Good Food for a Winter's Eve

I will post my next steps in party planning soon. But today, I am playing in the kitchen. With apologies to all my vegan friends, I made standing rib roast, mashed potatoes from scratch, horseradish sauce, and we included a store-made quinoa salad. All ingredients are organic, from a local family-owned grocer. I have given general instructions below, because there are so many sites dedicated to detailed cooking instructions, but please ask questions in the comments if you want more details. I am hoping this inspires you to make any day of the year, an event.

Note: I apologize in advance for the pictures. I forgot to take them until we were done eating.  

Prime rib, aka Roast beast

The roast originally had bones.The butcher had trimmed the roast and tied it. I seasoned the meat (salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder) with the bones on, then seared it on all sides. I put it in the oven on a roasting rack at 350 for about 2 hours. This gives me plenty of time to make side dishes and relax on the couch watching football for a while.

Mashed potatoes on the right. Horseradish cream on the left.

I cleaned and cut 3 large potatoes into approximately 1" cubes, then added them to a pan and just covered them with cool water. I turned the heat on medium and let the water come up to temperature slowly. When the water was simmering, I turned up the heat and boiled the potatoes for about 5 minutes until fork tender. Drain.

In my Kitchenaid mixer, I threw about 3 tablespoons of soy butter into the bowl then the hot potatoes. Using the whisk attachment, I turned the mixer on low and slowly increased the speed. I added 1/8 cup of Almond Milk and salt, pepper, and garlic to taste. The potatoes were whipped until they were smooth. This whole potato process takes about 40 minutes due to the length of time it takes for the water to heat, which again gives me time to relax.

Horseradish cream and mashed potatoes, skin on. 

For the horseradish cream, I whipped a cup and a half of whipping cream until soft peaks formed. Then I added 2 large teaspoons of horseradish from a jar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp season salt, and a few dashes of hot pepper sauce. Use the mixer until stiff peaks form in the cream and all ingredients are incorporated. Be careful if you are whipping the cream in a mixer. It's easy to go from soft peaks to butter if you don't keep an eye on it. It takes about 15 minutes to make the horseradish cream; a little longer if you have to wash and dry the mixing bowl you used for the potatoes.

Tip:  When serving, I always keep the open jar of horseradish near the cream sauce because to me, it always needs more heat. If I make it to my taste I can easily overdo it. And it's never a happy experience when you blow the top off of a guest's head.

When the meat was done (meat thermometer inserted deep into the roast read the temperature I wanted), I pulled the pan out of the oven, covered the meat with tinfoil and let it rest for 10 minutes. I snipped off the ties that held the bones on and then used a carving knife to finish cutting off the bones. I wrapped them in tinfoil so I can make a beef broth on a later day.

Slice the meat into manageable pieces and you are ready to eat. While this meal can look complicated, it is really quite easy. It does leave a lot of dishes, some that are greasy, so clean-up is a bit of a pain. All in all, if you want to impress meat-eating guests--including those that live with you daily, this is a good meal to make. 

Happy eating! Enjoy life every day!
Laureen