Standing Rib Roast and Horseradish Sauce with Roasted Fennel, Carrots, Potatoes and Artichoke hearts

My mom makes this meal for Christmas every year. My sisters and I are obsessed with it. She can never make enough vegetables. Every year she makes more and more and there are never leftovers. This year my in laws were with us for Christmas, so Will and I decided to cook this meal ourselves. Of course, he handled the rib roast and I did the rest!

This is a great meal to have for a special occasion but it would be good on a weekend night in with a big glass of red wine. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Ingredients for the horseradish sauce

I didn't whip it enough, it's supposed to be like whipped cream- fluffy. Mine was more like a liquid, but the taste was spot on....next time I'll get it right! :)

THE MEAT

Raw Vegetables

Dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper

Roasted and Ready!

Standing Rib Roast and Horseradish Sauce with Roasted Fennel, Carrots, Potatoes and Artichoke hearts


Ingredients:

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 bunch rosemary, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic
Salt + Pepper
EVOO
1 4 lb bone in standing rib roast

2 beaten egg yolks
1 tbs sugar
2 tbs prepared mustard (dijon)
2 tbs white vinegar
1 tbs water
1 tbs horseradish
1 tbs butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup of whipping cream

2 bulbs of fennel, chopped (using mainly the bulb and a small portion of the stalks- no leaves)
1 bag of baby carrots
2 cans of artichoke hearts, quartered
5 red potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes, partially peel

Directions:

For the rib roast:

1. Combine cayenne pepper, rosemary and garlic. Add enough olive oil until it becomes a loose paste.
2. Smear the roast with the paste and massage it into the meat. Season generously with salt and pepper.
3. Smoke at 250 degrees for about 3 hours until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 125 degrees (this will provide a rare rib roast)
4. Allow the meat to rest for about 5 minutes and then slice.

For the horseradish sauce:

1. Combine egg yolks, sugar, mustard, vinegar, butter and salt
2. Cook by stirring over low heat
3. Stir until mixed and thickened (about ten minutes)
4. Whip cream thoroughly (I did not do this enough) and fold into the mustard sauce, chill.

For the vegetables:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Combine all of the chopped vegetables in a roasting pan
3. Cover with olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir to make sure all vegetables are dressed.
4. Roast the vegetables until golden and crisp, about 45 minutes, tossing halfway through.

Make your plate and dig in!!

This will serve about 4 people

Adapted from: My Mom's recipes

Commune Dinner- December

This was our second dinner with the Commune of Charleston. If you aren't familiar with the Commune, check out my other post first! The chefs for this dinner at Palmetto Brewery were Kevin Johnson of The Grocery and Jason Stanhope of FIG. With that line up, we knew this was a Commune dinner not to be missed!

The night started with a drink, (of course!) and a tour of the Palmetto Brewery. You could get one of Palmetto's draft beers or the specialty cocktail done by Cathead Vodka. It was called Fall'ing Down: Rayun Syrah Mulled Cider Sangria Spike with Cathead Vodka. It was a tad sweet but delicious and packed a mean punch! Two of these and you were feeling good and didn't notice how cold it was outside (maybe that was the goal). 

                       

                       

First Course:

A duck liver mezzelune, which is a semi-circular stuffed pasta- similar to ravioli, with a duck consommé with autumn vegetable and mushrooms.

It was a great way to start out the meal, because it was a seated dinner outside the brewery and it was a cold night. The soup warmed me right up.

It was paired with a glass of Roc du Manoir Cotes de Castillon (2011)

Second Course:

Pancetta wrapped Amberjack (a local fish), with Pilsner scented seafood chowder

Charred broccoli in a green olive vinaigrette and anchovy bread crumbs

Ragout of field peas and farro

This was paired with the Palmetto Pilsner

The second course's highlight was the ragout of field peas and farro. It was perfectly seasoned and was nice and hearty. The Amberjack was also perfectly cooked and the seafood chowder was unique and created a more interested dish than just being served the fish. It was creative and beautiful. 

Third Course:

Righteous Ranch Mulefoot Whole        Hog Bo Ssam 

Raw Oysters

Paired with Palmetto Ghost Rider

Bo Ssam is a Korean dish of slow cooked pork, highlight being the pork belly, that is served with many sides including garlic, onion,  ssamjang (wrap sauce), saeujeot (pickled, fermented shrimp) and kimchi (spicy/sour fermented cabbage). You eat the meat and sides in the leaves of lettuce, in our case bibb lettuce. Bossam literally means  "wrapped". 

This was my absolute favorite. For those of you who follow my blog, this probably doesn't surprise you, as you know I love Asian cuisine. The flavors that were created when making these deliciously packaged lettuce wraps from Heaven cannot be justly described. Will and I couldn't stop eating them.

          Fourth Course:

Kitchen sink sundaes with Espresso Porter Ice Cream

Paired with Palmetto Espresso Porter

This dessert was good and the ice cream was very well made and tasty, but I felt it was little bit of a "cop out" dessert. I understand they made the ice cream and that is a process in and of itself, but the rest was "the kitchen sink". It was good, but nothing that left me inspired.  

