Chris, the King of Leftovers

Chris, as long as we've been together has always been the king of leftovers.  I've always loved leftovers but normally in the same state they were originally made.  Chris, however, is great at taking leftovers and making a whole new meal out of them.  For example, tonight Chris made Philly cheese steak sammiches (sans bread) with leftover prime rib.

Chris chopped up some onion, red and green bell pepper, and mushrooms in some bacon butter.  Then he thinly sliced the beef and added that after the veggies got all happy.  Finally, he added a few slices of jalapeno white cheddar at the end, put the lid on, and let the cheese get all melty.

I gave it two thumbs up!

(Early) Valentine's Dinner

Since I will be gone on Tuesday for a basketball game in Eureka I decided to do a Valentine's dinner for Chris and I tonight.  I know I said (in an earlier blog post) that we don't really do Valentine's but it's really just an excuse to do up dinner a bit.  This dinner does not have any bacon but was still AWESOME!

Appetizer:  Seared Scallops with Romesco Sauce
Scallops is one of Chris and I's favorite indulgences.  They are buttery and comforting and delicious!  Key to cooking scallops is to make sure you get them super dry and sear them off in a hot pan.  Other than that you just need salt and pepper (before you sear).

Wrapping scallops in bacon is pretty popular (and amazing!) but I chose to make a romesco sauce instead.  It is pretty easy. In a food processor combine jarred roasted red peppers, toasted walnuts, EVOO, shallot, garlic, lemon juice and S&P.  Once combined, I put in a sauce pan to warm up.  When ready to plate, drizzle the romesco sauce on the shallots.  Romesco sauce also goes well with most fish and chicken dishes.

Main:  Slow Roasted Prime Rib
Prime rib roast...I don't need to say much more.  Keep this simple!  We cooked the prime rib a little differently than we have in the past.  We've always started the prime rib in a hot oven (500 degrees) and let it get a good crust and then lower to 350 degrees and cook until it hits the desired temp.  Last Christmas I ran across How to Cook The Perfect Prime Rib.  Basically, it said to do the exact opposite.  Cook the prime rib at a lower temp (150-200 degrees) so that it cooks more evenly and then sear at the end in the oven.  We weren't able to try this method out last Christmas but I really wanted to try it out.  It turned out perfect! 

Cooking the prime rib the old way you end up with a grayish brown ring around the outside but with the new method there was no funky colored ring.  The entire middle was cooked perfectly medium rare.  We used an electronic meat thermometer and cooked until 124 degrees.

I will warn you that cooking at 550 degrees caused a very, very smoky oven for us and we had to turn on some fans and open some windows.  For the rib roast all we did was S&P GENEROUSLY and then cook as directed in the oven.  We love horseradish as a condiment with this.  Normally we would make au jous with prime rib but skipped out tonight.

Side:  Mashed Cauliflower
I believe I blogged about this before but all that needs done is chop up a head of cauliflower and steam in 1 cup of chicken stock and a mashed clove of garlic.  Once tender blend together with butter and S&P.  I also added some grated parm for flavor.

Side:  Sauteed Spinach with Sun Dried Tomatoes (aka vegetable candy)
For this just warm up some EVOO, add some shallot and a clove of garlic and then the key ingredient, sun dried tomatoes.  Chris and I like to call sun dried tomatoes vegetable candy because they are just so darn delicious and have a sweetness about them.  I keep sun dried tomatoes in the fridge so I just chop a few up and add them and their oil.  I rarely make sauteed spinach without sun dried tomatoes After sauteing the aforementioned for a few minuets add your spinach, cook down and add S&P.

Dessert:  Berry Torte with Berry Coulis and Whipped Heavy Cream
This was the first time I attempted this recipe but when I first saw it I knew it would be perfect for Valentine's Day.  For this recipe (check out the link) I did make a small adjustment.  Instead of using frozen raspberries, I already had frozen mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries) so I used that and then I bought fresh blackberries at the store.  For the coulis I suggest to strain the sauce.  It is not necessary but it gets all the berry seeds out of it and the sauce is that much more velvetty.  Chris gave me two thumbs up on this so I'll keep it in my dessert rotation for the future.

Finally, wash it all down with a good glass (or two) of red wine.  We drank Hudson Shah Cab with it.  If you come across it I would highly recommend it.  I used to be able buy this for $10 a bottle but it is now up to $13 but it's still a great value.  Drinks more like a $25 bottle and has never disappointed me. 

To Lovers!

Bacon Valentine's Day Gifts

The divisive holiday that is known as Valentine's Day will be upon us this week.  Some people hate it (all guys and single girls) and some people love it (girls in a relationship).  I can't say I get sucked up into the Valentine's Day hype.  I don't expect a gift or anything elaborate.  I'm normally pretty busy around this time of year so I always told Chris a night of relaxing on the couch with pizza and wine was what I wanted. 

That being said, we don't plan on getting each other gifts.  However, if you plan on getting that special someone a gift and haven't done it yet, I've got a few ideas for you and yes, they involve bacon.

First, who wouldn't want a lovely bouquet of bacon.  If this doesn't scream love then I don't know what does.  This would be way better than an actual bouquet of flowers.  Not that I don't like the smell of flowers but the smell of bacon trumps flowers any day.  Plus, you can eat the bacon and the flowers just die.

This isn't exactly bacon but it is brief, I mean beef jerky which is in the same family of awesomeness.  This is even a do it yourself homemade gift and that is true love.  Edible meat underwear, Pinteresters, eat your heart out on this one.

For the fitness enthusiast, this Pork Belly Fitness shirt will be right up their alley.  I got myself one and love it!  Bacon and squats is where it's at!  There's several different styles and colors to choose from. 

For all the love birds out there, I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day.  For everyone else, I suggest making bacon and you'll instantly feel better.  For myself, I will be coaching a basketball game that night but I have some dinner plans for Sunday.

Bacon Happiness

'Nuff said.