Perfect Prime Rib

Standing Beef Rib Roast

3 bone rib roast

Wrap roast in cheesecloth, or paper towels for a week in the refrigerator .

When ready to roast, preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Place the roast on a rack in a roasting pan. Rub the roast all over with olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper, garlic powder, and kosher salt.

Place the roasting pan in the preheated oven until the center of the roast reads 120°F for medium-rare. This takes about 3 hours, but time will vary depending on the size of the roast. Use a meat thermometer and cook to 5 degrees below your desired degree of doneness.

Remove roast from oven and tent with foil to rest for upto one hour. Turn the oven temp up to 500°F.

Once the oven reaches 500°F, remove the foil and put the roast back in the oven. Cook until the outside is nicely browned and crisp, about 10-15 minutes. Transfer roast to a cutting board and rest the roast at least 15 minutes before serving.

Rare: 120-125°F – Bright red interior 

Medium Rare: 130-135°F – Pink on the outer crust with a deeper red center

Medium: 135-140°F – Mauve/light pink colored interior

Well-done: 145°F+ – Brown, no pink

USDA Prime” – top 8% of all US beef (a bit harder to find), heavy marbling that is evenly distributed.

“USDA Choice” – moderate marbling and is a high-quality option that is available in most supermarkets.

“Select” – value-priced, less marbling, potentially less tender and juicy.

Buy the large end cut

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Recipe: Charcoal-Grilled Shrimp Skewers with Lemon-Garlic Sauce

Charcoal-Grilled Shrimp Skewers with Spicy Lemon-Garlic Sauce
From "The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook" 

1 1/2 pounds extra large (21-25 per pound) shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil for brushing shrimp
Table salt and ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Vegetable oil for brushing grate
For the sauce:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter cut in 4 pieces
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed, about 1 tablespoon
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
Lemon wedges, for serving

Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels. Thread the shrimp onto three skewers, alternating directions of heads and tails. Brush both sides of the shrimp with olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Sprinkle one side of each skewer with the sugar.

Light a large chimney starter filled with charcoal (about 6 quarts) and allow to burn until the coals are covered with a layer of ash, about 20 minutes. Open the bottom vent on the grill. Build a modified two-level fire by arranging the coals over half of the grill. Set the cooking grate in place, cover the grill, and heat the grate until hot, about 5 minutes. Use a grill brush to scrape the cooking grate clean. Dip a wad of paper towels in vegetable oil; holding the wad with tongs, oil the cooking grate.

For the sauce: Combine butter, lemon juice, garlic, pepper flakes and salt in a 10-inch disposable aluminum pan. Cook over the grill, stirring occasionally, until the butter melts, about 1 1/2 minutes; remove from heat.

Place the shrimp skewers, sugared sides down, on the hot side of the grate and use tongs to push the shrimp together on the skewers if they have separated. Grill the shrimp, uncovered, until lightly charred, 4 to 5 minutes. Using tongs, flip and grill until the second side is pink and slightly translucent, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Using a potholder or oven mitt, carefully lift each skewer from the grill and use tongs to slide the shrimp off the skewers into the pan with the sauce. Toss the shrimp and sauce to combine and transfer to the hot side of the grill; cook, stirring, until the shrimp are opaque and fully cooked, about 30 seconds. Remove from the grill, add parsley, and toss to combine. Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately with the lemon wedges. 

Roasted Sticky Chicken

3 pounds whole chicken
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 large onion – quartered

Combine all spices together in a small bowl. Rub mixture into chicken WELL, inside & out, patting into the skin & try to make it evenly distributed. Put in a large bag & refrigerate overnight. If you don't have time for this step it will still be delicious!
Just before roasting, stuff the cavity w/ onions. If the onion will fit into the cavity whole, I do it this way as we love baked onions.
Roast uncovered @ 250* (YES, THAT'S 250*) X 5 hours (YES, THAT'S 5 HOURS). Baste often w/ pan juices until they caramelize in the pan. Chicken will turn golden brown.

NOTES : These freeze GREAT & I recommend you make several of them at one time since your oven is on for so long! This chicken is to die for & falls off the bone!!!

For Heating: You can bring these straight from the freezer if you want! I've done this for years in my own home & here's how I do it. From the freezer: Put in the microwave on a plate covered w/ papertowels & heat on high X 5-7 minutes. Then, place in a 350* oven X 15-20 minutes or until hot throughout.

Or, you can thaw in the refrigerator overnight, wrap in foil and heat in a low oven for 20-30 minutes.

Amish White Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) 2/3 cup white sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/4 cup vegetable oil 6 cups bread flour

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast . Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam. 2. Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time.  Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth . Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat.  Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. 3. Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half.  Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans . Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans. 4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

Man-Pleasing Chicken

Note: use a dish just big enough for chicken

Ingredients

8 tsp Dijon mustard or Dijon honey mustard

8 tsp maple syrup

2 tsp rice wine vinegar

2 chicken thighs

salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Mix Dijon mustard, maple syrup and rice wine vinegar together in a bowl.

