WINTER WONDERLAND

Another photo compliments of my son. Wow, how he loves his snowmobile trips and taking photo's. No wonder it is awesome in the mountains in winter with fresh snowfall.

At this moment we are warm. Hubby was just sitting out on the deck with his face to the sun. I just completed my walk and it was amazing. The sky was filled with crows once again and the sun was bright and hot on my face. Such a pleasure after these gray soggy days we have had.

I made a very yummy pepper crusted prime rib Saturday night and once again I had every intention of taking a photo. However we had company for dinner and all were starved so no time for pictures. I will admit this was the first prime rib I have made. I suppose that sounds odd but usually we have prime rib dinning out. I researched the best way to roast one on the Internet and I am going to share this good simple way of making one.
Prime Rib Roast
Let prime rib sit at room temperature for two hours
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees
I made a rub of kosher salt, lots of cracked black pepper and garlic powder
I patted dry the prime rib and then rubbed olive oil on the sides and ends
I then patted in the seasonings until the ends and sides were totally covered. No need to put rub on the bone side.
Place in a pan with at least two inch sides bone side down. I sprayed my pan with cooking spray for easy cleanup
Into the 450 oven without covering bake for 15 minutes, without opening the oven door lower the heat to 325 degree's and continue to roast at 13 minutes per pound
When an instant read thermometer reads 120 degrees(for rare) or 125 for med-rare) remove from oven and cover tightly with foil and let stand for 20 minutes. It will continue to bake till perfect. To crave cut off the strings, and remove the bone side in one piece by slicing along the bone line next to the roast. This way you can then slice the boneless roast into 1/4 to 1/2 slices. This makes for a beautiful presentation.
Use the drippings in the bottom of the roaster pan for your Au jus juice. I scrapped up the bits off the bottom of the pan and added a can of beef broth and heated.
Serve with lots of horseradish sauce and small individual dishes with Au Jus for dipping.
The meat was a perfect med rare like we prefer it. It was juicy and so tender. I will not hesitate to make it again.

Hubby just got through vacuuming all the hardwood flooring. I first had all the area rugs to clean and remove from the floors. It is a project and for now all is free of dust bunnies.
Tomorrow we are having my niece Jaysa from Salem and her brother Aaron from Portland for dinner and they will spend the night. We put together a little stocking stuffer for each of them. This was a surprise, this visit. Aaron has a friend here in Eugene he wanted to visit, so we are happy they are stopping by to see us. We do not see enough of them. I am making my spinach lasagna will serve with Trader Joes' filone bread and a green salad.

Xmas Eve honey and I are having seared flat iron steaks with peppercorn mushroom sauce, sauteed garlic green beans and a relish tray assortment. We bought a nice bottle of King Estate pinot noir. This is a very special wine and comes right from our own Willamette Valley. King Estate Winery is world renown. We always try to do make our meal and drinks special on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Day will be roasted turkey with all the trimmings. As we had ham for Thanksgiving we will enjoy the turkey. We eat on it for a days, the last remains go into a pot of soup with home made egg noodles.
The only baking I am doing this year is the rum cake we both love. I have made it every year we have been together which is a lot of years. This cake is so moist and rummy you do not need ice cream or whip cream to dollop on top.

Well I have chatted enough for one day. I still have some things I want to accomplish today so best get at it. I cannot say enough how wonderful it is to have the back door open this afternoon and let our winter house get a fresh breath of air.

I know a lot of you must be scrambling as there is not much time left before the holiday. But take a moment to reflect and be so thankful for the small and truly important things in life. Your health, your loved ones, having a place to live where you can stay warm and dry and having enough to eat. There are so many that have none of these basic things. So do be grateful for what you have in these hard times.