Leaving San Diego for Big Bear Lake
HOLA! Last week I promised over on my www.facebook.com/chefmarcela page that I would give you the recipe for the prime rib my aunt Marcela (yup, same name, same profession) made for New Years Eve. It was such a great night. I drove up to Big Bear Lake with my brother, his girl Lisa, their 4 kids, my aunt the chef, her sons Deme and Andy, our good friend Stephen who brought an entire case of wine (I know, he’s a keeper), and my little Faus Maus. He skied for the first time ever. He took a couple lessons then his instructor said he wasn’t quite ready for the lift or the mountain and I nodded in agreement, only to go directly to the lift. That’s how we roll at my house. Just do it. We skied holding hands the first few minutes then he did it all by himself, as if he’d been doing it for YEARS. I was freaking out, he was happy as a clam. 6 wipeouts total and he laughed harder after each one. All they had at the bottom of the mountain were cheeseburgers so that’s all we ate for two days. But on New Years, whole other story!
Taking a walk during the blizzard
We have bipolar eating habits in my family. We either eat really cheap, greasy fast food or at top-of-the notch restaurants with spectacular food and wine but we never dine at the in-betweens. Sh*tty wine lists and rubbery filet mignon don’t deserve our time or money. Much happier with the root beer float from the A&W or the terrine of hudson valley moulard duck foie gras from Persé. And if you’ve been to Big Bear, there is no Perse and, even though we considered it, we just could not spend the last night of 2010 waiting for our order number to be called, so we decided to to make it ourselves…
My aunt decided she would cook and cook she did.
Tía Marcela
I just watched and learned (and sipped). The stove was half-busted in my cabin, only heating the bottom third and we had no idea what would happen when moved those two huge pieces of prime rib from my cabin to my brother’s, which was a few minutes away. It rested for a whole hour before we cut into it and it was PERFECT. Pink, juicy, right around 130. We didn’t want to bother with making a gravy because we wanted to get everything done at my cabin and gravy involves some last minute pan-deglazing, reducing and straining and this was a vacation after all. So she made a mushroom gravy. So simple. So perfect. So flavorful but not at all overwhelming for the flavor of the meat. The prime rib had a 3 pepper-corn crust and when you got a bit of that plus some meat and some gravy… sheesh, it was just superb.
mucho bueno.
Lisa, my future sister-in-law (my brother proposed over the holidays!!!!!!) made simple but delicious shallot-roasted asparagus and I was in charge of the baked potatoes. Thank goodness my mother is no longer with us because after the investment she made on my culinary education, she would have been severely peeved that my job was to poke a russet then smear it with butter and creme fraiche. Oh and chives! I had the sprinkle-the-chives job too! I don’t know who brought what for dessert. I was a little more focused on the wine by then, texting everybody and their mother that I was so grateful to have them in my life and that I wished them a happy 2011. I’m a sappy cheese ball. I cry when I’m happy and I cried because I came to the realization that very often, when in the presence of my family at one of these events, I get the honest feeling that it was the “best one yet”. Christmas was the best Christmas yet. So was my birthday. And Halloween. And Easter. It’s the one constant in my life; being with my family is a guaranteed stellar time and as we get older it only gets better. I think that’s what I am thankful for the most. Toño, Cari, Lisa, Ray, Tia Marcela, Deme, Andy, Papá, primos, primas, tios, tias los amo y gracias por un 2010 lleno de recuerdos hermosos y su apoyo incondicional Los quiero miles y miles y les mando mas besos. Y QUE VENGA EL 2011!!!!! HAPPY 2011 EVERYBODY
Here we are!
Here’s the recipes folks.
Prepping the prime rib
Pepper Crusted Prime Rib Roast
8 servings
1 (4 rib) prime rib roast with ribs (often called standing rib roast; 9-10 pounds
Salt as needed
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup assortment of ground peppercorns
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes (optional)
4 garlic cloves, smashed
2 tablespoon ground rosemary
Beef Broth as needed
Preheat oven to 400°F. Let roast stand for 1 hour at room temperature. Season the roast heavily with salt.
In a separate bowl, mix the rest of ingredients, except for broth to form a paste. When all ingredients are combined and the paste is formed, rub all over prime rib roast.
Place prime rib roast on a roasting rack, add 2 cups beef broth to the roasting pan. Roast for about 30 minutes, until it is perfectly browned. Remove from oven, and reduce heat to 350°F. With aluminum foil, form a tent over the prime rib roast to cover it. Make sure the aluminum foil does not touch the prime rib, since it can damage it crust that it is forming. Return to oven and roast for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until thermometer registers 110°F. Make sure to keep adding broth to the pan while roasting if liquid begins to evaporate, because that will later be used for gravy. Remove from oven and let rest, uncovered, for a least 20 minutes before carving and pour pan drippings into a separate bowl, reserve and set aside for gravy. Internal temperature of meat should rise to 130°F for medium rare.
Gravy
2 garlic cloves minced
1 small shallot minced
1 pound mushrooms sliced with bottom removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tabs soy sauce
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup red wine
1 cup beef broth
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Pan Drippings from above recipe.
In a heavy non reactive saucepan, heat oil, add garlic and shallots and cook for about 3 minutes until tender. Add mushrooms and saute until tender, about 6 minutes. Add soy sauce and worcestershire sauce. Add flour and mix well. Cook flour for about 3 minutes. Add red wine and reduce 1/4 cup. Add beef broth. Season with salt and pepper. If desired, add strained pan drippings from prime rib to gravy. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 8 minutes.
Serve with prime rib roast.
my luv.
So much has happened since my last blog entry that I don’t even know where to begin! Maybe an apology would be a good place since I’ve completely neglected my blog for about two months. It’s not for lack of inspiration, believe me. It’s really the exact opposite. I get so overwhelmed with all that’s going on that I don’t know what to share with you first. Since we last spoke, my book Fresh Mexico; 100 Simple Recipes for True Mexican Flavor hit bookstores and got wonderful reviews by critics.
