French Cut Standing Prime Rib

This amazing roast can not be outdone. If you have a little extra cash in your pocket or if you have a few dear friends willing to split the cost, this will be a memorable dish that will have everyone completely stunned and in disbelief after every bite. 

I will not write a normal recipe for this, because it will depend on the meat you get. This was a 7.05 lb peice of meat. The rub that I used was a flavor packed dry garlic pepper rub that the butcher gave me. 

Ingredients: 

7 lb. standing Prime Rib 

Your favorite dry rub 

Olive oil 

1 pint of heavy cream

1 10 ounce container of Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled 

1 large package of Arugula

1 bag of fresh cranberries

Directions: 

1. Unwrap your meat from the butcher and stand it in your roasting pan. 

2. Lightly rub olive oil onto the meat. Take your dry rub and heavily pack it all over the meat. 

3. Have your oven very hot before putting the meat in. It should be preheated to 500 degrees. Braise the meat in the oven for 12 minutes. Then, lower the temperature to 325. I cooked it 15 minutes per pound. Which came out to an 1 hour and 45 minutes. I cooked it a little short of 2 hours total. 

4. Take out of the oven and let stand for 20 minutes. 

5. While it's resting prepare the arugala over a serving platter and set aside. 

6. In a saucepan over high heat, heat your heavy cream until it boils. Stir occasionally. Add in your crumbled Gorgonzola and continue to boil for 4-5 minutes until thick. Whisk to thicken. Pour into gravy pourer. 

7. After 20 minutes it's time to cut the meat. If the bones are hot use a clean kitchen towel to grasp the bones to get a good handle. Using a carving knife, slice along the bones in a "c" shape. 

The peice you remove will look like this. 

Sorry it is blurry! 

8. Now using the carving knife, begin to carve the meat. Slice 3/4-1-inch thick peices. 

9. Arrange the meat over the arugala platter. Decorate with cranberry a to give it some eye popping contrast. 

10. Serve with some bold wine and people you love and this will be one unforgettable dinner. 

Everyone got to enjoy this! And it made beautiful leftovers! 

Also, make time to really talk to the butcher about how he will cut it and how much it will cost you in the end.  You shouldn't have to be surprised about the cost when going to pay for it. Also ask them to French cut it so the bones stick out nice. 

We had a nice bottle of wine called Crimson and Clover, which inspired the clover like arugala and crimson cranberries used in this dish. 

Stromboli

As my sister says- there is no recipe for this. Just throw "stuff" in. 

Ingredients: 

For dough: 

1 cup of warm water (110 degrees) 

1 (1/4-ounce) package of active dry yeast 1 teaspoon sugar 

Extra virgin olive oil

3 cups of flour 

1 teaspoon of salt 

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the water and yeast. Add in the sugar and 1 tablespoon of olive oil and stir to combine. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes. 

2. Add 1 1/2 cups of flour and the salt, mixing by hand until it is all incorporated. Continue to add flour, 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough after each, until all the flour is incorporated but the dough is still slightly sticky. 

3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky, 3 to 5 minutes. 

4. Oil a large mixing bowl with the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. You can use your hands or a peice of paper towel to grease the whole bowl. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to oil all sides. Cover the bowl with Saran Wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. (My moms friend used to cover the bowel with a towel and place on her bed). 

5. When ready, punch it down and knead again. Roll out into one large peice of dough or into two smaller peices for two Stromboli. 

Pepperoni filling: 

Get a 1/2 lb of Boars Head pepperoni cut thin from the deli. Layer the pepperoni. Add as much shredded mozzerella as you like. At least half of an 8 ounce package for a large Stromboli. 4 ounces for a smaller Stromboli. Eye it. Then take one side of the dough and begin to roll it, taking care to tuck in the filling and keep it from falling out. When you finish rolling it, seal with a dab of water. Attend to the too and bottom of the Stromboli, dealing both ends. Make slits in the top of the Stromboli to help cook and for the steam and air to escape.

Ham: 

I have noticed that some people add mayo first when making ham Stromboli. Lightly add some mayo to the dough and add your ham. Continue the same way as above. 

Broccoli:

Use one stalk of fresh brocolli. Steam it first and cut into peices. Spread over Stromboli and add mozzerella cheese. Follow as above. 

Combination:

The best thing about Stromboli is anything works. Combinations of ham, Pepperoni, sausage or even any leftovers. Anything can be turned into filling for Stromboli. 

Ratatouille

This French dish is perfect for summer when you are bringing in baskets full fresh vegetables from the garden. 

