I only need to put out the sandwich makin's & toss the salad...
but when I'm done, I'm going to go collapse...
so I'd better write this now...
yesterday, there was a fierce storm...
as I was putting out the garbage & loading my car at home...
the winds were gusting to 50 mph and the raindrops stung my face...
a 1st class squall... 80 miles inland...
Mr.GT had agreed to help out and the short drive to pick him up...
got lengthened by a major power outage that shut down a local college...
as well as a mile of PacAve in front of it...
creating a massive parking lot that we barely escaped...
by turning left on Robinhood & going over to ElD...
then it was an easy drive to the church...
of course, it was still squalling...
while we carried in the bags from my car...
and then unloaded the provisions from the 'fridge...
that I'd carried in the day before...
setting things out, so that we could get a good idea...
of our "triage"situation...
[the meat, assuming "room temperature" prior to roasting...]
it was then 12:20 PM and dinner was to be served at 6:30...
but the roast would take 4 hours to cook and 1 hour to "rest"...
so it had to be in by 1:30 & there was a good bit of prep to do...
but we did take a few minutes to have some left-over lentil soup...
the perfect nasty weather lunch with some multi-grain, artisan bread...
then it was, forward, head first, into the prep chaos...
which seemed to only increase as the day wore on...
of course, there are perks to being "the cooks"...
and Stilton cheese on multi-grain bread is one of the better ones...
as well as "taste-testing" various goodies...
& tweaking as we went along...
I had some assistance from Square Peg & Fr TB...
but there's NO way that I could have done this...
without the very skilled assistance of Mr.GT...
his herb chopping skills are already legendary...
he did a superb job "pan toasting" the walnuts he brought...
also hand-shelled by he & MM...
he dealt with hot, heavy trays & pans that were hard for me to manage...
[he also sharpened my knives & carved the roast...]
and he washed dishes... Thanks for everything, Mr. GT !
you were a God-send...
thanks to Mr. GT's chopping skills, we whipped up the roast "rub"...
[minced parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, garlic, Kosher salt & E.V.olive oil]
seasoned the meat with fresh ground pepper & salt...
slathered on the rub...
and using the rib bones as a rack, placed the roast in the oven at 1:35...
I had the oven cranked-up to 450˚ F for the 1st 20 minutes...
then took it down to 350˚F for 3 hours, 40 minutes...
as you can see, it turned out very well...
perfect medium rare, all the way through...
we skimmed the fat[mostly olive oil]...
added half a bottle of good red wine to deglaze the pan...
and created a nice "jus" to pour on the meat...
getting the vegetables in the oven was more complicated...
the fingerling potatoes were tossed with EVOO, Kosher salt and rosemary...
they were sprinkled with chopped parsley before serving...
the Brussels sprouts were trimmed & tossed with EVOO & Kosher salt...
the rainbow carrots were cut in one inch sections, tossed with EVOO & KS...
but also had chopped thyme & fennel fronds sprinkled on before cooking...
the fennel bulbs and sweet onions were quartered, mixed with garlic cloves...
tossed in EVOO & Kosher salt...
since the potatoes needed about an hour, they went in first...
20 minutes later, the Brussels sprouts & carrots...
and 10 minutes later, the fennel, onion & garlic...
which actually ended up needing more time...
but almost everything was done at about the same time...
[this was Mr. GT's idea & it worked like a charm...]
finally, we got everything out on the buffet table...
the roast with it's pan "jus"...
the roasted fingerling potatoes...
the combo of roasted Brussels sprouts, carrots, onion, fennel & garlic...
the Parm/Romano herb biscuits with the garlic butter glaze...
and the green salad with cranberries, toasted walnuts & crumbled blue cheese...
[there was also a dessert of vanilla ice cream with berries...]
I finally got home at 9:30 PM...
my alarm went off at 6 AM [early for me], so I could go to Noah's Bagels...
I was greeted by this when I got to the church around 7:30 AM...
food for breakfast & lunch...
the bagels & cream cheese were a hit...
[the oatmeal too...]
for lunch, we'll have deli sandwiches...
[Black Forrest ham, turkey breast & pastrami...]
also cheese, assorted breads & real Kosher pickles...
there will also be more green salad...
tonight, they're ordering-in "pizza"
so FrTB brought his last 2 bottles of Belgium Ale for that meal...
I will be comatose, at home...
this was really fun... but I'm glad it's over...
post script...
the deli sandwiches were a big hit...
and the entire big bowl of salad "disappeared"...
[they loved the "tweaked" salad dressing...]
everything is packed away...
& I'm now officially,"done"...
& going home to collapse...
before it starts pouring again...
4 comments:
For someone who never cooks, it looked like an incredibly lot of work but it also looked incredibly delicious! How wonderful to have such a talent. I am truly one of those people who cannot "boil water" so I stand in awe and amazement at what you and Mr. GT accomplished! Kudos!
...thanks for the kind words... it WAS a lot of work (especially for 9 people)& I really couldn't have accomplished that dinner without MrGT's assistance, but it was also fun to "play" with food...
but it was
WOW! Looks deeeeeeeelicious!!! Sure do miss that kitchen and all of the wonderful pepole that meet there. Hope that I can some day get back to share a meal with you all again soon.
...we were actually fondly remembering just how clean & sanitary you always kept "this" kitchen... it isn't "quite" as well-kept anymore..;D
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