Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Random Post-Holiday Musings


On the last day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:


How awesome is that brand and name?
Notes of rose, patchouli, and vanilla.
Mmmmm . . . I smell like Four and Twenty Hippies Baked in a Pie.

* * *

It is indeed possible to over cook a prime rib roast and have it still be juicy, tender, and delicious.
Provided people like you enough and are thoroughly sauced themselves.


* * *


The inimitable Boxer is hosting a two-day
New Year's Eve party over at her place.
Drop on by to RSVP and join in on what promises to be an interactive Internet fete on par with the lunacy that was Squirrel Wars 2008.
(P.S. Do we have a badge for this yet?)


21 comments:

Anonymous said...

GMTA. I made prime rib for Christmas Dinner too.

sparringK9 said...

we had a standing rib roast. whoa V is a good meat cooker. and holy hannah!- that perfume is so perfect for you. like dirt was for me. grrrrrehrahhahaha

the squirrel wars! yes, we need a badge for that. says something like "squirrel wars 2008: survivor"

LaDivaCucina said...

So, you overcooked the roast?! Wha? Too much Campari the night before?

On Christmas eve I made a lone turkey breast and it SUCKED. IF I would have followed the directions, it would have sucked even more and look like a gray unappetizing mess. I put the therm in and it read correctly and I pulled it out of the oven, cut into it and it was raw in the middle. I cut of the ends, served them and cooked the rest longer but there was absolutely NO FLAVOR whatsoever. Last time I buy that Butterball crap, only free range for flavor.

You know I want ALL THE DETAILS about your Christmas dinner, I'm sure it was all good, fallen cake and all!

Did Santa bring you want you wanted? xo

moi said...

Troll: Only, I bet you didn't confuse conVENtion with conVECtion and overcook it.

K9: I loved your story about V's preciosity in his kitchen. He sounds like a man to have slaving over a stove for sure. Oh, and I meant a badge for the NYE party. But one for Squirrel Wars would be cool, too :o)

La Diva: I have been meaning to email you the gory details. Actually, it's a tribute to both our prep, rub, and the high quality of meat from a free range rancher that the roast, though overcooked, was really, really tasty. The confusion came with the oven. I thought we were cooking conventionally; my friend cooked convectionally, but used convention times. Sorry to hear about your turkey. I've actually never cooked one. Just game birds and cheekons. I follow Julia Child all the way . . .

Buzz Kill said...

Is that the sweet smell of cordite in the air or are you wearing Lady Vengence? Bwahahahaha

A lot of people like the prime rib end cut because it is well done. I'm not one of those people, but prime rib can hold up to overcooking. I love a good horseradish sauce with it too.

Diva - I am a firm believer in brining turkey. It really makes a difference. We did go with a fresh turkey this year (and it was outstanding) but I've had good success with Butterballs in the past.

LaDivaCucina said...

Buzzy, I usually DO brine the turkey but it already was in a seasoned brine. It was just the breast and so....bland. I even put fresh sage under the skin and butter on the skin so it would brown. It just tasted flavorless.

I am not a fan of the Butterball because of all the chemical flavorings and additives, I've found you get more real flavor just from an organic or free range bird. More expensive but worth every penny. I just saw the breast at Costco and bought it as we didn't have our own turkey for Thanksgiving. No getting around buying a whole bird, I guess.

LaDivaCucina said...

Moi, so you cooked longer at a convectional oven temp? ahhh....common mistake and easy to do, done it myself. Glad the taste was still good and I'm sure you had gravy too?!

I'm glad you didn't make the cake again. I think we watch too much Top Chef (would YOU serve THAT to a guest?) and are too hard on ourselves. Family and friends are/should be more forgiving. (and sloshed!)

Jenny said...

I was lucky and got to watch a great cook make us all dinner on New Year's Eve... Salmon because you know, it's the PNW and fish is everywhere!

"I smell like Four and Twenty Hippies Baked in a Pie." BWAHAHAHAHAAHAH. Your S.B is a good man.

Big Shamu said...

Hmmmmm meat. Sigh...that's what my mom made for Christmas dinner. In Virginia. In KC? Soup. That I couldn't taste.

