First EVER Stuffed Shells.

Eventually, I will tell you how I did this.  :-)

McDonald's McRib Obsession Experiment

Alright.  We all have our own little obsessions.  Mine, McRib.  Processed pork pattie, drowning in bbq sauce, adorned by pickles and onions on a nice toasty sub-like roll. 

Okay, so my boyfriend said to me, "Hey, why can't we make it from ground pork?" 

Freaking BRILLIANT!

Now here is the dilemma:  How do I do this?

Trial number one and I should have known better.  Just season with bbq sauce (KC Masterpiece comes the closest in taste to me).  Make it out into patties.  Grill mark it.  Throw it in some bbq sauce with fresh and dehydrated onions.  Bake it for about an hour.

I can go ahead and tell you.  I should have used a binder.  DUH! DUH! DUH!

Yes, they did fall apart. 

So, in future trials.... I will do as my grandmother did with her meatloaf.  BISCUTS.  Left over biscuts.  Crumble them all up, mix with the bbq sauce, perhaps even just a tiny dash of liquid smoke.  Mix it all up into the ground pork.  Pattie up.  Chill for a bit.  Grill them off.  Place in sauce with onions. 

Perhaps, try cubed pork.  Marinate in bbq sauce and a dash of liquid smoke.  Pat dry, grill marks, put in sauce and onions. 

No matter how this first trial turns out, I still think it is gonna be good. 

Pics will be posted.  Promise. 

If you have any suggestions, please do post them.  Thanks!

My Very First Prime Rib.

So here is my prime rib that I did last Thanksgiving.  I do believe I will have this again this Thanksgiving.

The roast came from the Fresh Market.  It was about 4-5 pounds.  It did not have a heavy fat cap and as you can see, it was quite meaty.

I did something a little insane.  I let it come to room temp, then I browned it.  I made a paste of rosemary, thyme, garlic (all fresh), olive oil, with salt and pepper.  After I browned, that is when I applied my "paste."

My oven was pre-heated to 500 degrees.  (I had read so many recipes on how to do prime rib, I just took what I liked from each one).  I put the roast on a rack in a roasting pan... put it in the oven for 45 minutes (this puts a nice brown color on it).  Then I took the roast out, put foil cover over it, turn oven down to 350 degrees and let it cook for about 2 hours.  We like ours rare here.  I believe it is about 30 minutes per pound for rare. 

Once it was done, I let it rest... which was very hard to do because it just smelled soooooo good. 

I made au jus from the de-greased juices and low sodium beef broth with addition of browned flour just for a little body. 

All I know is this.  It was awesome for the first attempt ever.  And I can't wait to do it again.  I would actually do this more often.. perhaps a Sunday dinner kind of thing. 

Anyway... thanks for looking and any suggestions are so totally welcomed!