Beef Rib Roast au jus

This is called prime rib when you order it in a restaurant. It's a favorite Sunday dinner for us and it's so easy to make at home. Only four steps; 1-open the oven. 2-put the meat in. 3-close the oven. 4-take the meat out. Another nice thing is that you'll have 1-1/2 hours to do whatever else you need to do for dinner and still have plenty of time to relax with a glass of wine (HERE).

 This is a small 3-1/2 lb rib roast.  It will serve 4.
It's enough for us with leftovers.

 Season it as you like. I used garlic salt, seasoned salt, pepper and thyme.

 Rub the seasonings into the meat and pop it into a preheated 450 oven and immediately reduce the heat to 350. Roast for about 1-1/2 hours, or 20-25 minutes a pound for a small roast like this. 

 The outside will be crusty brown.

Let it rest for 10 minutes while you make the au jus. 

Remove most of the fat from the roasting pan and add 

2 C water to the drippings along with the contents of a package of au jus mix. 

Stir over heat until it comes to a boil. 

The inside of the roast will be a perfect medium rare. Slice the roast into thick slices.

Serve the au jus ladled over the the beef slices.  Pour remaining au jus into a sauce boat, 

because you'll want more.

 Serve with your favorite potato side and a fresh vegetable. We had garlic mashed potatoes, but the Cheesy Potato Casserole is very good with this.

Enjoy!

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HOMEMADE FRESH NOODLES

The title of this post is my "gentle protest" in the noodle vs. pasta debate. I grew up calling them noodles, but all of the cooking shows call it pasta. Is there a difference? Perhaps the word pasta makes it sound fancier? Oh well, call me old fashioned.

I've been playing around with homemade noodle recipes since I got a little hand crank noodle roller for Christmas. This latest recipe uses all semolina flour and it was SO much easier to work than recipes that use all purpose flour. The back of the semolina flour bag suggested using the full sheets of this dough (uncut) for lasagna (without boiling) which I am looking forward to trying.

Homemade noodles in cheesy fettuccine Alfredo sauce

1½ cups semolina flour
½ teaspoon salt (optional)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil (I used canola oil)
Combine the semolina flour and salt; add the beaten eggs, water and oil. Mix to make a very stiff dough. Knead for 10 minutes or until dough is elastic (I did this with my stand mixer). Cover with plastic and let the dough rest for 30 minutes (important)..
After 30 minutes of resting, turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured counter. Don't use too much flour on the dough before you put it through the machine, just enough to make it not sticky.

Start with pieces of dough about the size of a golf ball, maybe slightly larger. Flatten it out with your hand and taper one end of the dough so the machine will be able to "catch" the dough easily. Roll the dough through your machine on the lowest number two or three times (it will get longer each time).
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Set your dial to the next lower number and run the dough through again. Do this a couple times. My final machine setting was #3 and it was just right for fettuccine noodles.
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You can air dry these noodles at this point or you can boil it like any other noodle; it takes a lot less time to cook if you don't dry it. Drain and use like you would any other noodle.

NOTE: You certainly do not HAVE to have a machine to roll out this dough. I have made many noodles by rolling out small balls of dough on a floured counter with my rolling pin. Just make sure you roll them out nice and thin then cut with a pizza cutter.

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Laksa Cibinong

Laksa is a popular spicy noodle soup from the Peranakan culture, which is a merger of Chinese and Malay elements found in Malaysia and Singapore, and to a lesser extent Indonesia. Source : Wikipedia.We used to live in Malaysia for 3.5 years. So, I know 100% that laksa is indeed a popular dish in Malaysia. Not doubt! Other than that, I found out during the 'international day' in my children's

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Pasta Carbonara

This makes a nice luncheon dish or a late night supper, or just when you don't have anything in the house...like tonight.

 You probably have all these ingredients in the house. 

 If you have bacon too, your good to go. Saute the bacon in a skillet until browned and remove to a paper towel to drain and cool.

 Saute the onions in the reserved drippings. You can also use 1/2 small onion, chopped.

Add the garlic and saute another minute until fragrant. Do not let burn.

Whisk the eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

 Add to the drained pasta in the pot.

 Add the pasta mixture to the skillet along with the crumbled bacon and parmesan cheese. Toss and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Sprinkle with additional parmesan if desired. 

Serve with crusty warm French baguette and a big Caesar salad.

