Prime Rib

Ingredients:
1 Standing rib roast, 3 to 7 ribs (estimate serving 2 people per rib), bones cut away from the roast and tied back to the roast with kitchen string (ask your butcher to prepare the roast this way)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Prepare:
Remove roast from the refrigerator, loosely wrapped, a few hours before cooking.
Roasts should always be brought close to room temperature first, before they go in the oven.

If your butcher hasn't already done so, cut the bones away from the roast and tie them back on to the roast with string. This will make it much easier to carve the roast, while still allowing you to stand the roast on the rib bones while cooking.

Preheat your oven to 500°F, or the highest it will go. Generously sprinkle salt and pepper all over the roast.

Place the roast, fat side up, rib side down in a roasting pan in oven.

After 15 minutes on 500°F, reduce the heat to 325°F. To figure out the total cooking time, allow about 13-15 minutes per pound for rare and 15-17 minutes per pound for medium rare. The actual cooking time will depend on the shape of the roast and your particular oven. A flatter roast will cook more quickly than a thicker one. So make sure to use a meat thermometer. If in doubt guess to the rare side.

Roast in oven until thermometer registers 115°-120°F for rare or 125°-130°F for medium.

Check the temperature of the roast using a meat thermometer a half hour before you expect the roast to be done. For example, with a 10 pound roast, you would expect 2 1/2 hours of total cooking time (15 minutes at 500° and 2 1/4 hours at 325°). In this case, check after 2 hours of total cooking time, or 1 hour 45 minutes after you lowered the oven temp to 325°.

Once the roast has reached the desired internal temperature, remove it from oven and let rest 15 minutes, covered with aluminum foil, before carving. The roast will continue to cook while it is resting.

With a knife or scissors, cut the strings which attach the meat to the bones. Remove the bones. Use a carving knife to slice meat across the grain for serving, making the slices about 1/4-1/2 inch thick.

Servc

Pasta and Broccoli

When I was a kid my mother and grandmother (Two extraordinary cooks) Never made pasta and broccoli. The first time I tasted this delight was at my best friend Nicky's house. It was one of those last minute things where his mother said. "Stay awhile, I'll make pasta and broccoli." I have always loved trying new foods but the thought of pasta and vegetables doesn't make a 13 year old Greaser exactly swoon. She went to work and within about 15 minutes it was ready. I could not believe how wonderful such a simple dish could be. It has been one of my favorites ever since. It's fast it's simple and it's delicious and very inexpensive.

Ingredients
1 LB Pasta. You can use any pasta you like. Shells seem to be the most commonly used.
1 Lb Bag Frozen Broccoli Florettes (Fresh is great but for this dish and the sake of simplicity I like frozen.)
1/2 C Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic Chopped or if you prefer, sliced thin.

In your pasta pot cook pasta to directions on pkg.
In a saucepan cook Broccoli per directions on pkg.

Aglio Olio (Garlic and Oil)
Two minutes before pasta is to come out of the pot lightly brown garlic in a skillet.
(Do not let garlic get too brown, go for lightly golden.)

Drain pasta and Drain Broccoli
Place both in large bowl
Cover with aglio olio and toss well.
Sprinkle with some Parmesan and serve.

Banana Split Cake

2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 stick melted Butter
2 cups Powdered Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
2 medium eggs
2 sticks softened butter
2 or 3 bananas
1 (20 oz.) can Crushed Pineapple, drained
1 jar chopped Maraschino Cherries
1 large Cool Whip


Mix together the graham cracker crumbs and the melted butter. Press into a 9 x 13 cake pan. Combine the sugar, vanilla, eggs and softened butter in a bowl and beat for 6 to 7 minutes until fluffy. Spread mixture on top of the graham cracker crust.


Slice the bananas on top of the mixture. Add the drained pineapple on top of bananas. Spread the Cool Whip on top of the pineapple. Add the chopped cherries to the top of the Cool Whip. Chopped nuts can be added to the top.

Place in refrigerator for at least 6 to 8 hours to set.

*You can dip the banana slices in the pineapple juice before you layer them onto mixture.

Mascarpone and Gorgonzola Sauce

A great cheesy cream sauce for hearty pastas

Mascarpone and Gorgonzola Sauce

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup Mascarpone

1/2 cup Gorgonzola

In a medium saucepan, combine all the ingredients. Bring to a low boil and stir with a wooden spoon over low heat until the cheeses are melted and smooth.

Serve immediately over a hearty pasta such as Rigatoni or Gnocchi.

Grilled Zucchini Salad

One Large Zucchini - Cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 Clove Garlic, minced
1/2 Med Sweet Onion - sliced thin and separated
2 Tbspn Olive Oil
Juice of 1 Lemon
Parmesan Cheese
Fresh Herbs
Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder

Slice Zucchini - sprinkle with salt pepper and garlic powder
Place on medium hot grill for about 7 minutes per side
Remove Zucchini and place on serving platter

Scatter minced garlic over grilled zuchini slices
Scatter onion slices on top
Sprinkle with Rosemary, Sweet Basil and Oregano (fresh is best)
Red Pepper if desired
Sprinkle sparingly with Parmesan
Drizzle with Olive Oil and Lemon Juice

Serve at Room Temp or Chilled

Fried Green Tomatoes

Its That Time of Year

Ingredients

4 medium green tomatoes
1 tsp. of salt
1/4 tsp. of lemon-pepper seasoning
3/4 cup of cornmeal
1/2 cup of vegetable oil

Slice tomatoes 1/4 in. thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and lemon-pepper. Let stand for 20-25 minutes. Coat with cornmeal. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Fry tomatoes for 3-4 minutes on each side or until tender and golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

I like these with sour cream and crispy bacon pieces on top

Summer Salad

This is perfect for a nice summer dinner.

Make a regular salad with anything that you like on it.
Take a filet mignon and cook it rare to med. rare or your pref.
after it rests for about 5 minutes..slice it very thin..like roast
lay on top of your salad and top with some shredded cheese..and ranch dressing..
Excellent ..even for the Elite guests..

2X french fried potatoes

Early in the day, wash & dry 3-4 LARGE Idaho or russet potatoes

Peel most of the skin off (unless you like the skin on - then leave it on); cut potatoes into fry-like strips, approx. 1/4-1/3" square, depending on how thick you like your fries. Soak the cut potatoes in a bowl of water while you're cutting them (so they don't get brown). When you're finished, drain them and dry them off THOROUGHLY. Let them air dry completely on towels or paper towels while you heat the oil. Pour vegetable oil in a heavy bottomed, high-sided 4 qt. saucepan (larger pan's ok), making sure there's at least 2-3" of oil in the pan. Heat the oil until pretty hot (not smoking), chip off a small pc. of potato (or use some of the discarded skin) and drop into the oil. When it starts bubbling, the oil is ready. It should be around 350-360 degrees.

Gently drop several handfuls of potatoes into the hot oil, stirring carefully with a slotted spoon. The oil should start bubbling right away. Fry the potatoes for THREE MINUTES ONLY - then remove the partly fried (uncooked) potatoes to a plate covered in brown paper (paper bags work well to absorb the excess oil). Repeat with the potatoes until they're all partly fried.

At this point, turn the oil off and leave the potatoes alone. Spread the potatoes out on a baking sheet or large platter and let them cool to room temperature for at least an hour.

When you're ready to complete the fries, turn the burner back on, bringing the oil to 375 degrees (a little hotter than before). Test the oil the same way - when it's really hot, repeat the process of frying a couple handfuls of potatoes at a time. Turn them with a slotted spoon occasionally to make sure they brown evenly. When they're as golden or as browned as you like them, remove them to brown paper, or paper towels to drain. Season with salt (& pepper or any other seasonings you like) immediately. Enjoy! They're really worth the trouble!

Family Friendly Chocolate Chips

These have become a family favorite. I've played around with ingredients, amounts and technique and this works best for us, producing a tasty, yet chewy cookie.

In a mixing bowl, using a mixer or (vigorous action with a) wire whisk, cream together for 3-4 minutes (IMPORTANT!), until light and fluffy:

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup stick margarine (Parkay or Land o'Lakes)

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

Mix in thoroughly:

1 teasp. good quality vanilla extract (I use Madagascar vanilla)

1 large egg

1 extra egg yolk only

Combine 1/2 teasp. of baking soda with 2-1/4 cups white flour - slowly stir into the creamed butter, mixing completely.

Add:

1/2 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips

(Add chopped nuts at this point if you like.)

Wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for AT LEAST SIX HOURS, or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On greased baking sheets OR parchment lined sheets (I always bake cookies using parchment) drop large teaspoonfuls of dough, leaving an inch of space between cookies, 16 to 20 per baking sheet. Bake cookies for 10 minutes, or until they're just starting to get golden around the edges. Remove from oven and cool before removing cookies to a plate.

How to replicate the flavor of a Gene's and Jude's Hot Dog

First thing you need is ingredients.
Vienna pure beef hot dogs. Natural Casing if you can find them. If not you will have to settle for skinless like they sell in the stores.
MaryAnn hot dog buns. (found knee high by the Deli in Jewel and most other supermarkets in Chicago area
mustard, water it down so it runs off a spoon
sweet pickle relish
yellow onions chopped
sport peppers
Large Idaho Potatoes

Cut fries to about 1/2" x 1/2" x length of the potato
Deep fry @ 375f for 12 minutes

Cook Hot dogs in boiling water for aboput 2 minutes
Steam buns
Prepare hot dogs the way you like them
remove cooked fries from oil, drain and put fries directly on hot dog
Salt fries while they are on the hot dog.
This causes the grease to break up a little and drip into the dog and bun. This is where the unique flavor comes from.
Wrap hotdog in waxed paper for at least 30 seconds
If you love Genes and Judes you will love this