Unique to our first experience, there was a band performing throughout the event which was so fun. They were great and amped up the atmosphere of the dinner.

It was yet another great night hosted by the Commune. It was a little cold to be in an outdoor venue but that did not take away from the deliciousness that was served. At times it was hard to see what you were eating due to the venue being dimly lit, but that goes along with the creative venues that these dinners take place in. I am waiting with great anticipation to see the 2015 schedule for the Commune dinners and hope they don't wait too long before hosting the next dinner.  

Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells with Sage Browned Butter

My sister in law was recently diagnosed with several food allergies. This has caused a challenge to her in that it is difficult finding food she can eat and recipes that she is able to cook. Many recipes she has to change and make adjustments. So when she finds a good recipe, it is a celebration! This was one she made recently and shared with me, because she knew I would like it too. She was right! This recipe is easy and so delicious. 

I brought left overs to work and my friend, Josh finished it for lunch, raving about it- especially the brown butter sage sauce. 

Ingredients

Roasting the squash

Mixing up the ricotta stuffing for the shells

The roasted squash after mashing

The ricotta butternut squash stuffing ready to go!

Ready for the oven

All done!

Browning the butter

Adding in the sage leaves

Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells with Sage Browned Butter

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 ounce package of jumbo pasta shells (I filled 25 shells)
2 cups of part-skim ricotta cheese
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 cup packed fresh spinach (chop after measuring)
1 large egg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
10 fresh sage leaves

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Peel the butternut squash and chop the flesh into cubes (dispose of the seeds). Toss the cubed squash with the olive oil and roast in the oven for 20 mins, or until the squash is fork tender.

2. Put the squash in a bowl and mash with a fork (or place in immersion blender and blend) until smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F.

3. Cook the jumbo pasta shells in boiling water until al dente and drain.

4. In a bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, garlic, spinach, egg, S+P and fresh lemon zest. Stir well. Then add the squash, folding in so it is evenly spread. Stuff the shells with this mixture and place them in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake the shells until they are hot all the way through, about 20 minutes.

5. While the shells are baking, prepare the sauce by melting the butter in a skillet over medium-low heat until the butter is golden-brown, about 10 minutes. (Be careful, its easy to burn the butter). Add the sage leaves and cook until they are slightly crisp. Remove the pan from the heat and squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon.

6. Drizzle the sauce over the cooked shells adding 1-2 sage leaves on top. Enjoy!

Adapted from: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Wings & Alabama White Sauce

Was there ever a more perfect Superbowl meal than chicken wings?! For Christmas Eve, my Mom has always done heavy h'orderves. Will and I were put in charge of the wings this year. Our favorite wings are the wings from Hometeam BBQ. If you haven't had them, you should. I'm not a big wing person, but I cannot leave that wonderful establishment without having at least one wing. And the Alabama White Sauce- oh boy! Finger licking good. 

So anyway, Will made the wings and I found a recipe for the Alabama White Sauce. For a first try, we did pretty good, but it will take a lot more experimentation to even come close to the Hometeam wings. So for now, this is a delicious recipe, but will need more tweaking to reach the standards of our favorite. 

Hope you enjoy them!

The brine (post draining the liquid)

After the brine, before the rub

Grilled Wings

The Alabama White Sauce

Chicken Wings and Alabama White Sauce

Ingredients

For the brine:

1/2 cup of salt

2 tablespoons of peppercorns

2 bay leaves

1 quartered orange

1 quartered lemon

2 cups of Apple Cider Vinegar

4 cups of WARM Water (or enough to cover the wings)

For the chicken wings:

2 dozen wings/drumsticks

1/2 cup of brown sugar

4 tablespoons of ground mustard

4 tablespoons of Cumin

4 tablespoons of Tarragon

4 tablespoons of Cayenne Pepper

1/2 cup of salt

For the Alabama White Sauce:

1 cup of mayonnaise

1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon of hot chili paste

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon of celery seeds

1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

1 cup of water

S + P

Directions

1.  Combine all of the ingredients of the brine (salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, orange, lemon, apple cider vinegar and warm water) in a large container. Stir until the salt dissolves, then add in the chicken. Brine the chicken overnight (or a minimum of 4 hours).

2. Drain the brine from the wings and lay them out on a flat surface. Pat each wing dry with paper towels.

3. Stir together the brown sugar, ground mustard, cumin, tarragon, cayenne pepper and salt. Half the spice mixture and set aside.

4. Put a dozen wings in a brown paper bag with HALF of the spices/rub and shake. Do the same for the other dozen. They are now ready for the grill.

5. Set up the grill for indirect heat. Smoke the wings at 225 degrees F for about 90 minutes, turning them once halfway through.

6. While the chicken wings are grilling, make the Alabama White Sauce simply by combining all ingredients. 

Enjoy!

Adapted from: Bon Appetit