Pasta Carbonara

4 slices bacon

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 green onions, chopped

2 eggs, lightly beaten

4 T cream, milk or half&half

1/4 t salt & 1/4 t pepper

1/4 C parmesan cheese

2 T chopped fresh parsley

1/2 lb spaghetti

Begin cooking the spaghetti in salted water. Cook about 10  minutes. Reserve 1/4 C pasta water.
Fry the bacon until crisp. Remove onto paper towel to cool, then crumble. Reserve the drippings.
Add enough olive oil, if needed to the drippings in the skillet to make about 2T. Add the chopped onions and saute until tender. Add the garlic and saute another minute. Remove pan from heat.
Drain the pasta, but do  not rinse and return to the pot. Beat the eggs with a fork and add the milk, salt and pepper. Add to the hot pasta in the pot and stir well. Add reserved pasta water if needed. Add all the spaghetti mixture to the skillet with the onions and garlic. Add the bacon and parmesan cheese and toss to coat well. Sprinkle the top with parsley and serve in warmed pasta bowl.

Serves two

Enjoy!

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PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE WITH GINGERSNAP CRUST

Each little cheesecake (or two) is the perfect portion size and the gingersnap crumb crust goes perfectly with the pumpkin filling. This recipe makes 12 little scrumptious cheesecakes, but you could easily double it for a crowd.

 2/3 cup of crushed gingersnaps (about 15)
2 tablespoons of melted butter

Mix the crumbs and melted butter and put a scant tablespoon of the mixture into the bottom of 12 paper lined cupcake compartments; press down the crumbs into an even layer and bake in a 325 degree oven for 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.

8 ounce cream cheese (room temperature)
1 cup of canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
½ cup of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream everything together until very well mixed.
Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time, until well mixed.

Fill the paper cupcake liners ¾ full. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 325. My oven took 30 minutes. Chill in the pan for several hours. Remove the cupcake paper before serving and top with whipped cream.

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LEMON - BUTTER COOKIES

I love it when you find a recipe that you know you already have all of the ingredients, even if you are snowed in, or haven't gone shopping in a while. That describes this super quick, super easy, super tasty lemon butter cookie.

¾ cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons corn syrup
2 teaspoons lemon extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
a little extra sugar to roll cookies in

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until it is very light and fluffy (this takes a few minutes at high speed). Beat in egg, corn syrup and extracts. Add the flour, baking soda & baking powder and mix well.

Roll dough into 1" balls then roll the balls in granulated sugar. Place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet about 2 or 3 inches a part. Bake in preheated 325 degree oven for 12 minutes or until they are just golden around the edges.

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Cheers to a New Year!

We're passing the middle of January 2011. Ooh, time goes by very fast.
In fact, I'm still enjoying the raining that cleansing the city and the wind that supplying fresh air into the city.
Beautiful.

Last month, we were very busy and ... very happy at the same time. We enjoyed the wonderful season with our big family. I remember, when we used to live far from our family, many-many years we

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FUDGE CREAM PIE

I decided to try this chocolate pie recipe because it looked so simple. You do not have to temper the eggs, no complicated steps and multiple bowls to deal with. It is super quick, super easy and produces a super thick chocolate filling. It was a huge hit for the chocolate lovers at our house!!
9" baked pie crust
1¼ cups white sugar
2 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
4 egg yolks
2 one ounce squares unsweetened chocolate
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In medium saucepan, combine sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. In a medium bowl, beat milk and egg yolks until smooth. Gradually stir the milk mixture into the saucepan that has the sugar mixture in it. Cook over medium heat (stir constantly) until the mixture comes to a full boil. Boil and stir for a minute or two or until it's very thick.

Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate, butter and vanilla until the butter is melted. Pour into baked pie shell.

Place plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the hot filling (this will prevent a skin from forming on the pudding). Chill overnight. Top with whipped cream and chocolate curls.

This isn't a very good photograph, but it gives you an idea of what the filling looks like.

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BAKED ONION RINGS

Don't let this terrible photo fool you, these onion rings are deliciously addicting!! I found this recipe on Donna's blog over at My Tasty Treasures. There are only 2 tablespoons of oil in the whole batch, but you would never know it; this recipe is a keeper!!

