One of my favorite family Christmas traditions is the Christmas Day Prime Rib Feast. Because Jeff and I stayed in Texas for Christmas this year, I wanted to make sure to incorporate lots of family traditions. So we decided to create our own Prime Rib Feast. I spent a lot of time planning what recipes to include, writing out grocery lists, and planning the cooking schedule.
We spent Christmas day with Jeff's family, so we decided to make and eat the feast the day after Christmas.
I promised several people that I would share my recipes, so here they are.
1 Rib Roast
Equal parts salt, course ground pepper, garlic powder, and seasoning salt.
Mix seasonings together, rub meat with seasonings to make a crust. Place in pan rib side down. Cook at 325 degrees for 20 minutes for every pound ie 12 lb roast= 4 hours of cook time. Use meat thermometer to determine when the meat is done.
140-155=rare
160-165=medium
170= well done
The prime rib was delicious. However, there was a lot of room for improvement. As you can see, the recipe is quite nonspecific which left me guessing a lot. I bought a 1-1/2 pound rib roast. This was perfect for 2 people, and at $10 a pound it was easier on the budget. However, I think the recipe was never intended for such a small roast. Too much surface area. I wish that I had only spread the seasonings on the top of the roast. I was very grateful to have my meat thermometer because the cooking time was far off (I'm sure due to the small size of the roast again). The roast cooked for about 50 minutes, reaching 160 degrees. I wish I had pulled it out 5 minutes earlier than that, though, because I like my meat a bit rare. Jeff was happy though, because he likes his well done. Its a hard compromise.
Stuffed Baby Red Potatoes
24 small red potatoes (about 2-1/2 pounds)
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup crumbled cooked bacon, divided
2/3 cup sour cream
1 egg beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 tsp paprika
Scrub potatoes; place in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Drain. When cool enough to handle, cut a thin slice off the top of each potato. Scoop out pulp, leaving a thin shell. (Cut thin slice from potato bottoms to level if necessary). In a large bowl, mash the potato tops and pulp with butter. Set aside 2 tablespoons each of cheese and bacon for garnish; add remaining cheese and bacon to potatoes. Stir in the sour cream, egg, salt, and pepper. Spoon mixture into potato shells. Top with remaining cheese and bacon; sprinkle with paprika. Place in an ungreased 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan. Bake at 375 for 12-18 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160.
These potatoes were my favorite of the whole meal! I was so excited how they turned out. They tasted amazing and they looked so beautiful and impressive! They were pretty tricky because I decided to only make 4, so I guessed on the measurements of everything. I tried to estimate 1/6th of everything, and for the spices- I just sprinkled until it looked good. What about the egg? Well, my cooking teacher would have told me to break the egg, mix it up with a fork and take 2 teaspoons of the mixture and use the leftovers for scrambled eggs or something, but I was lazy and decided just to leave the egg out and add a little bit more sour cream in its place. The potatoes tasted great and held together just fine, so I think it was a good decision on my part.
Monkey Bread
1 tablespoon yeast
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup scalded milk
1/2 cup canola oil
4 cups flour
Dissolve yeast in water. Combine sugar, salt, eggs, milk, oil, and dissolved yeast. Beat until smooth and shiny. Add flour. Dough will be sticky. Cover and let rise. Remove to a floured surgace and knead so it's not ticky. Roll out 1/2 inch thick and cut in circles. Dip each round in melted butter. Stand on end in bunt pan. Let risde about 20 minutes. Bake at 375 for 15- 20 minutes.
The monkey bread was delicious and make great leftovers. YUM! I love a good bread recipe.
The bundt pan was a Christmas present from Jeff. I used it twice for this meal! (see the chocolate bunt cake). Good present sweetheart!
Holiday Fruit Salad
3 (3 oz) packages strawberry flavored Jello
3 cups boiling water
2 bananas
1 (16 oz) package frozen strawberries
1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
In a large bowl, dissolve Jello in boiling water. Slice bananas into Jello, add frozen strawberries and drained pineapple. Pour the mixture into a 13x9 pan. Refrigerate at least 3 hours. In a mixing bowl beat cream cheese with sour cream and sugar. Spread over chilled Jello.
Jeff loves cream cheese, so he was really excited for this jello salad. Sadly, I didn't take a picture of the jello. But it tasted great and added a beautiful red to the color pallet of the meal.
That Good Salad
3/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 bunches romaine lettuce, torn
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 cup swiss cheese, shredded
2/3 cup silvered almonds, toasted
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
In a jar with tight fitting lid, combine oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper; cover and shake well. Chill. In a bowl, toss romaine, tomatoes, swiss cheese, almonds, Parmesan cheese, and bacon. Shake dressing, pour over salad and toss. Serve immediately.
This was a new recipe from my sister Jessica, and I LOVED it! The almonds, bacon, and swiss cheese add a great flavor. Definitely a recipe that will be repeated in our house. (And check out my salad servers!! They are "Bear Claws" from Canada that my mother-in-law gave me for my birthday! I love them!)
Very Very Chocolate Bunt Cake
In a large bowl combine:
1 package chocolate cake mix
1 small package instant chocolate pudding
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water
Add to the above mixture:
8 oz sour cream
4 eggs
Fold in:
8 ounces of chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350. Bake in a greased bunt pan. Bake 30 minutes, then cover with foil and bake 30 minutes more. Remove from oven, let cool 30 minutes and then remove from pan.
Make chocolate fudge sauce (recipe below) and drizzle over top.Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 can evaporated milk
4 tablespoons margarine2 teaspoons vanilla
In a saucepan, mix together sugar, flour, and cocoa. Slowly add evaporated milk and margarine. Warm over medium heat until margarine melts. Increase heat to medium high, boil rapidly for 2 1/2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Sauce will thicken as it cools.
The chocolate fudge sauce is one of my favorite recipes. I love to drizzle it over brownies and vanilla ice cream. Soooo much better than what you buy at the store in a jar. And over this rich, moist cake...ah it was delicious!
Here is the end product:
