Kosher Salt Encrusted Prime Rib

This is what we did for thanksgiving dinner this year instead of the traditional turkey that we had too much of in the days prior. I spent all morning looking for different ways to cook it and this is what I settled on from Allrecipes (user: Marbalet). It turned out to be one of the more juicy, taste-filled cuts I've ever had (and believe me, there's been plenty sampled)

Ingredients
2 cups coarse kosher salt
4 pounds prime rib roast (out of the fridge for an hour or so to slowly warm)
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon seasoning salt

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450º F (100º C).
• Moisten the roast with a little water and then season the meat with the ground black pepper and seasoning salt, then cover completely with kosher salt creating a kind of crust around it.
• Roast in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes and then lower the temperature to 210º (I actually opened the oven door briefly to help it cool down to the desired roasting temp)
• Continue cooking until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 145º F (63º C).
• Remove from oven and let rest for 30 minutes. This sets the juices and makes the roast easier to carve.

Above was the finished product, minus the salt crust that was removed prior to carving.

Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Chocolate Raspberry Tart
(modified from The Wine Lover's Dessert Cookbook)

Okay, totally cheating, but I make this with a pre-made pie crust. :) Here you go!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the crust in a 10-inch pie plate, pushing to the edges and pricking all around with a fork. Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Set the pan on a rack to cool completely.

While that's happening, make the filling. Here's what you need for that:

12 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate (I use Scharrfenberger 70%), finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp, cut into 8 pieces
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sour cream

1 pint raspberries for garnish


Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring the cream, sugar, and salt to a full, rolling boil in a saucepan. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and let it sit a few seconds to begin melting, then stir gently with a whisk just until the chocolate is smooth. Add the butter a tablespoon or two at a time until each piece is incorporated. Whisk in the yolks until smooth. Fold in the sour cream.

Pour the filling into the tart shell and set aside, uncovered, until it is completely cool and softly set, about 1 hour. Decorate the top with raspberries, and then slice with a sharp knife, dipping the blade in hot water and wiping it clean between slices.

Suggested wine pairing: Merlot (it tends to go really nicely with dark chocolate anything, and the raspberries will bring out some of the red fruit flavors!).

Green Bean Casserole

Never Enough Green Bean Casserole
from Allrecipes.com

We had ham steaks with pineapple as the entree tonight, and the green bean casserole as the side. The ham was grilled on the combination grill / panini press, as was the pineapple for a few seconds.



Ingredients:

1 (10 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

3 ounces processed cheese (i.e. Velveeta®), cubed

1 tablespoon real bacon bits

1 (4 ounce) can mushroom stems and pieces, drained

2 (15 ounce) cans cut green beans, drained

1 (2.8 ounce) can French-fried onions

Directions:

1.	Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2.	Heat the undiluted cream of mushroom soup in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the processed cheese and bacon, and continue stirring until completely melted. Remove from the heat, stir in the mushrooms, then the green beans until evenly coated. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish, and top with the fried onions, leaving a 1 inch margin around the sides.
3.	Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until heated through and bubbly. Check near the end of cooking to make sure the onions aren't getting too brown.

Hot Beef Sandwiches au Jus

I have been making these tasty sandwiches for years!  They are one of our favorite meals.  When bottom round roasts are buy-one-get-one-free, you can be sure at least one of them will find its way into the crock pot for this recipe.

After 8-10 hours in the slow cooker, you shred the meat and serve in buns with the juice on the side for dipping -- like a French dip.  I like to toast the buns, because I don't like things that are soggy.  I often top the sandwiches with shredded swiss cheese. 

On a "work night," I put the recipe together the night before, using a frozen roast.  If you use a frozen piece of meat, you can leave it in the slow cooker a little longer than the recipe calls for.

The beef sandwiches are pictured with Sage and Potato Gratin.

The recipe is from Pillsbury's Soup & Crock-Pot Recipes (February 2000).

Hot Beef Sandwiches au Jus

1 (4-5 pound) bottom round beef roast (I usually cook one about half that size)
1 envelope dry onion soup

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp oregano

2 10oz cans of beef broth (I always buy Swanson -- they are 14.5 oz, but I use two anyway)

1 12oz bottle or can of beer (we ALWAYS use Sam Adams Boston Lager!)

2 garlic cloves, minced (I use the minced garlic in a jar that you refrigerate -- 1 tsp = a clove)

16 buns

1.  Mix all ingredients except buns and beef in slow cooker.  Place beef in liquid, spooning a little on top to be sure the beef is seasoned.

2.  Cover.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

3.  Slice or shred beef.  Serve in buns with individual portions of au jus on the side.

Sage and Potato Cheddar Gratin (Scalloped Potatoes)

This recipe was published in our local newspaper a few years ago and was cited "recipe from McCormick."  It is THE BEST scalloped potato recipe I have ever tried!!

Be sure to cut the potatoes really thin.  Nothing is worse than undercooked scalloped potatoes.