The onion rings bake up light as air, super crispy and packed with flavor!!
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1 medium size vidalia onion
1½ cups corn flakes
½ cup plain dry bread crumbs (I used Panko)
1 large egg
½ cup low fat buttermilk
¼ cup flour
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
pepper to taste
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Put the corn flakes and bread crumbs in the food processor and pulse until you get fine crumbs (set aside).
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Mix the egg, buttermilk, flour, cayenne and black pepper. Cut the ends off of the vidalia onion and then cut the center of the onion into four thick slices. Separate the rings.
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Dip the raw onion rings into the batter and set them on a baking rack so the excess batter will drip off (put a baking sheet under the rack, or set the whole rack in the sink to help reduce any mess).
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Put 2 tablespoons olive oil (I used canola oil) on a rimmed baking sheet and put it in the oven for 2 minutes to preheat. After 2 minutes, remove the pan and tilt it to redistribute the oil. Coat the battered rings in the fine dry crumb mixture and place on the baking sheet.

Bake for 16 minutes in a 450 degree pre-heated oven (turn them over half way through). Remove from oven and sprinkle with coarse salt.

NOTE: I don't know if these would be as good with a plain yellow onion. I used vidalia's because they are our favorite. Any sweet onion would work.

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Beef with Snow Peas

We just had this for dinner tonight and it's so good! It's a favorite recipe I've had for years and I don't make it often enough. I added chopped green onions and a few red pepper flakes this time. Good additions.

Start the rice and popovers first. Those will take about 25 minutes.

 Gather the ingredients.

 Whisk the soy sauce, cornstarch, sherry, brown sugar, and ginger in a large bowl.

 Slice the flank steak against the grain into 2" long strips. 

 Season with garlic salt and pepper.

 Toss in the bowl. Rinse and trim the ends (pulling the string off) the pea pods. Lay on paper towels to dry. Diagonally slice or chop the green onions. 

 Heat 1 T oil in a large iron skillet until very hot. Add pea pods and saute for 1 minute. 

 Remove to a plate and set aside.

 Add 2-3 T oil to the pan and allow to heat again until very hot. Add the beef and let sear for 1 minute.

 Then stir the beef until browned and almost cooked, about 1-2 minutes.

 Add the green onions and pea pods and stir to cook for 1  minute.

Remove from heat.

Sprinkle on some red pepper flakes for added spice. 

 We like this with popovers because......well you don't need a reason to have popovers!

 Serve with perfect rice.

Beef with Snow Peas

1 lb flank steak

3 T soy sauce

1 T cornstarch

1 T sherry

1 t light brown sugar 

1/4 t ginger

4 T oil

garlic salt & pepper
red pepper flakes

6-8 oz fresh pea pods

Cut beef into 2" long strips against the grain.

Combine the next 5 ingredients in a bowl; add the beef and toss well. 

Rinse pea pods and trim the ends pulling off the strings.  Set aside on a paper towel to dry.

 Heat about 1 T oil in a large pan until hot and saute pea pods for about 1 minute and remove to a plate. Add more oil to the pan, about 2-3T, and allow to get very hot. Add the beef and let sear for 1 minute. 

Then stir unti browned, about 1-2 minutes. Add the pea pods and chopped green onions. Stir and cook another minute. Remove from heat and sprinkle with a little red pepper flakes to taste. 

Serve with rice.  Serves 4

note: If you have 1-1/2 lbs of beef add more ingredients by (about 50% more.

Make sure the pan is very hot so that the beef sears.

Perfect Rice

1 C rice

2 C water

1/4 t salt

Combine in a covered pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes until water is absorbed.

Fluff with a fork and remove from heat and let sit up to 10 minutes.

Popover recipe  HERE
I cut the recipe in half and made 4 popovers in custard cups.

Enjoy!

Links: My Romantic Home

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TACO BELL RED SAUCE CLONE RECIPE

I admit it, there are certain items that I really enjoy at Taco Bell. Yes, I know it's not authentic Mexican food, but when you like something, well, you overlook things like that. One thing I enjoy at TB is a warm condiment called red sauce. It is not the hot sauce that comes in a packet; it is the steaming hot red sauce that is served on their tostados and their Mexican pizza. This recipe is about as close to the original taste as you can get!!!

 1 (8 ounce) can of tomato sauce
1/3 cup water
¼ teaspoon chili powder
1½ teaspoon ground cumin
1½ teaspoons dry onion flakes
1 tablespoon white vinegar
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon garlic salt
¼ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon white sugar
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Mix everything and simmer (on very low) for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot. The "spice level" is very moderate if you use it right away. It is a little spicier if you let it sit in the fridge overnight.
Serve (as a hot condiment) with any Mexican food.

NOTE: I was surprised to see that there is vinegar in this sauce (you can't taste it in the final product).