Ingredients: 

3 tomatoes 

1 red pepper 

1 yellow pepper 

1 orange pepper 

2 Japanese eggplant 

1 green zucchini 

1 yellow squash 

4 cloves of garlic 

1 onion 

Sprigs of thyme 

Directions: 

1. Heat your olive oil in a cast iron skillet. Add your onion, 1 tomato, and thyme. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add your chopped peppers to the pan and continue to cook on medium heat for another 8 minutes or so until the peppers are soft. Season the mixture well with pepper. 

2. Remove the skillet from the heat and place on a cloth on the counter. While it cools, slice the remaining tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and eggplant. Using a mandolin will help ensure they are all have same size. 

3. Spread the pepper and tomato mixture along the base of the skillet. In an alternating order, arrange the vegetables along the periphery of the skillet. 

4. Continue the center ring using the same method. It may become difficult as you encounter different sized slices or if you run out of tomato. It's ok just keep alternating the best that you can. 

5. Sprinkle the diced garlic over the top of the vegetables and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the top. 

6. Cook at 350 degrees for 40-60 minutes or until the vegetables have been  cooked through and you can smell the sweetness of the eggplant. 

7. Serve and enjoy. 

Serve over rice to absorb all the delicious juices! 

Tortellini

Ingredients: 

Pasta: 

3 cups of flour 

4 eggs 

Filling:

1 cup of fresh ricotta 

1 teaspoon of nutmeg 

Directions:

1. In a large bowl mix ricotta and nutmeg well. Set aside. 

2. Mix flour and eggs. Knead dough and wrap in saran wrap. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Take out. Work with half the dough at a time. Roll out the dough with the pasta machine to the second to last pasta setting. Cut into squares 2 inches by 2 inches. If you want big tortellini cut into bigger squares. 

3. Place a teaspoon of filling into each square. 

4. Fold one corner of the square to the opposite corner until it forms a triangle. 

5. Fold the right arm of the tortellini into the middle. Then take some water on a brush and brush the pasta lightly. Fold the other arm over the brushed part and press slightly. Fold the triangle top over the back until it is facing down.

6. Repeat with remaining tortellini. 

7. Store in refrigerator until ready to cook. Boil a large pot of salted water and when they float to the top they are done. 

Berry pie

One of my favorite ways to cook is from garden to kitchen. This summer I was able to go berry picking and bring home fresh berries to make into a pie. What I look for in a pie is fresh filling, the type that doesn't have that gelatinous look or store bought taste to it. So here I wanted to make a filling that was overflowing with berries and keep the freshness of the orchard even after it was cooked. 

Ingredients: 

For crust: 

2 1/2 cups flour

2 sticks of butter 

1 pinch of salt

1 tsp sugar

6 tsp of cold water 

For filling: 

3 cups of strawberries, chopped 

1 cup of raspberries 

1/2 cup of blueberries 

1 cup of blackberries 

1/2 cup sugar 

3 tablespoons of cornstarch 

Directions: 

For the crust:

1. In a large bowl, mix together your flour, sugar and salt. Cut your softened sticks of butter into chunks, and put into the flour mixture. 

2. Blend with your hands, squeezing the butter and flour together. Keep breaking up the butter until you have all the flour and butter mixed, it will resemble pea sized peices of dough. 

3. At this point, add a tsp of cold water into the mixture, a tsp at a time. Begin to knead the dough in the bowl, adding a tsp as you go, you may not need more than 3, it depends on your quality of butter.

4. Remove from the dish and on a floured surface, knead the dough into one large ball. Store dough in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove and cut the dough in half. Place one half in the refrigerator until use. 

5. On a floured surface roll out the first dough for the crust. When you get it large enough to cover your pie tray, press down lightly so all the air is removed. Using a fork, make holes all around the dough to help trapped air escape. Place in refrigerator until use. 

Directions for filling:

1. Clean all the berries. De-stem the strawberries and pick out any of the fruit that look bruised. 

2. In a large saucepan, place all your fruit. Add in 1/2 cup of sugar and cornstarch. Mix well. Place on high heat and stir for about 5 minutes. The fruit should become soft and a syrup should form. Let cool and then pour into the crust. 

3. For this pie I chose to do a lattice crust on top. So I rolled out my second half of the dough and cut it into even strips. I alternated strips below and above each other to form a lattice. When the lattice was done, I incorporated the hanging peices into the base of the pie crust. 

4. Bake in oven at 375 for an hour or until the crust is golden brown. Store in refrigerator.