I usually make half the recipe, and I use reduced sodium chicken broth and less salt.  I made it as written the first time and it was a bit too rich.

Sage and Potato Cheddar Gratin

2 tsp rubbed sage or dried sage leaves
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup chicken broth

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix sage, salt and pepper in small bowl.  Layer 1/3 of the potatoes and 1/2 of the onion in lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.  Sprinkle with 1 tsp of the sage mixture and 1/3 of the cheese.  Repeat layers.  End with sage mixture and cheese.

2.  Stir broth and cream in medium bowl with wire whisk until well blended.  Pour evenly over potatoes.  Bake uncovered 1 hour or until potatoes are tender and top is golden.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Chicken with Tomatoes and Mushrooms & Sweet Peas

Chicken with Tomatoes and Mushrooms
Sweet Peas
crusty bread with butter

My notes: the chicken breasts I found at the store were rather large. Next time I'd butterfly them or just cut them in half crosswise. The sweet peas turned out tasty enough, but not very green after a 4+ hours in the crock pot. I would try the shorter, higher temperature another time. Plus, if the chicken didn't take longer, as it did because of the size, maybe they would've been greener. Probably any crockpot would work for the peas.

Chicken with Tomatoes and Mushrooms
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chicken-with-tomatoes-and-mushrooms

Ingredients
Serves 4.

* 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, about 1 1/2 pounds
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 pound mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 can (14.5 ounces) stewed tomatoes
* 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large (5-quart) saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil over medium-high heat; swirl to coat bottom of pan. Cook chicken, turning when it easily releases from the pan, until golden, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
2. Add mushrooms; cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, and oregano. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, covered, until tomatoes have broken down, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Return chicken and any accumulated juices to pan; cover, and cook until chicken is opaque throughout, 4 to 6 minutes. Turn chicken to coat with sauce, and serve.



Sweet-Peas
from Hamilton Beach Party Crock

1 package (16 oz) frozen green peas
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

1. Place all ingredients in cast iron dish.
2. Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 hours or MEDIUM for 4 hours.
6-8 servings

Crab-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This is one of those recipes that tastes difficult, but is really, really easy.  It comes from The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever by Beatrice Ojakangas -- EXCELLENT COOKBOOK!!  It is chock full of great recipes, including how to make your own cream soups.  (Haven't tried that yet though!)

In this photo, I served it with roasted potatoes with dry onion soup and olive oil.
Crab-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

(Actually, the recipe called for turkey breasts, but I used chicken)

4 Tbsp butter
2 pounds chicken or turkey breasts
½ cup sliced green onions (white and green parts)
¼ pound thinly sliced mushrooms
3 Tbsp flour
2 tsp thyme (I used HALF this and it was plenty I thought!)
½ cup chicken broth
½ cup half and half or light cream (I used half and half)
½ cup dry white wine
Salt
Pepper
¾ pounds fresh crabmeat or 2 packages (6 oz each) frozen crabmeat, thawed and drained
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup shredded swiss cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 350 (I've started baking it at 400 because it doesn't get done for me).  Grease shallow 3 quart casserole dish with about 2 tsp of the butter.
2. Wash chicken/turkey and pat dry.  Place between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound until thin and about tripled in size.
3.  Melt remaining butter in a nonstick skillet.  Add green onions and mushrooms and sauté for 5 minutes or until soft.  Stir in flour and 1 tsp of the thyme.  Whisk in the broth, cream and wine and bring to a boil, whisking constantly.  Cook until thickened and season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. In a small bowl, mix ¼ cup of the sauce, the crabmeat, parsley, and remaining thyme (I didn’t add more thyme here).  Divide mixture evenly between chicken/turkey slices.  Roll up into tight bundles and place in greased casserole seam side down.  Spoon remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle with cheese.  (You can cover the dish and refrigerate one day, add 10 minutes to cooking time)
5. Cover the casserole with a sheet of aluminum foil coated with cooking spray on one side.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the turkey/chicken is cooked through.

One note:  I used just two chicken breasts, so they were super full.  I had to put them back in for 10 minutes because they weren’t quite cooked.  If I had used four smaller ones, I think 30 minutes would have been fine.

ALSO, the second time I made them I used real crabmeat, instead of the imitation stuff, and believe it or not the real crabmeat didn't taste as good!  I'm going with imitation from now on.

Welcome!

I love to cook. 

So do many of my friends.

I thought it would be fun to start a recipe blog to share what we're making in our kitchens from across the miles!  We often share our favorites on Facebook, but I thought this blog would help us keep track of the recipes we've shared so we can find them again easily.

I hope this blog becomes a "virtual cookbook" of all the wonderful food my friends and I cook, as well as advice on wine pairings (thanks to Erin!) and restaurant reviews in our towns and when we travel.

So, in the words of the immortal Julia Child, Bon Apetit!!