that all the experts and Williams-Sonoma make you think is necessary.

Disclaimer: This is not a one hour meal. And I won't even promise you that you can do very many other things while it cooks. But you can watch some Bravo TV after it gets in the oven, because if you miss five minutes of the Real Housewives of New Jersey, you will still understand what's going on (hint: they're all mad at each other and screaming "DONT POINT AT ME").

Total Prep Time: 70 minutes

Total Cook Time: for a 10 pound bird, approximately 2.5 hours, but follow the instructions on the packaging and constantly use your meat thermometer

What you will need:

10 lb fresh turkey (fresh is very important. Fresh is VERY IMPORTANT. Never use frozen).

1 stick of butter (or margarine, if you're going the kosher route)

1 leek

Rosemary, Sage, Thyme (really whatever fresh herbs you have in your house will work)

Sea salt and black pepper

A bulb baster

A roasting pan with a rack inserted--very important and key for crispy skin

Kitchen twine if your fresh turkey doesn't already come with it's legs tucked

If you are going to make gravy and you want to do it the fast and lazy way, you will also need:

Williams Sonoma Gravy Base. It is the best, easiest gravy in the world. No messing around with flour and roux and whatnot. 

Milk

Apple cider vinegar

dried italian seasoning

Giblets and neck from fresh turkey

Okay, first thing's first is prepping your fresh turkey. You will take it out of the plastic, and then you must remove the giblets and neck. Typically, the neck is in the big main cavity, and the giblets are wrapped in paper and tucked under the fold of skin in the front of the bird. put these items in a medium sized saucepan, fill with enough water to cover them, and add a splash of apple cider vinegar and some italian seasonings, then set on a low-medium heat to simmer. It should simmer for as long as it takes the turkey to roast--just stir every now and then, and if the water starts to get too low, add some more.

Rinse the bird with cold water and drain. Pat it dry with paper towels, and then put it on the roasting rack to come closer to room temperature for about 45-60 minutes. You can cover it lightly with a papertowel or a clean dishcloth.

While the bird is coming to room temperature, put a stick of butter in a bowl to soften. Take your leeks, and make sure you wash them well as there is a lot of dirt and grit that gets down in the leeks. Then chop up the white part of your leeks into small pieces.

Chop up some of the other herbs you happen to have laying around. There are really no exact measurements, just a small handful of each.

Mash all of the herbs and leeks together in the softened butter so you have an herb butter spread.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

When the turkey is up to room temperature or slightly below, salt and pepper it on all sides, in between the wings and the body, and down into the cavity and the neck (underneath the skin flap). Then, take the the herb butter and with your hands, give the turkey a nice massage. Start by lifting the skin and separating it from the breast and in the neck cavity, and rub some butter in there between the skin and the flesh. Then, give it an all over massage and leave some lumps on top and in the wing and thigh area.

As you see above, I always start cooking my turkey with the breast side down, and I blast it at 400 for about 30-40 minutes (when it's this small--it'll get more time if it's a bigger bird). Why? The thighs are always the last thing to cook, and if you're not careful, the skin on the breast will burn and the breast meat will dry out. This prevents all of that from happening. 

After about 35 minutes, the bottom started to crisp up a little bit, and the thighs were cooking nicely. Flip the bird with turkey lifters if you happen to have them; otherwise, I used two serving forks and did an "over and up" type of flip. Whatever you do, don't drop it on the floor.

See? The other side is not browned yet, but we know it's starting to cook.

Reduce the heat in the oven to 325, and pop it back in. You should be timing about 12 minutes per pound (we got a jump start on the cooking process with the 400 degrees). My general rule is that I set the timer for every 20 minutes, because that's how frequently I baste. I really believe that frequent basting is the key to success with turkey. When you baste, you can lift the turkey up and tilt it a little bit, so that the juices run out of the cavity into the pan. 

After an hour, I check the temperature in the thickest parts to make sure we're on the right track, and that also helps me gauge how much longer the turkey actually will need to cook.