3. Place chicken thighs in oven proof dish salt and pepper chicken. I always spray my dish with cooking spray to help in cleaning later or line with foil saves you a lot of clean up.

4. Pour mustard, maple, vinegar mix over the the thighs. Turning the thighs over so they are fully coated.

5. Put in oven and bake for 40 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 155 degrees. I find that a meat thermometer is essential in cooking because it allows me to check to see if done without cutting into the meat and losing its precious juices.

6. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving.

7. Plate the chicken , making sure to spoon some sauce over the top. Sprinkle with sliced green onions, or rosemary or other fresh herbs of your choice.

Poached Chicken

Poached Chicken

INGREDIENTS

1 skinless chicken breast (1/2 pound)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

A couple pinches of salt

A couple pinches of dried herb of your choice - tarragon, oregano, basil, rosemary, or thyme, or some other seasonings such as cumin or paprika

Plastic wrap*

*Use a good quality plastic wrap that can withstand some heat. Look for packaging that indicates you can use the plastic wrap in a microwave oven. If it can handle a microwave oven, it will hold up in boiling water.

METHOD

1 Trim the fat and coat chicken pieces in lemon juice, salt, and herbs: Trim all the fat from the chicken breast and slice it lengthwise. In a small bowl mix the lemon juice, salt, and herbs.

Add the chicken pieces and coat all over with lemon juice mixture.

Let the chicken pieces sit in the lemon juice while you heat the water in the next step.

2 Bring a pot of water (2 1/2 quarts of water, 4 quart pot) to a high simmer.

3 Roll up the chicken in plastic wrap: Roll out a long sheet of plastic wrap at least twice as long as the chicken breast slices. Place 1 chicken strip on the plastic wrap, in the middle. Roll up the chicken in the plastic wrap tightly.

Compress as much air out of the chicken as you can as you roll it. Once the chicken is rolled up, rotate it on your cutting board or counter several times to tighten the cylinder even more. Tie the loose ends of the plastic wrap together in a double knot. Repeat with the second chicken strip.

4 Poach chicken in hot water: Once the water has reached a high simmer, turn off the heat (keep the pot on the burner though) and drop the rolled-up chicken cylinders in the pot. Cover the pot and let the chicken steep for 15 minutes.

The chicken should be cooked through by then. (If for some reason the chicken is not cooked through, for example if you are using larger than called for breasts, or if you are using frozen chicken that hadn't quite defrosted before cooking, you can always put the chicken back in the poaching liquid for a few more minutes.)

5 To serve, snip off the tied ends of the plastic wrap, and unwrap. Note that there will be some juice inside the plastic wrap with the chicken, which has lots of flavor. So you might want to unwrap the chicken pieces over a bowl to catch the juice, which you can then pour over the chicken if you want. Or serve the chicken with a sauce of your choice.

Garlic Mushroom Chicken

Creamy Parmesan Garlic Mushroom Chicken

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
Salt Pepper
2 ounces sliced mushrooms


Creamy Parmesan Garlic Sauce:
2 TBL butter
1 garlic cloves, minced
½  tablespoon flour
¼ cup chicken broth
½  cup heavy cream or half and half
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
½  cup spinach, chopped


Instructions
In a large skillet add olive oil and cook the chicken on medium high heat for 3-5 minutes on each side or until brown on each side and cooked until no longer pink in center. Remove chicken and set aside on a plate. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook for a few minutes until tender. Remove and set aside.
To make the sauce add the butter and melt. Add garlic and cook until tender. Whisk in the flour until it thickens. Whisk in chicken broth, heavy cream, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, pepper and salt. Add the spinach and let simmer until it starts to thicken and spinach wilts. Add the chicken and ,mushrooms back to the sauce and serve over pasta is desired.

P.S. I use Turkey Cutlets too sometimes.

Baked Ziti With Meatballs

Baked Ziti with Meatballs
Serves 3 or 4 adults
 
24 ounces of pasta sauce - I used Paul Newman's Sockarooni
8 ounces Low Fat Cottage Cheese
2 cups of beef broth
4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 1/2  cups ziti pasta - uncooked
10 ready-made mini meatballs thawed

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

 

In a large bowl mix together the pasta sauce, cottage cheese, beef stock, half of the mozzarella and half of the Parmesan cheese.

Toss the uncooked pasta and meatballs with the sauce and spread into a pan. Cover tightly and bake for 50 minutes.

Remove the cover and stir the contents. Sprinkle the remaining Mozzarella & Parmesan cheese on top and return to the oven. Bake an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.