Volume 11, Issue 106 - November 27, 2006

Good Day %name%,

This week we will talk about holiday classics—they are classics around here, anyway! We serve Prime Rib for our Christmas meal every year. A few years ago I purchased a rotisserie attachment for my Weber gas grill, so I will take my Prime Rib for a spin on Christmas morning. Read on to find some tips and techniques for cooking your roast, a fantastic twice-baked potato recipe and a pretty darn good cheesecake.

Note: Unless you are a very seasoned chef and can tell by feel if your roast is done, use an instant read thermometer. If you do not have one, go down to the specialty food store or to your butcher shop and get one for the holidays. And remember, sanitize it after every use!

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Tips and Techniques for Cooking Prime Rib:

The Basics:

Cook your Prime Rib at a moderate heat, about 325 degrees F. High heat tends to dry out your meat, give you less yield and produce an unevenly cooked roast.

The best USDA grades for Prime Rib are either Choice or Prime.

Do not carve immediately. Always allow the roast to rest once it comes out of the oven so that the juices are redistributed.

Meat thermometer readings for roasted beef:

To check the internal temperature of a piece of roasting beef, insert the tip of an instant read thermometer into the center of the roast. Allow the needle to come to a stop; read and remove. Most instant read thermometers are not meant to be left in the roast during the cooking process. The little plastic window tends to melt!

Remember that your roast will continue to cook a bit once it is removed from the oven. Use the following guidelines to determine the doneness of your roast.

Rare: Remove the roast from the oven when your thermometer reads 125 degrees F when inserted into the center of the larger end of the roast. The smaller end will be slightly more done.

Medium Rare: Remove the roast from the oven when your thermometer reads 135 degrees F when inserted into the larger end of the roast.

Medium: Remove the roast from the oven when your thermometer reads 145 degrees F when inserted into the larger end of the roast.

Medium Well to Well Done: Remove the roast from the oven when your thermometer reads 155 to 165 degrees F when inserted into the large end of the roast.

Minute Per Pound Method: For Roasts over 6 pounds

• Rare: 12 to 13 minutes per pound

• Medium Rare: 14 to 16 minutes per pound

• Medium: 17 to 20 minutes per pound

• Medium Well to Well Done: 23 to 26 minutes per pound

NOTE: Times are approximate as ovens vary. Check your oven twice a year with an oven thermometer to see how closely the temperature matches the dial—a significant difference means it's time to recalibrate your oven. Be aware of hot spots. If you have them, rotate your food during the cooking process.

Resting Periods:

Allow at least 15 minutes rest for a 2 to 4 pound roast, and 25 to 30 minutes for a 6+ pound roast.

Seasoning Your Prime Rib:

There are more recipes for roasted meat than you would ever imagine. You can season your roast with almost anything appropriate: Cajun seasonings, BBQ spices or rubs, wet rubs, cracked peppercorns, etc. You can make tiny incisions in the meat and insert cloves of garlic and fresh rosemary. For some ideas for your next Prime Rib Dinner, check out these great recipes in our collection.

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Boursin Twice-Baked Potatoes

These potatoes can be made ahead of time and reheated in the oven or microwave.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

4 medium russet potatoes
5-ounce wheel of Boursin Garlic and Herb Cheese
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk
paprika
green peppercorns, cracked

Preparation:

Wash the potatoes carefully and pierce each side with a fork to release steam while cooking. Bake for approximately 1 hour at 350 degrees F, or microwave approximately 13 minutes on high until they are soft on all sides. Once removed from the oven or microwave, allow them to rest for 5 to 10 minutes, until you can easily handle them.

Once they can be handled easily, slice off the flat side neatly and remove the potato carefully with a soupspoon, being careful not to rip the skin. Place the hot potato into a mixing bowl.

Mash the potato with a hand masher, mixer or potato ricer and add the Boursin cheese and butter. Mix well. Add the milk slowly while mashing until the consistency is that of mashed potatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Once the potato mix is perfect, stuff it back into the potato skins, making sure that the potato mix sits high above the skin.

Sprinkle with paprika and cracked green peppercorns for flavor and color.

Before serving, reheat in the oven or microwave.

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White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake

Makes 8 to 12 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
3 whole eggs, large
2 tablespoons lemon juice, fresh squeezed
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups sour cream
8 ounces white chocolate, softened in the microwave
4 to 5 ounces seedless red raspberry jam, microwaved until fluid
1 each Graham Cracker Crust

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Make the graham cracker crust mixture listed below and line the bottom and partial sides of a 10-inch spring form pan. Set aside.

Cream the cream cheese and sugar in a mixing bowl until smooth and light, about 3 minutes at medium speed. Add eggs one at a time until just blended. Add lemon juice, vanilla and salt; whip until just blended. Add sour cream and blend until just mixed well. Add white chocolate that has melted until just smooth when stirred with a fork and blend in.

Pour the batter into the crust-lined pan. If you have a squirt bottle or a pastry bag with a small circular tip, fill it with the warmed (but not hot) jelly. Starting in the center of the cheesecake, squirt a thin line of the jelly in a tight circular pinwheel pattern until you reach the edge of the pan. You should have about a half-inch between the lines in the circle.

Here is where you make the cheesecake beautiful! Take a thin bladed knife and starting in the center of the cheesecake, draw four lines from the center to the edge of the pan, basically quartering your cheesecake (making sure not to cut to deeply into the batter). You'll have to wipe the knife clean between each stroke. You know what to do with the wiped batter!

Now, take the knife and draw it from the edge of the pan to the center, between the lines you made previously. See how it pulls the jelly into a beautiful pattern? No one will believe that you made it yourself.

Place a pan with water about 1 inch deep on the lower rack of your oven. Put the cheesecake pan on the rack above and cook in your preheated oven for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, shut off the oven. DO NOT open the oven door!!! Let the cake rest in the oven for exactly 1 hour. Remove and chill thoroughly overnight before cutting.

Tip: Do not use a knife when cutting cheesecake. Get a 18 inch piece of dental floss, hold it tightly in each hand and pass it straight down through the cake, then pull it out from one side and wipe it off. Continue.

Graham Cracker Crust

Ingredients:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 pound butter, unsalted, melted

Combine the ingredients in a bowl and press firmly into the bottom and sides of an ungreased 10-inch spring form cheesecake pan.