Monthly Archives: December 2015

Cooking, Main courses

Prime Rib

Prime Rib

Gather the following ingredients:

4+ lbs Prime Rib (rib eye) – marble, marble, marble
Steak Seasoning
Au Jus Sauce

Pan large enough for your steak
Pot
Meat thermometer

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees or 475 degrees.

Season all of the sides of the prime rib roast generously and place it into the pan.  Cook for 30 minutes at 500 or 475 degrees or until the smoke alarm goes off (about 28 minutes).

Prime Rib Pan

Reduce the heat down to 250 degrees and slow cook the meat for a few hours.  For 5 lbs of meat cook it about one and a half hours.  140 degrees internal temperature for a medium rare prime rib.

Prime Rib 26

When the meat is done pull it out and make the Au Jus sauce.

Serve a thick slice of prime rib swimming in a scoop of Au Jus.

Prime Rib on a plate

Cooking, Desserts

Apple Crisp

Apple Crisp – my favorite dessert of all times

Gather the following ingredients:

3 cups of apples – about 3 apples – I used honey crisp
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 cup oatmeal
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup butter softened

Small glass pan
2 bowls

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Soften the butter and let it cool.

In one of the bowls mix the 1 cup sugar, 1 tbsp. flour, and 1 tsp. cinnamon.  Cut up the apples into bite sized chunks.  I cut them into half and half again from top to bottom.  Remove the core of the apple.  Cut those quarters, top to bottom, into thirds and then finally a horizontal cut to half the thirds.  Add the apples to the sugar and cinnamon mix.  Coat the apples with the sugar.

In a separate bowl mix the remaining oatmeal, brown sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and the softened butter.  This will become your crumble topping.  You can use more butter than a third cup butter if needed, up to half a cup max.

Dump the apples and sugar mix into the glass pan.  Top this with the crumble topping.

Cook for 40 minutes.

apple crisp

Cooking, Desserts

Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies

Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies – a classic

I make this basically like the recipe on the package with one exception and a few technique differences.

Gather the following ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
half a package of chocolate chips

wax paper
sifter
large bowl
small bowl
cooling racks
cookie sheet

Mix the dry ingredients first.  Set out the wax paper.  Place the sifter over the wax paper.  Measure out and add the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Sift these items onto the wax paper.

In a large bowl add the softened butter (leave the butter out for a few hours or heat it in the microwave or on the oven and let it cool to soften it).  Add the granulated and brown sugar.  Add the vanilla extract.  Crack the eggs into a separate bowl to make sure they are OK before adding them to the large bowl.  Mix everything in the bowl.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Slowly add about a fourth cup of the flour mixture to the large bowl and mix it into sugar and egg mixture.  Continue to add more flour and mix it in until all of the flour is combined with the ingredients  in the bowl.  DO NOT ADD ALL OF THE FLOUR AT ONCE AS IT WILL NOT MIX WELL AND WILL TAKE FOREVER.

Add the chocolate chips to the mix and fold them in.

Use a metal spoon to grab a small amount of cookie dough and form it into a ball about an inch across.  Make multiple balls of cookies and place them on the cookie sheet.  Leave enough room between the balls of cookies for the cookies to expand.

Cook about 9 – 11 minutes, until the cookies are a golden brown.  If the outside ring of the cookie is brown and the top is not that is a good thing.  The cookie will continue to cook a little bit after it is pulled out.  Lighter brown equals softer cookies.  Not enough brown equals under-cooked cookies.

Nestle chocolate chip 3