Recipes thread

[samina]

i'm sure you'll enjoy both recipes -- they have been common in my home for years, with the filet being our christmas recipe for a number of years running.

one caveat about cooking salmon, now that i think on it -- how long you keep the heat on depends, obviously, on how thick the filet is. i usually keep it on the skin side until i see the fish cooking up around the sides of the top fleshy side...and longer if the fish is very deep. then i flip and turn the heat off, bathing it in the soy & butter before i leave it to sit, covered.

gotta use your cook's instincts, with the filet mignon as well.

 

[JudeMorrigan]

that's what i do with roast chickens (insert butter-salt-&-pepper-slathered chicken into 450-500 degree oven til the skin sizzles), but because prime rib doesn't have bones i'm thinking this won't work similarly -- you'd likely end up cooking the meat before you seared it that way.

Erm, why doesn't your prime rib have bones?

 

[pygmalion]

It's a terminology thing, Jude. I think sami is talking about this cut of meat.

The roast with bones is sometimes called prime rib and sometimes called standing rib. I chose not to quibble, for the sake of keeping the conversation flowing. I'll find a picture of the standing rib. Just for the sake of continuity, I'll say right now that standing rib doesn't always stand. If there are only a few bones, it has to lie on its side.

And then there's crown rib, which (I think. Please correct me if I'm wrong) is the same part of the cow, just more bones, so you can make it look fancy.

 

[samina]

Erm, why doesn't your prime rib have bones?

y'know, the only reference i have for "prime" rib is what is commonly served at public events ("ma'am... prime rib, salmon, or chicken????")...and it never has a bone.

a butcher and those who prepare prime rib at home might argue that... have no idea.

 

[pygmalion]

Yeah. If one were to (have incredible amounts of excess time on their hands and) google it, they'd find that many cuts of beef have more than one name. The only reason I know is that my parents used to buy their beef by the freezer full at a place called Black Angus, which was on the outskirts of Philly somewhere. I was the geeky type, so I read the diagrams that showed where the various cuts of meat come from. Eh.


I guess I should add that a lot more than you think is up to the customer (in this case, the grocer) and the butcher. Yes. There are standard cuts of meat, but, if you're having meat custom-cut, you can get pretty much what you want, cut the way you want (think chicken quarters versus drumsticks and whole breasts versus tenderloins OR prime rib with or without the bones.) For example, my friend who's from California says that, where she's from, people eat beef tri-tip all the time. Where I'm from no such thing exists. Is that because cows grow differently in California than anywhere else? No. Butchers in California use different cuts. *shrug* Another one of life's mysteries.

And, since we're talking beef, got a question for ya. How much fat/marbling do you like? (This is strictly an opinion question; there are no right or wrong answers.) I'm curious. I have a GF whose husband makes barbeque beef brisket good enough to make you wanna slap your grandmaw (Sorry. Colloquial expression.) He is adamant about the amount of fat. He will not buy a $0.99 a pound untrimmed brisket. He'd rather pay $2.79 a pound for a brisket that has 1/4 inch of fat. 1/4 inch is apparently the magic amount of fat to make a good brisket. I do have to admit that his brisket is slap-your-grandmaw good.

 

[pygmalion]

Okay. So, this coming Sunday, I'm feeding Mom and Dad salmon fillets with a nice medley of fresh berries and dark greens tossed in vinaigrette. Also a rice w/raisin and nut dish that I found a recipe for umpteen years ago. And probably some steamed greens. Mom likes greens.

Next Sunday, I'm doing the standing (prime) rib, but I have no freaking clue of what to serve with it. If it were just DS and me, I can guarantee you that we'd have gigantic servings of something potato related, and some steamed broccoli to salve our consciences, plus some corn on the cob, because we like it and can rationalize eating corn. :lol:


Short story: what do you serve with roast?

 

[Joe]

You could do gruyere potato pucks:

potatoes (any kind but russets), sliced thin with mandoline or knife
cream
shredded gruyere

Spray the wells in a muffin pan with cooking spray. Layer tater slices in the bottom, about 1/2", minimizing voids. Sprinkle shredded cheese. Lightly season with S&P. Continue layering until the well is full, then spoon cream into it so you can just see the cream level below the taters. Bake at 400 for 30 min, or until done (poke test) and cheese on top is toasty. Take out, let sit until set (otherwise they may fall apart). Use a butter knife to score around the pucks; they should just pop out.

 

[Peaches]

Hell, make it easier. Rock it production kitchen-style. Do it in a 9x9 pan or something, then just cut them with a biscuit cutter or similar.

 

[pygmalion]

I will try it. I have a GF who does recipes like this one, using an oversized muffin pan and foil muffin pan liners. This sounds yummy. Must try it. :-D Just gotta find a place to buy gruyere. Probably Central Market or Whole Foods. Stores here have a very sad assortment of dairy products. Must go to a specialty shop. *sigh*

 

[Joe]

The pucks are better for presentation.

And portion control...

ETA: and I'm sure you could use whatever kind of cheese you like. Maybe gouda or edam, or (gasp!) gorgonzola.

 

[samina]

a good mash goes with everything.

 

[pygmalion]

Yep. Truer words were never spoken.



New potluck challenge: Salads.

Looking for recipes and/or ideas for salads that can sit in a bowl (in a fridge) for four or five hours and still be tasty and unwilted.

Anyone?

 

[Joe]

Potato salad. :-D

 

[pygmalion]

Thanks, Joe. :-D

 

[j_alexandra]

Yep. Truer words were never spoken.



New potluck challenge: Salads.

Looking for recipes and/or ideas for salads that can sit in a bowl (in a fridge) for four or five hours and still be tasty and unwilted.

Anyone?

Don't put on the dressing until just before serving. Bring big bowl of salad prettily arranged in pretty bowl, with dressing prettily placed in separate pretty bowl in center of big bowl, and make a fuss about tossing when it's time. You get theater *and* salad. Otherwise, salad + dressing = wilting. Something about the acid in the dressing interacting with the lettuce(s), I think.