NOTE: I don't usually buy garlic salt. I just mix it up with 3 parts salt to 1 part garlic powder, stir well.

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MUFFIN POPPERS

My husbands winter occupation (hobby) is restoring vintage snowmachines. He has a shop on our property and needless to say, there are days when very little "restoring" happens because the shop is full of his buddies discussing their most recent snowmachine adventures. When the shop is full, I enjoy sending out a big plate of baked goods to get their opinion on a new recipe. Today, I sent these (super easy) little muffin poppers out and the "guys" hovered over them like vultures (a good sign), the little gems got a big thumbs up.

2 cups flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat your oven to 400 and lightly grease/spray a mini-muffin pan with vegetable spray.

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients, then stir in the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and melted butter. Beat together until well blended.

Fill mini-muffin cups about ½ full. Bake in 400 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes (my oven took 13 minutes) or until they spring back when touched.

Let the little muffins cool a minute or so, then remove them from the pan. Brush all surfaces with melted butter and roll in cinnamon sugar. Serve warm (but great room temperature too).

NOTE: This recipe makes about 3 dozen mini-muffins.

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SESAME CHICKEN

Our Safeway store has the best sesame chicken and I've tried to recreate it, several times, with minimal luck. However, this last try was very good and even Hubby liked it!!

 2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon cooking wine
3 drops sesame oil
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 tablespoons water
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon onion powder
Mix the above ingredients thoroughly, then add 1½ pounds of chicken breast cut into 1" cubes. (see note) Stir to coat and chill for 30 minutes before frying.
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SAUCE (this cooked sauce is poured over the cooked chicken)
½ cup water
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons white vinegar
½ cup granulated sugar*
¼ cup corn starch
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes**
1 clove garlic minced
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Bring to a boil (it gets very thick). Keep warm while you fry the chicken
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Deep fry the chicken cubes, a few at a time, until they are done and batter is golden. Keep warm in oven while you fry the rest. Just before serving, add some of the sauce to the chicken and gently stir (you might not need all of the sauce) .
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Serve over hot rice.

NOTE: Original recipe called for a full cup of sugar, but that seemed like overkill. I used ½ cup and it seemed perfect.
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NOTE: We are very shy of extra-spicy food. I used ¼ teaspoon of the red pepper flakes and it was VERY mild. I think next time, I will use ¼ teaspoon + an extra pinch.
NOTE: The recipe calls for chicken breast, but we prefer either chicken tenderloins or boneless thigh meat.

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MICROWAVE RICE

This is a handy little recipe for rice cooked in the microwave oven. It is easy, requires no "pot watching" and produces perfect rice.

2 cups boiling water
1 cup long grain white rice (not instant)

Mix everything in a heat safe glass or ceramic bowl and cook on high (uncovered) in your microwave for 10 minutes. Remove and fluff with a fork. Return to microwave and cook at 50% power for another 5 minutes. Fluff again with the fork. That's it!!

NOTE: All microwaves cook differently. If you have an underpowered microwave, you may have to cook it an extra minute on 50% power. If you have a super powerful microwave...maybe subtract a minute during the 50% stage.

NOTE: Add butter and favorite seasonings to rice AFTER it is cooked.

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Cheesy Potato Casserole

This is a delicious potato casserole that goes wonderfully with roast beef, grilled steaks, or anything!

 You can make it ahead, so it's a good potato dish when you're  entertaining.
 Leftovers are a good side dish to serve with omelets for breakfast.

Gather the ingredients.

 Pour half the melted butter over the potatoes.

 Combine the remaining ingredients (except topping) and mix into the potatoes.

 Put into a greased 9x13 baking dish.

 Combine the crushed Ritz crackers or corn flakes with the remaining butter.

Sprinkle evenly on top.

Bake until golden brown.

Cheesy Potato Casserole

1- 2 lb bag frozen hash brown potatoes
1-1/2 sticks butter, melted

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 C chopped green onions- about 1 bunch                          

2 C sour cream- 1 pint

1 t garlic salt

1/2 t pepper

2 C grated Cheddar cheese- 8 oz.

2 C corn flakes or
Ritz crackers,(1 sleve) crushed

In a large bowl combine the potatoes with half the melted butter. Combine the remaining ingredients, (except for the topping) and mix into the potatoes. Put into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Top with the combination of  crushed Ritz crackers or corn flakes and the  remaining butter. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or start in a cold 325 oven and bake for 1hr and 15 minutes.

Enjoy! 

Links: BNOTP

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