Method 'X' Prime Rib: Yes please!

Prime rib is a rather old school tradition. And this somewhat rare oldie just happens to be one of my absolute faves. As many of you know, my family and I frequent the House of Prime Rib in San Francisco on a regular basis. (Shout out!) But when you live on the other end of the country, you need to harness those survival skills and figure out a way to make do on your own. So without further ado, I introduce you to a surprisingly simple yet outstanding recipe for a homemade rib roast that rivals even the House of PR! (gasps)

The Method 'X' recipe is designed to give you the most perfect medium rare prime rib, for a smaller size rib roast (3-5lbs, 2-3 ribs or so). This technique is essentially searing the roast in the oven at 500 degrees for a short period of time, then shutting off the oven to let it continue cooking in the remaining heat to reach that juicy perfection. Warning: These instructions are only for a medium rare temperature, so if you're one of those well done beef eaters, please avert your eyes. And might I add - really? Well done? Not all grocery stores will have rib roasts that you can buy in small quantities (if at all). But if you're lucky enough to live near a Costco, a butcher shop, or have internet access there's always a way to get your hands on one. I ordered mine from FreshDirect.com. It arrived Saturday morning: 4.6lbs, 2 ribs and as advertised, extremely fresh. The first step to this process is allowing your roast to sit out at room temperature for at least 4 hours, depending on the size of your roast. Some even leave theirs sitting out the night before to let it gradually reach room temperature. This step is essential because the meat needs to be at room temperature before you place it in the oven, otherwise your math will be off and it will not cook properly. Preheat your oven to 500 F. While the meat is resting on the counter you'll want to make your rub. The rub will create a deliciously seasoned crust to your roast while also adding a mouthwatering aroma throughout your house while the meat is cooking.

 The rub consists of: 1/2 stick of butter (softened), 1 tbsp of cayenne, 1 tbsp of salt, 1 tbsp of black pepper, 1 tbsp of herbs de provence. Mix this together well and coat the roast before sticking it in the oven.

Once the roast is room temperature and glistening with your buttery rub, place that bad boy on a roasting pan and throw it in the oven, center rack y'all. Now, here comes the math. The amount of time it cooks will depend on how big your roast is, cooking the roast 5 minutes for each pound that it weighs. (i.e. a 4.6lb roast would cook 23 minutes exactly [4.6 x 5 = 23]) DO NOT ROUND when calculating this time! Decimals are ok, do not be afraid of them. Set your timer for the exact calculated time and shut the oven door. (Side note: check back in a few minutes and you'll be able to hear the sizzle of the butter and juice on the pan :) Once the time is up, turn off the oven but DO NOT open the oven door. Let that baby sit in there while the heat winds down and finishes cooking the beef to perfection. The roast needs to sit for an additional 2 hours after you turn off the oven. If you're bored, go make some sides or watch TV, but whatever you do - no peeking!

When the buzzer goes off your roast should look a lil' somethin' like this:

 

Swoon!

garlic mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts make for some lovely accompaniments. as well as horseradish (not pictured, but eaten nonetheless)

* Note: For those with a meat thermometer, the interior temperature of the roast should be 120F for medium rare. If for some reason the roast is still undercooked after you take it out of the oven, simply place it back in at 325F and cook again until the temp reaches 120F. Don't worry, it'll still make you drool all over your plate.

** Second note: To make the au jus, take the trimmings from the roasting pan and heat it over the stove adding a few cups of water or beef broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer. Serve over the prime rib as pictured above.

Why don't we do it in the road?

On a recent trip to Asia, this little wonton lost her inhibitions and yes....cheated on her boyfriend. Her lover in crime? Cambodian streetfood.

Siem Reap, Cambodia was not at all what I had expected. After years of fantasizing about Angkor, I found that it did in fact live up to all of the hype. It truly is a magnificent and magical place. The town of Siem Reap however left an unpleasant aftertaste similar to the morning following a night of heavy drinking and body shots. Come to think of it - is that what happened? The popular "Pub Street" is the focus of the town's center cluttered with overpriced restaurants and Western-style clubs with DJs spinning til the wee hours of the night. (Keep in mind I mean "overpriced" in relative terms to other cities in Asia where you can get a plate of noodles for $3. The restaurants on Pub Street instead have the audacity to charge $10 for a plate of noodles! Shame shame) Forget all that touristy hullabaloo! The best spot to to be is on the street. About a dozen restaurants fill the center of the old market area with lawn chairs and folding tables serving up some of the freshest seafood and most delicious curries. Which restaurant did we end up choosing? The restaurant with the ladyboy waitress. We sat down and immediately got a big bottle of Angkor beer. The rest of our meal would be decided by whatever description made us salivate the most. The end result: stir fried flat noodles, fish amok curry and some of the tastiest spring rolls you'll ever have.

fried flat noodles

I'm pretty much a noodle whore. And I've had quite a number of noodle dishes seeing as how I'm Chinese and we Chis like to have a banquet dinner for practically every family event possible. And what do those banquets always end with? Noodles. My favorite is the broad wide noodle - I loves me some chow fun - and this dish was a delicious and flavorful cousin of the noodle I know and love. Complete with egg, morning glory (which is god) and a light heavenly brown sauce that adds just the right touch of melt in your mouth goodness.

amok fish curry

Amok fish curry is a traditional Khmer dish with coconut milk, ginger, tumeric and other spices. It's simply wonderful and you must have it.

And these little diddies to my left were perfectly crispy spring rolls filled with chicken, vermicelli noodles and vegetables. The best way to eat them is wrapping them in lettuce and dipping them into the fish sauce. The best part about this whole meal? It was all under $10 including our beer! Siem Reap, I think I'll be seeing you again quite soon. In fact, why did I ever leave you, my sweet?

Do you feel like chicken tonight?

Yeah, yeah…Wonton’s been slacking on the posts. But fear not, she certainly hasn’t been slacking on the eating/cooking. Its in her blood, she can’t keep away...

The end of 2010 brought a lot of good culinary times.  Instead of having a traditional Thanksgiving meal, the Wonton family was in Florence taking a cooking class from a very animated Italian Tony Curtis. Antonio Curtis, if you will. Our family was one of five that gathered together at In Tavola cooking school to make potato gnocchi, millefoglie, pan-roasted chicken with roasted red bell peppers and lastly, the classic, tiramisu. While each dish was absolutely delicious, I found the pan-roasted chicken dish to be particularly irresistible. It’s shockingly simple to make and yet the end result is simply melt-in-your-mouth amazing – a dish that I’ve made twice since returning from Florence. All you need is chicken (half a chicken heartily serves 3-4), 2 red bell peppers, 1 large purple onion, rosemary, balsamic vinegar and a cast-iron skillet.

Roasting the pepper: The first step is to roast the bell pepper in the oven. I would recommend doing this in advance so that the pepper has some time to cool so you don’t burn your fingers trying to peel the damn thing. Lightly rub the pepper with some olive oil and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20-30 minutes, turning every once in a while so that it doesn’t burn too much on one side. Don’t worry if it looks like the pepper isn’t shrinking, it’ll deflate once you take the stem off. Once it cools down, take off the stem and cut the pepper in half to scrape out the seeds. Next, peel the skin off the pepper (you might need to use your fingernails on this one, depending on how tender the pepper is) and slice the flesh into thin 2-inch long pieces. Take the red onion and cut it into similar size pieces. Set both aside for now while you tend to the chicken.

Tackling the chicken: Heat the cast iron skillet over medium heat with 2 tbsp of butter with about 1 tbsp of olive oil and coat the pan. Take the chicken (rinsed and patted dry) and toss each piece in a light layer of all-purpose flour. Once the pan is hot, brown the chicken on both sides in the pan. The skin should be a nice golden brown before you add in the red onion, the roasted pepper and a couple branches of rosemary to top it off. Once the fixins are all in there, take your balsamic vinegar and lightly pour it over the chicken to give it a nice coating of flavor. You don’t want to drown it necessarily, but don’t be too stingy either. Let that sink in for a few minutes and then add about ½ cup of water to get the juices flowing and also make sure that the chicken doesn’t blacken on the skillet. Cover, and let the whole thing simmer on low heat for about 20-30 min. With chicken, I like to use the trial and error method. I don’t trust preset times and all that jazz, so I just cut into a piece and if it’s done it’s done. The end product should look a lil’ something like this:

To accompany this delicious bird, you might want to try grilled squash, zucchini or things of that nature. I’ve also cooked this alongside a nice pan-fried potato, or home fries, or even couscous. Whatever tickles your pickle. Really, with chicken this tasty, it doesn’t really matter what it sits next to – it will always outshine its sidekick.