Christmas has come to an end with full stomachs

Christmas has come to an end with full stomachs

Well Christmas has come to an end. I thought I would share with you the recipes that made our dinner table this Christmas. First let me start by saying that traditionally for a Hispanic family, the main celebration happens on Christmas Eve. At my parent home this means homemade tamales, Spanish rice, refried bean and a mug of Champurada (a thick chocolate cinnamon drink, all I can say is hmmmmm!). Since Mom usually handles the Christmas Eve dinner,  I am usually the one that take charge of the Christmas day dinner.   I always go with classic American dishes.  This year dinner included a Corse Salt and Pepper Crusted Prime rib roast, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon, roasted carrots and finally a pumpkin orange cheesecake. I usually try one or two new recipes only during the holiday since the family is not big into change.  I think Faye mentioned this in an early Blog about her family too.  The new dishes this year were the Corse Salt and Pepper Crusted Prime Rib and  the Brussels sprouts with bacon.  I am not being bias because I cooked them but they were DELICIOUS!  The meat was juicy and tender with a flavorful crust.  As for the brussel sprout,  I have never been a fan.  But they looked so good at the grocery store and in season so I thought how can a veggie that looks so great, taste bad.  So I decided I would give them a second chance with a new cooking method and adding a second favor (the bacon) and Poof, perfection!    Great favor, with a crunch and a just a touch of bacon (Really, what food doesn’t taste good with bacon! ) 

I hope you enjoy these new recipes! If you have any questions, do not hesitate to comment or send us a message. Faye and I will gladly try to help.

Happy Cooking

Coarse Salt and Pepper Prime Rib Roast

(pictured above)

·         Rib Roast ( I used a 10pound one)

·         6 tablespoons of cracked pepper

·         5 tablespoons of coarse salt

·         1 tablespoon garlic powder

·         5 tablespoons of olive oil

·         4 sprigs of Fresh Rosemary

·         2 medium size onions cut into 4 pieces

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

1.       Take roast out of refrigerator, and let stand for 30 minutes.

2.       Prepare roasting pan by placing the rosemary and the onions on the bottom of the tray.

3.       Mix, pepper, garlic powder, salt and olive oil to form a paste.  Add additional olive oil if the paste is too dry.

4.       Rub pepper mixture all over the roast.

5.       Place in a roasting pan

6.       Place in the oven on the lower rack and cook for 15 minutes at 450, reduce heat to 350 and cook for:

a.       1 ½-2hours for Rare (meat thermometer should read 120-125 degrees)

b.      2 ½-3 hours for medium rare  (140-145 degrees)

c.       3-3/12 hours for well ( 160 degrees)

7.     Remove from heat, tent with foil and let stand for at least 30 minutes so the juices redistribute along the meat.

8.       Carve and enjoy.

Brussel sprout with bacon

·         2 pounds brussel sprouts

·         3-4 table spoons of olive oil

·         1 tablespoon Salt

·         ½ tablespoon Pepper

·         5 stripes of center cut bacon (I used Oscar Mayer)

·         1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1.       Trim the brussel sprouts by cutting off the ends and removing the outer layer.

2.       Cut them in half and put them in large bowl

3.       Add olive oil, salt , pepper and toss them till fully coated

4.       Put on a large baking tray in a single layer. Make sure the tray has ends, not a flat cookie tray.  The oil might drip off the sides and cause a fire (talking from experience here! J )

5.       Put in oven and roast for 30-35 minutes, making sure you stir them every 15 minutes so they are roasted throughout and not just on one side.

6.       While the brussel sprouts are in the oven, snip bacon into ½ stripes.  Add the tablespoon of olive oil into a medium size cooking pot and fry bacon for about 15-20  minutes at medium-high heat , until the it is fully cooked (will look a nice brown color),drain excess grease leaving only about 1 to 2 tablespoon of bacon grease in the pot with the cooked bacon.

7.       Remove brussel sprouts from oven and put into the pot with the bacon.  Toss with the bacon and excess oil and transfer into a serving dish.

Pictures of Additional items I made. Email us if you would like the recipes.

1.      Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

2.      Pumpkin Orange Cheesecake