Standing Rib Roast in a Dry Rub Crust

Posted by Unknown Thursday, December 30, 2010 9:50 PM 0 comments
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For the second year in a row, and perhaps a new tradition in our household, we cooked a standing rib roast for Christmas Day dinner.  The pictures below do the roast justice but for a bit more detail, here it is.

Start with a good dry aged standing rib roast.  Each of the two years we've cooked this, we've purchased ours from Van Ball's Prime Beef butcher.  A great shop with excellent meat, they are very helpful and provide excellent customer service.  I have to order our roast in October to be sure we get it for Christmas as it's very popular this time of year.

I rub the outside of the roast with a dry rub consisting of the following:

Olive Oil - 3/8 Cup
Dry Thyme - 3 tablespoons
Dry Rosemary - 3 tablespoons
Garlic, Finely Chopped - 2 tablespoons
Coarse Ground Black Pepper - 3 tablespoons
Coarse Salt - 2 tablespoons

When you're done applying the rub, your hands are a mess.  But are they ever finger licking good!

Cook the roast at 200 degrees for about four hours.  I actually use a thermometer to monitor the roast and when it gets to an internal temp of 118 degrees, it's time to take it out of the oven and proceed to the next step.
With the roast out of the oven and covered up with tin foil, crank the oven up to 500 degrees and let it settle there for 15 minutes.  Put the roast back in and cook for another 15 minutes to get a nice crust built up.  Take the roast out of the oven and let it rest for 15-20 minutes before cutting and serving.


Roast w/Van Ball's Seasoning

Roast with Dry Rub

Cooked, Carved, and Ready to Serve

Gourmet Poutine

Posted by Unknown Saturday, December 18, 2010 10:00 AM 1 comments

Regular Poutine




If you don't know what poutine is, just ask your local Canadian. A staple in the Canadian diner cuisine, poutine is normally a greasy spoon bowl full of unctuous goodness.  A simple recipe really: a bowl of french fries slathered generously with beef gravy and topped with fresh cheese curds.  What's not to love! You may find slight variants of this recipe but the basic premise is the same.  Or maybe not . . . . . 

Enter The Green Well.  The Green Well serves honest fayre with local flair in a green, neighborhood setting.  Their innovative gastro pub is in a LEED® certified building, they have a creative ever-changing menu featuring a global range of eclectic flavors prepared with ingredients from local farmers, and their beverage offering includes a wide array of local craft brews and wines, all to support our local economy.  It's a fantastic local neighborhood pub with wonderful food and a great atmosphere.  

But I digress.  Many months ago, Cindee and I were at The Green Well with some friends and I was very surprised to see poutine on a special menu they were running at the time.  I've never seen poutine anywhere in Michigan (or the U.S. for that matter), only in Canada.  Apparently, they had sponsored an appetizer contest and the two finalist were vying for a spot on the Appetizer menu as the winning prize.  The two finalists dishes were poutine and a southern barbeque recipe.  Poutine won and I enjoyed a mouthwatering and completely different approach to poutine than I had ever experienced before.  On subsequent visits to The Green Well, I found that the poutine recipe had fallen off the menu but was available by request.

Fast forward to last night.  Cindee and I decided to have dinner at The Green Well and I was again surprised to see poutine made it back on to the menu.  Not just as an appetizer but a full entree.  Titled 'Pot Roast Poutine', the entree was the very same dish I had enjoyed on numerous occasions with grilled asparagus added to round out the dish.

So, I encourage one and all to make their way to The Green Well for a Canadian delight stepped up to an entirely new level.  If your mouth isn't watering at the thought of this dish, I'd check your pulse.

Pot Roast Poutine
slowly braised beef - mushrooms - grilled asparagus
truffle - cheddar fries - red wine gravy - fried egg

Naughty and Nice Buttered Rum

Posted by Unknown Sunday, December 12, 2010 7:57 PM 0 comments
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With the first major storm of the season in full swing, the wind is whipping outside, snow is swirling around the trees, snow drifts cover the backyard, and it's a good day to be inside. Spending a late Sunday afternoon watching football, it seemed only appropriate to have a fire in the fireplace.  Longing for something warm to drink to top of my football & fire afternoon, I made a drink that came from Food Network's Aaron "Big Daddy" McCargo.  Below is the recipe that Cindee has proclaimed to be her new favorite drink.  We will certainly be making more of it this holiday season.



Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon butter, softened
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • Dash ground cinnamon
  • Dash ground nutmeg
  • 2 ounces dark rum
  • Boiling water

Directions

Put the butter, sugar, and spices in the bottom of a mug. Muddle together with the back of a spoon. Add the rum and fill the mug with boiling water. Stir and serve, regardless if you've been naughty or nice!

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