New Year, New Resolutions

A Happy New Year to all of you! I hope it was fun and healthy and filled with good eatings. What did you all cook? And what have I made since the 23rd? Christmas Eve: Brie en Croute, Standing Rib Roast, and Cheesecake. Later that week I roasted all of the vegetables in the house that were starting to look questionable low and slow with salt, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar and later stirred it with brown rice. On the 30th, Chef Vishneski and I celebrated our own Christmas with a Mexican fiesta. New Year’s Eve, the Chef and I made dinner for my family (spaghetti and meatballs) and an apple pie.

Yup. Only reason I ate that slice was for a picture!

A Brie en Croute is simply a round of Brie cheese wrapped in puff pastry. Usually, it also comes with some sort of fruit preserve or honey dressing. For mine, I make a honey-cranberry dressing and put it directly on the puff pastry and top it with the Brie and then wrap it up in puff pastry.  I rolled out the puff pastry so that the Brie round would fit on it and there would be enough pastry to wrap up the entire round. I warmed up a quarter cup of honey and mixed in about two tablespoons of fresh chopped cranberries (though I usually use dried, I just wanted to try something new), a teaspoon or so of fresh chopped rosemary and salt and pepper. Pour the honey mixture on top of the puff pastry and then put the round of Brie on top of that. Cover it with the rest of the pastry, and then brush it with an egg wash. Into a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Before cutting into it, let it rest about ten minutes.

The other noteworthy dish was the standing rib roast. I used this recipe from Emeril and yes, it was BAM. Very flavorful. One of my best, but I’m not into bragging. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/standing-rib-roast-recipe/index.html. I’d really recommend this cut of meat for your next special gathering of 7-8 people. It’s delicious even without the amazing rub Emeril has us do, but with the rub (which includes two whole heads of roasted garlic) it is superb!

This blog began with the 2010 New Year and with the thought of New Year, New Me. The New Me has certainly begun to take form and I’m happy with it. But it wouldn’t be a new year without new resolutions. I resolve to read The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Moby Dick, My Life in France, and the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy. These books MUST be read this year. I resolve to add even more spontaneous adventure to my life. And I resolve to do something that will benefit others. But you don’t care about those resolutions. What do I resolve in the way of food? I resolve to master Roasted Chicken. I will. I will finally conquer my poultry woes. It will totally happen.  I’m thinking this means I’ll have to make a Roasted Chicken once every two months. Thoughts? Recipes?

Until next time, live long and prosper food nerds!