So the key to making sure that your turkey does not dry out is obviously, not overcooking it. I know that we are all paranoid about undercooked poultry because really, who wants salmonella, but overcooking turkey is an awful thing to do. That's why you have to take it's temperature frequently, especially when you're getting close to 165. 165 is the ideal temperature for the thickest part of the meat. You don't want to go too many degrees over that because it will continue to cook when you bring it out of the oven.

Mmmmm, doesn't it look good? Leave it in the roasting rack and LIGHTLY tent with tin foil. Make sure there is plenty of room for some of the steam to escape because the delightfully crackly, crispy skin you have achieved will wilt and turn rubbery and flabby if you steam it. Let it sit there for about 15-20 minutes while you make the gravy.

In order to make your gravy, remove the giblets and neck from the heat and drain. Chop the giblets into small pieces, and then pull the meat off of the neck. Discard the neck bone. Make the gravy according to the directions on the jar of Williams Sonoma gravy prep (it basically involves pouring the gravy base and equal parts milk into a saucepan and whisking on medium heat). Dump the giblets and meat into the gravy to make it tasty. For extra taste and to achieve a better consistency, go scoop out some of the drippings from the bottom of the roasting pan (I honestly just use the bulb baster and run it across the kitchen like a madwoman) and mix into the gravy. 

After all that is done, your turkey will have sufficiently rested, so carve and enjoy!!! Don't ask me how to carve, by the way....I do it lord of the flies style after about three slices.

Balsamic Herb Roasted Chicken Breasts

This recipe makes boneless skinless chicken breasts very juicy and flavorful. You get the taste of the balsamic but the cooking takes away a lot of the tart mouth-puckering qualities, and the vinegar marinade really helps the chicken retain its juice during the cooking process. The herbs (fresh, of course) also infuse flavor during the marinating process. Best of all, it's an extremely convenient recipe as long as you remember to put the chicken in the marinade the night or morning before you plan to cook it! It pairs nicely with any green vegetable cooked with just some olive oil, lemon and garlic, or a salad, or even a small serving of pasta or potatoes.

Total Prep Time: 15 minutes (not including the time you marinate the chicken)

Total Cook Time: 20 minutes

What you will need:

1 package boneless skinless chicken breasts (anywhere between 1 - 1 1/2 lbs)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
dried italian herbs
5 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled but not minced
fresh herbs (when I made this, I only had rosemary in the house, but this would taste wonderful if you put in fresh thyme, basil or sage as well)
red pepper flakes

To Prepare for Marinade:

Cut the chicken breasts so that each breast is two pieces. You can do it either through the horizontal or vertical plane of the chicken, however you prefer.

In a gallon size freezer ziploc bag, pour your vinegar and soy sauce. Then add the garlic cloves, and add your fresh herbs as well (I used two sprigs of whole rosemary, but a few leaves or stems of each type of herb you want to use is all you will need. It will take a lot to go too overboard with them). Cut the herbs roughly so that they release their oils into the marinade. Then add two or three good shakes of the dried italian seasonings, and as much red pepper as you'd like (that is very much to taste).

Add the chicken to the bag, close tightly, then move the chicken around in the marinade, trying to get the marinade to cover as much of the chicken as possible. If you find that you truly do not have enough marinade to get all over all of your chicken, then add just a splash more balsamic and soy to the bag; be careful, because the chicken does not need to go swimming! I really think of this as giving the chicken a nice spa bath, more than anything else; enough liquid to relax it, but not enough so it can do laps.

You can marinate the chicken in the refrigerator anywhere between 3 hours and 24 hours. I typically make up this mixture the night before I want to cook it, or sometimes I'll do it right before work, since it really takes no time at all. When you marinate the chicken in the refrigerator, try and lay it as flat as possible so all of the chicken stays in its little spa. 

To Cook:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is preheating, take the chicken out of the refrigerator, crack the bag a little bit, and let the chicken come up closer to room temperature. When you cook meat, it's always better to try and let it warm up a little bit from the refrigerator; you will get a much more even cook on it, and the inside and outside of the meat will cook at the same rate.

Place the chicken pieces on a roasting rack. If you don't have a roaster, then you can lay them flat on a baking sheet covered in tin foil or even a glass baking dish. Try not to crowd them in the baking dish, they need some room to breathe and for the juice to evaporate.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, turning the pieces once during the cooking process.

Serve, and enjoy!!!

Roasted Broccoli with Lemon and Parmesan

This is a great side dish that is SUPER QUICK to make, and I'll admit, it tastes so good that sometimes I make a couple of broccoli florets like this as a snack! From start to finish, 25 minutes! Extremely low calorie too, and a great way to get some fiber and good green-veggie vitamins into your diet.

Total Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Cook Time: 15 minutes

What you will need:

2 large broccoli florets (mine are from Black Hog Farm, woohoo local agriculture!)
1/2 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
1 tbsp Parmesan Cheese

Preheat your oven to 400.

Cut the large broccoli florets into small florets. You can eliminate this step by buying the broccoli pre-cut. Place into a good-sized bowl.

Pour the olive oil in with the broccoli florets, then sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper to taste. Squeeze the lemon juice from 1/2 lemon over the florets, then mix well with your hands so the oil and juice and seasonings are evenly distributed over the broccoli.

Spread the broccoli over a baking sheet (I cover mine in tin foil for easy cleanup). Put in the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Approximately halfway through, stir the broccoli around to ensure that it is evenly cooking.

When the broccoli is ready, it will be tender to the fork and the edges will start to brown and crisp a bit. Put it into a bowl and sprinkle your parmesan cheese over it. Serve, and enjoy!!!!

Lemon Rosemary Roasted Whole Chicken

Mmm, once again, I return to my basic roots of impressive, gourmet-ish cooking: large pieces of meat, all cooked at once. This is the most impressive thing you can do for a guest. And it makes a ton of food. Sometimes I'll make a big chicken on a Sunday and then use the leftovers for sandwiches and lunches the rest of the week. 

Total Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Cook Time: 1.5-2.5 hours depending on size of bird

What you will need:

A whole roasting chicken (I typically buy somewhere around 6 pounds)
Olive oil (not pictured)
Fresh rosemary
One lemon
Paprika
Black Pepper
Sea Salt

Preheat your oven to 350.

Rinse the chicken well, removing all of the giblets and other good things they sometimes pack in the cavity (they are typically wrapped in paper). Cut any excess fat around the neck cavity and around the tushie cavity. Set on a cutting board and pat it dry with paper towels. It's very important to get the chicken as dry as possible.

Next thing you will do will be to put rosemary sprigs between the skin and the meat of the chicken. Essentially, you will stick your fingers between the skin and the meat to loosen the skin a bit, and then take small sprigs of fresh rosemary and scatter them underneath the skin in a variety of areas. It should look something like this:

After you do that, put a whole stalk of rosemary in the big cavity of the chicken. Put the chicken into its roasting pan, breast side up.

Next, cut your lemon in half, and squirt the lemon juice of both halves over the entire chicken and a little into the cavity. Put one half of the lemon into the chicken cavity along with the rosemary; the other half, toss down your kitchen sink garbage disposal to make it smell good.

Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the top of the chicken, along with some salt and pepper.

Next, sprinkle the chicken liberally with paprika. Paprika is going to give the chicken that nice color you see in the first picture, and you really cannot go overboard with the paprika, so don't be afraid of it. Rub the paprika around a bit so that there is an even coating on the top of the chicken. You can even put a little on the bottom, just pick it up on the sides and rub some in, but don't worry about seasoning the bottom as much as a lot of the juice and flavoring will run down into the bottom part of the meat.

Put it in the oven and let it roast! Timing is approximately 20 minutes per pound. I typically like to peek in every 20 minutes and baste the chicken a bit. On one of your rotations, feel free to turn it over and let the bottom get toasty. Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature and when it gets to 165 degrees. Don't cook it any more than that, as the temperature will continue to rise a bit after it comes out of the oven, and the worst thing in the world is dry, overcooked chicken!

Pull the chicken out, and let him rest a little bit, because after all, being cooked is hard work. 15-20 minutes, and I like to tent some tin foil over the chicken to keep the heat in, but don't wrap it tightly as that will just start to steam your delightfully crispy skin.

Serve and enjoy!!!!