Prime Rib with Yorkshire Pudding

On December 30, 2015 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes4 Comments

For every holiday, we have a food tradition that we are adamant about doing every year. Don’t ask us why, but we are very superstitious about our holiday meals. We’ve been very fortunate over the years and, although we know it has nothing to do with the meals that we’ve eaten, we just don’t want to jinx ourselves. Our Christmas tradition is to have prime rib (or standing rib roast) with Yorkshire pudding. It isn’t a complicated meal, but it is certainly delicious. We flew home on Christmas Eve so that we could be home for Christmas and cook our traditional dinner on Christmas Day. It was the perfect complement to being home. You don’t need to have a holiday or a superstition to give this meal a try 😉

Ingredients

6 – 8 lb Prime Rib (3 or 4 ribs)
5 Garlic Cloves – minced
1/4 cup Prepared Horseradish
4 tbsp Fresh Rosemary – roughly chopped
1 tbsp + 1 tsp Thyme
1/4 cup Sea Salt
1/8 cup Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
3 Eggs
3/4 cup Whole Milk
1/2 cup Pan Drippings from the Prime Rib

Instructions

Stir together the flour and salt into a bowl. In another bowl, beat together the eggs and milk. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until fully incorporated. Stir in 1 tablespoon of Rosemary and 1 teaspoon of thyme. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the prime rib, bone side down, into a large roasting pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, horseradish, 3 tablespoons of the rosemary, 1 tablespoon of the thyme, sea salt, pepper, and olive oil. Whisk the ingredients until it forms a paste (whisking instead of stirring allows the ingredients to bind together). Generously rub the paste over the top (the fat cap) of the prime rib. Roast the prime rib in the oven for 2 – 2 1/2 hours (approximately 20 minutes per pound) until it reaches an internal temperature of 125 degrees.

Pull the roast from the oven and set it aside, tented, for 20 to 30 minutes to rest (cutting into the roast without letting it rest will cause the juices to run out and the prime rib to be dry). Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Pour the pan drippings into a 9 inch square baking dish. Place the baking dish into the oven for 5 minutes to get the drippings smoking hot. Take the baking dish out of the oven, pull the batter out of the refrigerator, and add the cold batter to the pan drippings. Place the pudding back into the oven and cook until puffed and dry, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Chili Mac – Traditional Comfort Food, Non-Traditional Recipe

On December 16, 2015 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes4 Comments

This is one of our favorite winter time recipes. This might not be what you typically think of when you think of chili mac, but it is really, really delicious. 🙂 There is something about the tang of the vinegar combined with the spice of the chili powder that makes this dish stand out. Obviously you could use macaroni noodles, but the spaghetti noodles work so much better because they simply add a layer of flavor because they aren’t as thick as macaroni noodles. It is also a one pot dinner where we use a short cut to make it easier, but you certainly could make the chili from scratch if you’d like. If you’re willing to give it a try, we think it might become one of your favorite recipes as well.

Ingredients

1 lb Lean Ground Beef
3 – 15 oz Cans of Chili (you’re favorite brand)
4 tbsp Chili Powder (half hot and half regular if available)
1 1/2 tbsp Granulated Garlic Powder
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper (optional)
3/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
8 oz Thin Spaghetti Noodles (half of a 1 lb package)

Instructions

Add the ground beef, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to a large sauce pot and brown the ground beef on medium-high heat. Browning the ground beef with the spices will allow the meat to absorb the flavor as it cooks. Add the three cans of chili, retaining the cans. Stir the ground beef with the chili. Fill each chili can three-quarters of the way to top with water, swirling the water as you fill them to get any additional sauce from the sides of the can. Add the vinegar and the water from the three cans to the pot. Stir in the cayenne pepper and bring to a boil and then reduce the heat low. Cover and simmer for 2 to 3 hours. Increase the heat to medium-low and add the spaghetti noodles in small batches to the pot (you can break the long noodles into shorter pieces, if you prefer), stirring them in as they are added. If you add the noodles all at once or in large handfuls, they will stick together and not fully cook. If there isn’t enough liquid to cover the noodles, add enough hot water to ensure that the noodles have enough liquid to absorb. Cooking the spaghetti noodles in the liquid from the chili will allow them to absorb all of the spices and flavors from the chili while they cook. Cook the noodles until they are at the desired tenderness.

Asian Roasted Duck

On December 9, 2015 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes5 Comments

We love duck, but it isn’t the easiest thing to prepare and have it turn out to be moist and tender. After doing some research, we found that either simmering or steaming the duck, prior to roasting it, renders out the fat and produces a moist duck with crispy skin. We decided to go with an Asian influenced recipe and the flavor couldn’t have been more delicious. It took a little work, but really wasn’t too difficult and well worth the effort. We adapted our recipe from one that we found from Tyler Florence, which called for the duck to be steamed and, based on the results, we’ll use this method every time going forward. This recipe turned out to be extremely tasty and one that we hope that you’ll enjoy.

Ingredients

1 Whole Duck (5 – 5 1/2 lbs)
1 tbsp Chinese Five-Spice Powder
2 tsp Granulated Sugar
2 tsp Salt
5 Large Slices of Fresh Ginger
3 to 4 Garlic Cloves
4 Green Onions
1 Tangerine Peel – cut into large strips
1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
1/2 cup Honey
1/2 cup Soy Sauce

Instructions

Remove the giblets from the duck and cut away any excess fat from the neck and cavity area. Wash the duck inside and out and pat completely dry inside and out with paper towels. Combine the Chinese five-spice, sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Rub the spices over the entire duck, inside and out. Stuff the duck cavity with the aromatics, the ginger, garlic, green onions, and tangerine peel. Fold the wings under the back, this will keep the tips of the wings from burning. Tie the legs together with some kitchen string and then poke the skin of the breasts and thighs several times with a skewer or knife. This will allow the fat to escape as it renders as well as allow the seasonings to flavor the meat below.

Place the duck onto a rack, breast side up, and into a roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with water until it is almost touching the bottom of the rack with the duck. Cover tightly with foil. Place the roasting pan over a large burner on the stove and turn the burner onto medium heat. Once the water starts to boil (you’ll have to listen to it or peek inside the foil), turn the burner down to low and steam the duck for 45 minutes, checking occasionally to see if you need to add water. Steaming the duck allows some of the fat to melt away and shrinks the skin.

While the duck is steaming, combine the vinegar, honey, and soy sauce in a small saucepan. Cook the glaze on low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly, then set aside. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the roasting pan from the burner and remove the foil. Remove the rack with the duck from the roasting pan and pour out almost all of the liquid, leaving about an eighth of an inch of liquid in the pan. Put the rack with the duck back into the pan and liberally brush the duck with the glaze, ensuring that the skin is well coated. Put the roasting pan with the duck into the oven and roast for 1 hour, basting periodically with the glaze.