Super-creative, super-at-everything sister-in-law Chef Sandy is back with her idea for spoiling the dads in your life this Father’s Day.

Hint: it involves meat. And smoking it.

Some like it hot.  Not me.  It is hot in Houston at the moment, and I do not want to cook.  The thought of heating up my sun-baked 1950s ranch-style home any more than necessary by turning on the oven, is just unthinkable.  I read a recipe in today’s paper for a pork sandwich that looked truly delicious and delightful.  A sandwich is not hot, right?  Wrong…. This recipe called for the pork butt to be baked for 4 hours at 250°.  With my west-facing kitchen and the worst oven in the world, that would mean the whole kitchen would be about 110° by the time dinner was ready.  By that time, I am way too hot and irritable to even think about pulling pork and making gorgeous sandwiches.  There has got to be a better way.

Cooking with a smoker is an old-fashioned, time-honored way of slow cooking meats, which also happens to cook them outside of the kitchen.  Grilling is also an outside method of cooking, but one which generally requires more attention (read: me standing over whatever is cooking, making sure it doesn’t burn) and necessarily means standing outside, hopefully in the shade, over a live heat source.  Also not that appealing when it is 97° in the shade.

But smoker cooking, especially in today’s modern smokers, is pretty hands off.  I have an electric smoker that I plug into an outlet in my garage.  The smoker sits on my driveway, about 12 feet from my kitchen back door.  In the evening before I want to cook, I dry rub seasonings on my chosen meat product (a large pork butt, in this case) and wrap it well and let it sit in the fridge overnight.  Early in the morning when it is still cool-ish, I take the meat out of the fridge while I get the smoker ready, which involves putting 2 oounces of wood in the “fire box,” and covering the bottom of the smoker with foil.  Then I drag out my heavy duty extension cord, plug the smoker in and go inside and get the meat.  The meat is placed on the grate.  I close the smoker, turn it on, and let the thing smoke for 8-10 hours until it is done.  Maybe I have to take it out and cover it with foil, which I do in the case of a pulled pork or beef brisket, but that is as hands-on as it gets.  The electric smoker I have does a great job of maintaining an even temperature, and also keeps the meat pretty moist.

My smoker also happens to be large enough (I have about 6 shelves for different products, and each shelf is big enough to hold a 9×13 pan) that I can, if organized, cook other side dishes at the same time as my main entrée.  So, for example, I can slide in a pan of beans to bake at the same time I cover the pork with foil, and when the pork is done cooking, I will also have beans.

In the evening, after having an icy cold beverage for fortification, I can remove the meat and finish the preparations for dinner in my cool kitchen. Add some coleslaw and buns, and that is dinner for at least 8 hungry people.   Add some icy cold watermelon or ice cream for dessert, and you will have a happy crowd.

So what are you making the fathers in your life for Father’s Day this weekend?

Enjoy!

Photo courtesy of www.Gourmet-Ovens.com.

So, Easter’s over and you’ve got all this Prime Rib left over.

What to do with it?

Never fear. Sandy’s here with some ideas to keep the love flowing from your kitchen.

Check it out . . .  

Fabulous Roast Beef (French Dip) Sandwiches

If you happen to have any of your fabulous Prime Rib or beef roast left over, one of the best ways to enjoy it the next day is to heat it, on the stovetop, in the beef juices left over from your initial cooking.  If you do not have leftover juices, (or if you made it all into gravy) heat a good quality beef consommé to a simmer. 

Use a sharp knife and a sanitary cutting board.  Slice the cold beef as thinly as possible, trimming it to your personal taste.  Prepare your French rolls and any side dishes.  Whether you toast the rolls or not is personal preference.  Butter or garlic butter may be delicious too. You may even want to grill onions and melt some provolone cheese on the roll (kind of a Philly cheese steak kind of thing, not a French Dip in my book). 

I think a nice German potato salad or some good quality potato chips would go great with this sandwich.  Get everything else ready.  Make drinks, set the table.  Finally, one portion at a time, heat the sliced beef in the consommé or beef jus. Pile the beef on the waiting roll, serve a little of the consommé on the side for dipping, and VOILA!

An alternate sandwich would of course be a hot roast beef sandwich, traditionally served open faced.  Good quality white bread, piled high with roast beef heated in gravy.  Also yum!

Photo courtesy of bakingbites.com.

Fabulous Sister-in-Law Chef Sandy is back!

She’s got a great recipe for a Prime Rib Roast (which we devoured at Christmastime — see photos) and Yorkshire Pudding.

This is a great idea for a wonderful Easter dinner. Seriously, it’s coming up. Follow her tips to the letter and you won’t go wrong!

That’s how I do it anyway.

Enjoy!

Prime Rib Roast and Yorkshire Pudding

Although traditionally thought of as a Christmas holiday time dish, I see no reason why not to make Yorkshire Pudding with a Prime Rib Roast for Easter.  It is a good way to use up some eggs that we are going to decorate, because my kids don’t like hard boiled eggs.  Here is my plan for the eggs:

Take the raw eggs required for the recipe and blow out the insides into a clean bowl.

1. Carefully punch a hole in each end of the egg with a sharp knife, and work the hole in the bottom to be about a ¼ inch in diameter.
2. Blow hard into the smaller hole to force the egg out into your clean bowl from the larger hole.
3. Rinse the eggs under running water, and then carefully bathe them in a bowl with about ¼ cup white vinegar and a few cups of water.
4. Take the egg shells out of the water, let them dry on paper towels and shake any water out of the inside.
5. To make sure they are really dry, let them sit out for a few hours before decorating with markers, stickers or whatever your imagination leads you to.  Glitter would be amazing.
6. To hang the eggs, there are two options:
   1. Use a fine ribbon threaded onto a tapestry needle and feed the ribbon straight thru the egg to the other side and tie a knot on the far side of the egg (usually the larger end of the egg looks better on the bottom.)  You can also put a large bead on the ribbon to use as a stop-knot.
   2. Wrap a fine thread around half of a toothpick or wooden match.  Feed the small piece of wood thru the small hole at the top of the egg and then shake it a little so that it sits perpendicular to the opening and will support the egg.
7. Hang from pretty any branches or window locks to enjoy.
8. These eggs, carefully treated, will last forever.  Keep the clean egg carton to put your finished creations in.

Of course Yorkshire Pudding is not really pudding, in the American sense.  More like a puffy bit of soufflé/bread made with beef drippings.  This is a very traditional accompaniment to a Rib Roast, probably due to the amount of drippings which do make themselves available with this dish.  Prepare the batter for the puddings using the recipe below.

The tricky thing about these puddings (or any soufflé type item) is the timing.  They are beautiful and showy when they are served immediately upon removal from the oven, but you don’t have a lot of wiggle room.  They will deflate and will be a disappointment if you have to hold them.  Have your other last minute things done and only put these in the oven when the roast is out of the oven and resting.  While the puddings bake, ice your glasses and pour your beverages.  Have the appetizer courses started and plan to have everyone at the table ready to enjoy their Prime Rib Roast and Yorkshire Puddings the moment they get out of the oven.  For a rare roast, count on serving about two hours after you start the roast.  For medium or more done, adjust your timing accordingly.

The Prime Rib Roast 101 with Yorkshire Pudding recipe below is courtesy of The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook, First Edition.

For the pudding:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

6 large eggs

2 ½ cups milk

Sift together flour and salt.  Place in a large bowl; make a well and place the eggs in the center. Slowly whisk the eggs into the flour mixture until a smooth paste forms.  Gradually whisk in ½ cup milk and then the remaining 2 cups of milk.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.

For the roast:

3# prime-rib roast, first cut, trimmed and tied, at room temperature (set out 2 hours before cooking)

2 tbsp kosher salt

1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

3 short ribs, tied

1 ½ cups dry red wine

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F, with oven rack on the lowest level.  Rub the roast all over with the salt and pepper, trying to get an even coating.  Transfer to a heavy 13 x 16 metal roasting pan, arranging the meat fat side up, on top of the short ribs.  The ribs will act as a roasting pan and will flavor the drippings.

Cook 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 and continue cooking until an instant read thermometer reads 115 for rare.  The temperature of the roast will increase 10-15 degrees after removing from the oven, so keep this in mind if you want a different doneness.   For rare, this will take about 1 hour and 25 minutes.  Use a probe thermometer or check every 10 minutes after this point to insure you do not over cook.

Let the roast rest uncovered for 30 minutes in a warm spot.  Tenting the roast will cause the crust to get soggy. Return oven temperature to 425.

Pour fat and drippings into a fat separator or glass measuring cup, set aside to let fat separate from meat juices.  Put roasting pan over medium high heat and add red wine to deglaze the pan.  Cook about 6 minutes, until reduced by half.  Place a fine sieve over a medium bowl and strain the sauce into the bowl.  Do not clean the pan.

Making the Yorkshire Pudding:

Place ¼ cup of reserved fat from the roast into the roasting pan, and place it in the hot oven until very hot, about 5 minutes.  Remove the batter from the refrigerator and whisk well; quickly and carefully pour the batter into the hot pan and cook until the Yorkshire Pudding is crisp and golden, about 25 minutes.  Make sure it is nicely browned before removing it; it will deflate more quickly if it is not thoroughly cooked.  Cut each person a wedge of warm pudding with the crispy edge, which will help it hold its shape.  Transfer the red wine sauce to a gravy boat and serve with the Prime Rib Roast and Yorkshire Pudding.

Stay tuned tomorrow to find out what to do with those Prime Rib Roast leftovers. Your family will love you for it! – Dena