I flew back to Portland again this year to spend the holidays with my family. Stanley is back in the States this year, so this was the first time the whole family had been together for Christmas in a few years and it was really nice. As is usually the case with me and my parents, there was quite a bit of cooking going on. We all felt like last year's feast was one of the best we've ever done, but we managed to improve upon it this year with a little help from Thomas Keller.
Before I get to the brilliant Thomas Keller technique of taking a blow torch to your standing rib roast, I want to show the adorable appetizers we had. I got my mom these cute mise en bouche spoons as part of her Christmas present, and she had the great idea to make use of some leftover lemon dumplings in the freezer and do a single-bite version of the Jean-Georges recipe for Asparagus Soup with Lemon Dumplings.
It was fun to get to put the spoons to use right away, and I will totally steal this idea for use at home.
The goal of appetizers (including the one above) was to come up with things we would be able to make without leaving the house for more groceries. This led to a batch of (delicious) garlic confit...
... and some Buckwheat Blini with Smoked Salmon and Herbed Crème Fraîche.
Not a bad spread for something thrown together at the last minute without buying any extra ingredients...
On to the main event. One of the first recipes that caught my attention when I got my copy of Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home was the standing rib roast. This is our traditional Christmas main course around here, and it always turns out great... but I've learned over the years that Thomas Keller's way of doing things is always the right way. My dad borrowed a blow torch from a friend, and we were ready to go.
The idea behind the method is to apply high heat to just the outer layer of the roast (not even enough to brown) before putting the roast in a relatively low (275 °F) oven.
This allows the outside of the roast to actually develop a really nice crust while the vast majority of the inside cooks to a perfect medium-rare. Here's our roast before its time in the oven:
And after:
I had no idea it was possible to get such a beautiful crust on a hunk of meat without some high-temperature roasting, so this was very cool.
When my dad went to slice, we found the entire roast to be super-tender and perfectly medium-rare, just like Thomas Keller said it would be...
This went on the table with the Baked Oysters with Bacon and Leeks that I insist on making every year, the roasted onions from the pan, Brussels sprouts roasted with bacon and shallots, and some Celery Root Mashed Potatoes with yummy beef gravy. Christmas dinner perfection...
Of course, one of the best things about our traditional standing rib roast dinner is the French Dip sandwiches we make with the leftover meat and horseradish sauce the next day... Mmmm....
Hopefully your holidays were as fun and delicious as mine... I'm snowed out of Boston for now, unable to make it home to see the bunnies. Sad to be missing the opportunity to be cozy in my apartment during a crazy blizzard, but happy to have a little extra time with the family...
Before I get to the brilliant Thomas Keller technique of taking a blow torch to your standing rib roast, I want to show the adorable appetizers we had. I got my mom these cute mise en bouche spoons as part of her Christmas present, and she had the great idea to make use of some leftover lemon dumplings in the freezer and do a single-bite version of the Jean-Georges recipe for Asparagus Soup with Lemon Dumplings.
It was fun to get to put the spoons to use right away, and I will totally steal this idea for use at home.
The goal of appetizers (including the one above) was to come up with things we would be able to make without leaving the house for more groceries. This led to a batch of (delicious) garlic confit...
... and some Buckwheat Blini with Smoked Salmon and Herbed Crème Fraîche.
Not a bad spread for something thrown together at the last minute without buying any extra ingredients...
On to the main event. One of the first recipes that caught my attention when I got my copy of Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home was the standing rib roast. This is our traditional Christmas main course around here, and it always turns out great... but I've learned over the years that Thomas Keller's way of doing things is always the right way. My dad borrowed a blow torch from a friend, and we were ready to go.
The idea behind the method is to apply high heat to just the outer layer of the roast (not even enough to brown) before putting the roast in a relatively low (275 °F) oven.
This allows the outside of the roast to actually develop a really nice crust while the vast majority of the inside cooks to a perfect medium-rare. Here's our roast before its time in the oven:
And after:
I had no idea it was possible to get such a beautiful crust on a hunk of meat without some high-temperature roasting, so this was very cool.
When my dad went to slice, we found the entire roast to be super-tender and perfectly medium-rare, just like Thomas Keller said it would be...
This went on the table with the Baked Oysters with Bacon and Leeks that I insist on making every year, the roasted onions from the pan, Brussels sprouts roasted with bacon and shallots, and some Celery Root Mashed Potatoes with yummy beef gravy. Christmas dinner perfection...
Of course, one of the best things about our traditional standing rib roast dinner is the French Dip sandwiches we make with the leftover meat and horseradish sauce the next day... Mmmm.... 
Hopefully your holidays were as fun and delicious as mine... I'm snowed out of Boston for now, unable to make it home to see the bunnies. Sad to be missing the opportunity to be cozy in my apartment during a crazy blizzard, but happy to have a little extra time with the family...
No comments:
Post a Comment