PetersCreek
Codger-in-training
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2005
- Messages
- 753
Dry Aged and Smoked Rib Roast After hearing about smoked prime rib from a customer, my wife suggested I take a crack at making one for us. So we bought a nice, untrimmed, select grade rib roast (3 bones worth) and dry aged it for two weeks. I then prepared it a day ahead of time. I trimmed and deboned it; rubbed it with olive oil; liberally seasoned it with salt, freshly ground black pepper and coriander; then trussed it back onto the bone. I gave it two hours of smoke in the Bradley at 225°F then brought it inside to finish it in the oven at 275°F. When it reached an internal temperature of 124°F, I let it rest on the stovetop and heated the oven to 550°F. Once it was good and hot, I chucked it back in to let the crust sizzle for about 15 minutes or so, then pulled it out for the final rest.
Pan Seared Alaskan Sea Scallops with Black Truffle Butter We've never cooked with fresh truffles before but as luck would have it, we found a black truffle (Asian, I suspect) the size of a large marble for only $8, while shopping in an international market the day before V-Day. So, several hours before dinner, I ran it over a Microplane zester to get a couple of teaspoons of fine shavings, creamed it into a stick of unsalted butter, and seasoned it to taste with Celtic sea salt. I then formed the compound into a cellophane-wrapped log about 1½ inches in diameter and put it in the fridge to set. As for the scallops, nothing complicated there: dried well with paper towels, seasoned well with S&P, and seared over medium heat in a modest amount of butter and olive oil. They were then topped with a quartered slice of truffle butter each.
Steamed broccoli with Hollandaise Simple and classic. I have a go-to blender recipe for Hollandaise but I opted a to try a less dirty-thing-to-wash-intensive technique. I made it in a saucier, without using a double boiler, by using an alternating on-and-off-the-heat method. It worked out quite well.
Caprese salad This one was my wife's doing. Tomatoes salted and drizzled with olive oil and balsamico then oven roasted; sliced mozzarella; fresh basil. Delicious.
Mexican Chocolate Cake The wife was in charge of this, too. Pretty much a chocolate cake with a marshmallow cream icing doctored with mini chocolate chips, cinnamon, and a touch of cayenne.
Wine 2006 Marchesi de' Frescobaldi Chianti Rùfina Nipozzano Riserva
Way too much for two but everything was most excellent:
Pan Seared Alaskan Sea Scallops with Black Truffle Butter We've never cooked with fresh truffles before but as luck would have it, we found a black truffle (Asian, I suspect) the size of a large marble for only $8, while shopping in an international market the day before V-Day. So, several hours before dinner, I ran it over a Microplane zester to get a couple of teaspoons of fine shavings, creamed it into a stick of unsalted butter, and seasoned it to taste with Celtic sea salt. I then formed the compound into a cellophane-wrapped log about 1½ inches in diameter and put it in the fridge to set. As for the scallops, nothing complicated there: dried well with paper towels, seasoned well with S&P, and seared over medium heat in a modest amount of butter and olive oil. They were then topped with a quartered slice of truffle butter each.
Steamed broccoli with Hollandaise Simple and classic. I have a go-to blender recipe for Hollandaise but I opted a to try a less dirty-thing-to-wash-intensive technique. I made it in a saucier, without using a double boiler, by using an alternating on-and-off-the-heat method. It worked out quite well.
Caprese salad This one was my wife's doing. Tomatoes salted and drizzled with olive oil and balsamico then oven roasted; sliced mozzarella; fresh basil. Delicious.
Mexican Chocolate Cake The wife was in charge of this, too. Pretty much a chocolate cake with a marshmallow cream icing doctored with mini chocolate chips, cinnamon, and a touch of cayenne.
Wine 2006 Marchesi de' Frescobaldi Chianti Rùfina Nipozzano Riserva
Way too much for two but everything was most excellent:
