# Holidays. so you cooking?



## boomchakabowwow (Dec 21, 2017)

up until yesterday, i thought i would just take the immediate family out for Vietnamese 7 course beef.

well, my wife changed all that. she invited a family over that had their house burn down in our recent wildfires..they have family in the area, but apparently there is some family drama that poo-poo'd any chances of a dinner invite. i understand! family can suck.

so, i rallied. called my butcher and ordered a 4 bone, standing rib roast. my elderly neighbors are all to shy to come over to eat, but they requested "to-go" boxes..i can accommodate that. 

i think a standing rib roast is the no-brainer, since it requires so little side dishes. i'm gonna do a mash potato side..and maybe some oven roasted brussel sprouts..(or asparagus). should keep that "bomb" from going off in my kitchen that seems to dirty every plate, pot and stirring utensil i own 

quick Que..
is yorkshire pudding difficult?
what about creamed spinach? am i lighting the fuse for the "bomb"?

and any simple au jus? i seriously need to google that!!!


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## boomchakabowwow (Dec 21, 2017)

au jus..just googled it.

i got it. cake.


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## WildBoar (Dec 21, 2017)

We will be cooking at my sister's house on a couple of the days/ nights if all goes well. Rib roast should be on X-mas day; we'll roast it on a spit on my BIL's grill. Leah is making a sauce from baccala to do a pasta on x-mas eve for those who will not eat meat. We're also supposed to make a big pot of lintel soup in order to have something lighter to eat for lunches.

Out 4-year-old is sick right now, so our travel plans are already delayed by at least one day.


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## DamageInc (Dec 21, 2017)

For Christmas I will be cooking a duck and a pork belly roast (+ blackberry jus) with a red cabbage and orange salad, and Danish browned sugar potatoes.

The day after I'm making a duck confit salad with pomegranate and green beans. This will be served with four bottles of some really great Fabiano Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico I Fondatori vintage 2003 I found in the back of the cellar of which I had completely forgotten about for around 8 years.


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## Paraffin (Dec 21, 2017)

Just the two of us this year, not entertaining. For Xmas day, we're doing hammered pork schnitzel with rotkohl and spaetzle sides. The rotkohl is dead easy. We're still working out how to match the spaetzle in a local restaurant, and getting closer.


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## DamageInc (Dec 21, 2017)

Paraffin said:


> Just the two of us this year, not entertaining. For Xmas day, we're doing hammered pork schnitzel with rotkohl and spaetzle sides. The rotkohl is dead easy. We're still working out how to match the spaetzle in a local restaurant, and getting closer.



Rotkohl is rødkål in Denmark. A holiday staple. And yes, dead easy and delicious.


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## tripleq (Dec 21, 2017)

Taking it easy this year. Regular day type thing. Considering a brunch with home made waffles which I only allow myself once or twice a year. Seems like celebration enough food-wise.


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## Keith Sinclair (Dec 21, 2017)

DamageInc said:


> For Christmas I will be cooking a duck and a pork belly roast (+ blackberry jus) with a red cabbage and orange salad, and Danish browned sugar potatoes.
> 
> The day after I'm making a duck confit salad with pomegranate and green beans. This will be served with four bottles of some really great Fabiano Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico I Fondatori vintage 2003 I found in the back of the cellar of which I had completely forgotten about for around 8 years.



Sounds great. 

Grilled Salmon, Saffron, shallots, garlic, capers, white wine, fresh tarragon butter sauce. Green string beans and mushrooms.

Large lump meat crab salad.


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## StonedEdge (Dec 21, 2017)

BAH...HUMBUG


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## malexthekid (Dec 21, 2017)

We have hosting duties this year, and as per my wife's family rules host don't cook... so my knives will lay wasteless, at least until there is some carving to do


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## TheCaptain (Dec 22, 2017)

Family drama on our end as well so it will just be the three of us for Xmas. Doing a double butterflied rolled pork loin roast stuffed with pancetta, garlic, and rosemary (ATK recipe). Whipped potato casserole with gruyere cheese and veggies to be determined by what looks good in the market.

Maybe a caramel pecan cheesecake for dessert?

Hmmm, thinking some tart cranberry sauce will also pair well with this. Hubby loves cranberries!


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## Nemo (Dec 22, 2017)

Gonna be warm (30 C) but not scorching here, so it looks like roast chook (kids fav) and salads.


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## TheCaptain (Dec 23, 2017)

What is roast chook?


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## Mucho Bocho (Dec 23, 2017)

I'm so out of ideas that I haven't already done. I'm also kinda torn, the people that I'll be cooking for would be happy with stale hard shell taco's and unseasoned ground beef. In the past no one has ever shows interest in my sous vide, 24hr BBQ, fried food, roulades, fricassee's...

I'm just so uninspired this year. 

Also, Damage. that menu sounds delightful. When you prepare such fancy fair, do you the people you serve appreciate/understand the effort/skill?

I'm sounding very ba humbug huh?


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## daveb (Dec 23, 2017)

Dennis, You need some nog with your eggs[emoji41]


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## DamageInc (Dec 23, 2017)

Mucho Bocho said:


> I'm so out of ideas that I haven't already done. I'm also kinda torn, the people that I'll be cooking for would be happy with stale hard shell taco's and unseasoned ground beef. In the past no one has ever shows interest in my sous vide, 24hr BBQ, fried food, roulades, fricassee's...
> 
> I'm just so uninspired this year.
> 
> ...



Half of my family is very wine and food conscious and understand and care a lot about what they are eating and how I prepared it. The other half are uncultured swine who will eat anything and everything served to them.

The latter half would be fine with a two day old ham sandwich, but I would not be fine with serving it.


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## StonedEdge (Dec 23, 2017)

This is why family dinners are such a god awful conception...twisting people's arms to pretend they care about one another all the while nobody's having fun. How festive.

I'll go back to prepping my Festivus pole for the airing of greivances now.


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## DamageInc (Dec 23, 2017)

StonedEdge said:


> This is why family dinners are such a god awful conception...twisting people's arms to pretend they care about one another all the while nobody's having fun. How festive.
> 
> I'll go back to prepping my Festivus pole for the airing of greivances now.



I'm fine with family dinners if I got to choose who to invite and who to not.

The problem comes when "if you invite these people that you like, then you also need to invite these other people that you don't like because they are also family". The "everyone or no-one" argument.

I've started doing delayed invites. The people I want to come are invited weeks before, while the people I don't care for get a last minute invite a day or two in advance. For these people, I've once considered pouring balsamic into their wine glasses and seeing how long it would take for them to notice, if at all.


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## brianh (Dec 23, 2017)

Hello handsome.


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## DamageInc (Dec 23, 2017)

You are roasting it bone-down, right? Lookin' good.


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## StonedEdge (Dec 23, 2017)

DamageInc that's one the most clever things I've heard in a while. I'm stealing your idea!

Brianh I'd say mission accomplished, that looks unreal!


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## Lars (Dec 23, 2017)

brianh said:


> Hello handsome.



Glorious...

Lars


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## brianh (Dec 23, 2017)

What u guys think? Just s+p? Going to do low and slow then blast with hot oven. Sorry daveb, no bge. Snow in the forecast!


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## brianh (Dec 23, 2017)

Actually looks like snow is off but if I spend all day outside it will be my last meal.


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## Noodle Soup (Dec 23, 2017)

DamageInc said:


> Rotkohl is rødkål in Denmark. A holiday staple. And yes, dead easy and delicious.



We will be having rotkohl with our Danish style roast duck. Also ice cold shots of Linie (this family is half Norse and half Dane) with rye bread, cheese, sausage, and pickled herring!


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## OliverNuther (Dec 23, 2017)

TheCaptain said:


> What is roast chook?



Chook is Australian slang for chicken, Cap. 

That rib roast looks massive Brian and very tasty. When Ive done them in the past Ive gone s&p, low and slow like youve suggested but instead of the hot oven to finish I give it a quick sear on a screaming hot bbq plate for some instant Maillard action. Quicker than the oven and less likely to affect your level of doneness overall.


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## brianh (Dec 23, 2017)

OliverNuther said:


> Chook is Australian slang for chicken, Cap.
> 
> That rib roast looks massive Brian and very tasty. When Ive done them in the past Ive gone s&p, low and slow like youve suggested but instead of the hot oven to finish I give it a quick sear on a screaming hot bbq plate for some instant Maillard action. Quicker than the oven and less likely to affect your level of doneness overall.



Great tip!


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## brianh (Dec 23, 2017)

DamageInc said:


> You are roasting it bone-down, right? Lookin' good.



Yessir. Rubbed in salt for now.


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## Nemo (Dec 23, 2017)

OliverNuther said:


> That rib roast looks massive Brian and very tasty. When Ive done them in the past Ive gone s&p, low and slow like youve suggested but instead of the hot oven to finish I give it a quick sear on a screaming hot bbq plate for some instant Maillard action. Quicker than the oven and less likely to affect your level of doneness overall.



That is how I have handled this sort of roast in the past and it works really well.

More recently, I have been putting it into a really hot oven (say 250 C) and immediately turn it down to the lower temp (I usually use 70-80 C Depending on time available and the type of meat). This initial very breif oven sear is supposed to kick the Maillard reactions off, which once started can then apparently keep occuring slowly at the lower temp. The internal temp isn't affected by the breif sear because of the (cool) thermal mass of the roast at the start of cooking.


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## DamageInc (Dec 23, 2017)

Noodle Soup said:


> We will be having rotkohl with our Danish style roast duck. Also ice cold shots of Linie (this family is half Norse and half Dane) with rye bread, cheese, sausage, and pickled herring!



Damn, that's as Danish as it gets.


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## Nemo (Dec 23, 2017)

TheCaptain said:


> What is roast chook?


Sorry, Cap'n. In Aus, it's a very commonly used abbreviation of "chicken".

My youngest daughter whose job is to look after the chooks actually calls them "chookens" which is kinda cute.


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## Noodle Soup (Dec 24, 2017)

Did I mention raspberry sauce over rice pudding?


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## DamageInc (Dec 24, 2017)

Noodle Soup said:


> Did I mention raspberry sauce over rice pudding?



In Denmark we do warm cherrry sauce. And the rice pudding has chopped almonds and whipped cream folded into it.


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## Noodle Soup (Dec 25, 2017)

Almonds in the raspberry sauce and with one whole one for a lucky person to find. I have tried to stack the deck to make sure my mother-in-law found it but she always eats it first. But no whipped cream in the version our cousins from out on the peninsula taught us. And they did run a dairy out there.


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## DamageInc (Dec 26, 2017)

DONE


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## brianh (Dec 26, 2017)

I'll say.


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## boomchakabowwow (Dec 26, 2017)

i was so frazzled cooking..and sipping whiskey.

i didnt take a pic of the final product. my standing rib roast was perfect. and i just said EFF IT..(probably the kentucky bourbon talking)..i hit the meat high and fast with a convection oven..then turned it way down and set the probe temp alarm. pure miracle i finished the meat and it was resting under a tent of foil when the doorbell started ringing.

i blew off all the recipes i read..and there are a LOT of effen ways to cook a prime rib. i had crap to do. veggies, potatos..and Jus..and Eclairs.. i had ZERO leftovers. for the win


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## brianh (Dec 26, 2017)

I hit my rib roast hot then let sit in oven, turned off. Had to turn on the oven towards the end as it stalled at 120F IT. ***? Dinner was 45 min late but was great. I had mashed taters heating on stovetop and roasted rainbow carrots reheating in convection oven.


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## boomchakabowwow (Dec 26, 2017)

brianh said:


> I hit my rib roast hot then let sit in oven, turned off. Had to turn on the oven towards the end as it stalled at 120F IT. ***? Dinner was 45 min late but was great. I had mashed taters heating on stovetop and roasted rainbow carrots reheating in convection oven.



nice.

it was like playing chicken with the roast. trying to hit dinner at the right time; meat at the right temp. haha. probably takes some algorithm to mesh up time, weight and surface area.

i got lucky. 

extra pressure, i had a pro-chef as a dinner guest. i got her liquored up.


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## brianh (Dec 26, 2017)

Haha! Nice move.


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