I'm so glad yours turned out tasty and delicious.

rotty in a hole with a kalishnikov said...

not to rub it in (@la diva) but V also made the best turkey breast ive ever had on Christmas day....yes, we know how obscene it sounds to have that kind of meat within one weekend for a 2 person household. anyhoo, V brined that turkey breast for the morning hours of Xmas day and then cooked it with the meat thermometer in the bird most of the time. he basted it endlessly. this is a guy that will stand in the kitchen and have his cocktails and tv while he cooks. he is FINE with spending hours and hours in this way. In the morning i mentioned -several times - are we going to eat before ten PM? its okay if so - i just need to know if i need to have a snack or whatever. grherha

LaDivaCucina said...

ROTTY, was it free range or regulah? Basting was perhaps the trick but it wasn't even in the oven that long! I, too drink while I cook. TV? No room. Jealous.....I rarely eat or want turkey but damn it, when I wanna eat it, I want it to taste good. Again, jealous!

Karl said...

Good afternoon Moi,

My in-laws are from the Midwest, they burn every piece of meat they cook. It's amazing the punishment a piece of meat can take and still taste good. Of course liberal internal basting never hurts. The diners not the dinner.

@ Buzz: Where the heck have you been? I was getting ready to start checking the south Jersey news for "guys eaten by snow blowers".

moi said...

Buzz: Beef, unless ground or in a stew, that is cooked to anything more than medium rare is a travesty, as far as I'm concerned. Me, I like it as rare as possible without being out-and-out raw.

La Diva: I made a jus from the drippings and we also served grated horseradish.

Boxer: Few things can top the sublimity of a perfectly cooked piece of salmon.

Rotty in a Hole: V is also, what, FRENCH? Seriously, tho. What a treasure. My first husband could cook circles around most professional chefs. It was awesome. Four years, I did nothing but make make coffee and bake. Then I divorced him, woke up the first morning in my new swingin' single gal pad, tummy grumbling, and had to learn how to cook for myself all over again.

Karl: I know people for whom every piece of meat must be burnt to a crisp. Savages, I tell you, SAVAGES!

moi said...

Shamu: Sorry; I skipped you. Soup? Aw, man, that sucks. You can make it up NYE, though, right?

Pam said...

I love that a scent was created just for you! What a find! I have a food post about ready to, well, post ... about the eatings that went on this past weekend. And a lamb roast that I think you will identify with. Re Sterling ... there are some days that I'd be glad to ship him out to you!

moi said...

Pam: Unfortunately the Ivanator would make his breakfast out of Sterling. But I love those big-headed stripey frat boy cats. One day . . .

The Poet Laura-eate said...

Lovely pressie indeed!

Four and twenty hippies baked in a pie? The mind boggles!

Not more eau de gunpowder then?

I had a mushroom and chestnut pie for Christmas dinner - it was delicious. My meat-eating boyfriend insisted on demolishing the rest, saying it was nicer than his turkey!

Roses said...

'Four and twenty hippies'...damn that made me LOL.

We had duck, which was nearly a disaster, but in the end came good.

I treated us to fillet steaks...definitely better rare.

Aunty Belle said...

Four and Twenty Hippies Baked in a Pie

LOL!!

Does ya know somethin'? I ain't never cooked a prime rib--nope, never. Wow.

We'uns feasted on beef tenderloin--an believe me, I is manic about not over cookin' it ...so some folks has to eat theirs near 'bout raw. Shave it thin an call it caparcio. Look snooty when ya serve it an say it wif a pronounced eyetalian accent. Heh

Gonna wear mah best batiste nightgown to Boxer's an' she promises to toss a cashmere throw over mah shiverin' shoulders--I mention this by way of sayin' them frilly roosian fashions ya scoped out doan look warm enough fer us thin blooded Cracker folks--but they is purty!

Aunty Belle said...

uh, yeah...thas' carpaccio for all you literate types.

moi said...

Poet: Mmmm . . . mushroom and chestnut pie sounds delicious! No; while I love the smell of gunpowder in the morning, not on my skin. Besides, I'm saving weaponry for your revolution. Don't worry: if it rains, you can be excused.

Roses: I am definitely trying a duck next year. Just about everything duck is ducky by me.

Aunty: You Southerners crack me up when it comes to cold. The itsy bitsiest bit of under 70 degrees and you're all pouty and shivery. Besides, we're going to be inside! But I do admit a fondness for cashmere throws myself . . .