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I'm pushing for prime rib now. I'd be excited. I'd make a mushroom ragout like Cattknap. Maybe I'd even stir up some motivation for desserts. We always have the standards: turkey, ham, prawns and grilled beef. Since turkey was such a bargain, I bought a few--a few! --and we've been roasting a lot. In fact, there's a whole turkey from last night in the fridge now.
So it's not terribly special anymore. Many of my family (fools) don't like duck or goose (and are fools). It's not an alternative (foolish, foolish people). So I'd like a beef to go front and center. A standing rib roast would be nice.
Here is the recipe for the mushroom ragout - I have made it with all kinds of different mushrooms but like the mix of at least 3 different kinds. Follow exactly the method listed in the recipe for cooking the mushrooms.
On the day I serve the ragout I take the pan that the roast has cooked in (while the meat rests) and I take out all the fat but one tablespoon. The pan is already hot but I put it on medium heat and then add the mushroom ragout (that I made the day before and refrigerated). I scrape up all the browned bits from the roast and heat the ragout in the roasting pan - then taste and correct the seasoning if needed and stir every minute or so until hot. I always double the recipe.
Mushroom Ragout
(Double this recipe – it is delicious):
1 pound mixed mushrooms, such as shiitake, cremini, white button or wild mushrooms if you have them
2 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large shallot, large dice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped
1/2 cup Madeira, vermouth, or white wine
1/3 cup heavy cream
Clean the mushrooms by brushing with a kitchen towel or a brush to remove any loose dirt. Remove the shiitake stems and discard. Trim the dry ends off the cremini and white mushroom stems. Quarter all the mushrooms and put in a bowl.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and spread them out evenly in the pan, increase the heat to high. Let the mushrooms cook undisturbed until they brown, then shake the pan to turn them over. Add the additional butter along the sides of the pan as the mushrooms cook if the pan seems very dry. Continue to cook until nicely browned, about 5 minutes. Add the shallot and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Season the mushrooms with the salt and pepper and add the thyme. Pull the pan off the heat and add the Madeira or the wine. Return pan to the heat and scrape up any of the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the heavy cream and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and serve.
Yield: 2 cups
May be made the day before and refrigerated (flavors meld and it tastes even better the next day). Reheat per cook's addition above above.
Actually, I just looked at it a bit closer and the fried stuff is shaped like the crab legs! I wonder if the whole thing (minus the top part) was fried. Bulldogdad, care to confirm or deny?
We're not frying our dungeness crabs, though. We like it au naturel.
Being a California Bulldogdad I've had Dungeness crab every way possible and some that you would think impossible. I've been to more crab feeds in my life than I care to fathom. YES the crab is lightly battered and seasoned with salt and pepper. Then Wok fried at SUN SPOT hot temperatures super quick to lock in the juices. I've seen the special wok burners that the best Chinese Restaurants use and they are like jet engines. Hands down this is the best crab recipe I've ever eaten. IMHO
Second- Crab and Fermented Black bean sauce
Third- Garlic and scallion fried Crab
Fourth- Steamed and marinated crab feed crab.
Oh and toss in a loaf of Boudin San Francisco sourdough to sop up the crab juices.
Well technically we're still Brits so we have turkey for Christmas dinner, even though we also had it for Thanksgiving.
In England we obviously don't have Thanksgiving so Christmas is our turkey day, although it's common to also have it on New Years Day too. We've started having a ham on Jan 1, although last year we actually just had hors d'oevres!
A British turkey dinner is a little different to an American one. We have roasted potatoes instead of mashed, redcurrant jelly instead of cranberry sauce, Yorkshire puddings instead of corn bread and no sweet potatoes or green bean casserole.
Anyone struggling with Yorkshire puddings, trader joes sells frozen popovers that are a good alternative.
I've decided we should do a crown roast of pork, with the frilly paper things on the ribs. ("I have decided...!" Hah, as if... I'll have to consult.) We'll have beef on the grill, with the mushroom ragout. We'll have the turkey, ham and prawns. The pork will complete the entree selection and will look beautiful. It takes less than 2 hours to cook too, hands free.
Yes, there are big eaters in the family. And lots of leftovers get packed.
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