Making a Prime Rib Dinner

Prime Rib Dinner! 

 Everybody loves prime rib during the holidays, so here is a step by step breakdown on how to make a great prime rib. We started with a 7 rib roast about 16 # to feed 10 people. Yum!

1.     Preheat oven to 325 degrees. (Move racks in oven to create enough room for everything you need to make. In our case, we left room for baked potatoes and put the roast on the bottom rack with another rack on the second from top)

2.    Make a Mirepoix (a mixture of carrots, celery, and onion)

a.     We used 1 medium sized yellow onion, 2 stalks of celery, and 6 skinny carrots. (but you just need enough to cover the bottom of pan)

b.    Clean, peel and slice off the tops/bottoms of vegetables.

c.     Slice celery and carrots in a diagonal, creating ~ 1/2" strips.   

d.     Slice onion in half, and then slice to create ½ inch strips. 

e.     Mix celery, onion and carrots together in the bottom of the pan and evenly distribute to cover bottom of pan. 

3. Unwrap prime rib (we used a 7 rib or 16# prime rib) and place rib side up on top of mirepoix.

4. Sprinkle salt, garlic salt, and seasoning salt liberally across top. Use cupped hand to rub the seasonings into the sides.
            
5. Flip Prime rib over (fat side up) and repeat the process above. Sprinkle pepper on top of everything and rub extra salt into the fat.
6. Prime rib should have a nice crust of seasoning on both sides.          
7. Add ~¼ inch of water into the bottom of the pan.  (This will allow for the steaming of the vegetables and help prime rib cook evenly)       
8. Put Prime rib into oven and leave for 2 hours.
   
   [at 1 hour mark, put the baked potatoes in with the prime rib]

9. At 2 hours, pull out prime rib and check temperature. Put on table and insert either metal skewer or meat thermometer in the center of rib. If using meat thermometer, insert all the way until you reach bottom, then pull out till center of meat. Wait for temperature to equilibrate and read (it should be ~ 80 degrees). If using meat skewer, insert skewer in the center of the roast and to bottom of roast, place finger where top of roast is. Pull skewer out and place the center against lip, skewer should feel slightly cool.
           
10. Put roast back into oven and leave for another hour. Repeat process above. Remove roast when temperature reaches ~104 degrees or metal skewer is warm to lip.  If not at ideal temperature, re-check in ½ hour.
    [in this case, 1 hour yielded a raise in 13 degrees, so in ½ hour temperature should be perfect]
    
11. Immediately after removing roast, loosely cover with foil and place to side. (This will continue to cook the roast from the remaining heat in the bones & cause the blood to be absorbed back into the roast).    
12. Let rest for 10 minutes for medium-rare, 5 minutes for rare, 15 minutes for medium well.
1. To slice the prime rib, start by first taking a head count. Cut the strings off of the prime rib and move out of the way. Cut the prime rib in half and then slice each of the halves in the appropriate number of pieces. By cutting it in half, it is easier to eyeball the number of pieces you need so everyone gets an even size piece.
              
   
13. Enjoy!
    

Digital Perm!

The Lazy Girl Guide to a Digital Perm.

   

   I will fully admit I am a lazy person when it comes to my hair & my face. Luckily for me, Genetics agreed with me and I am able to get away with (for the most part) not brushing my hair & just tying it up in a pony tail.  I wanted to get my hair cut, and was feeling cheap, so I went on craigslist and searched "hair models". On Craigslist, there was a listing for a digital perm and so I decided to sign up and see if I was a candidate!

Luckily for me, I was! and so I was on the list for a free digital perm at Terry DeMarco's Barbaria in Foster City. 

The before and after: 

before: after: 

Background on my hair: Thick, straight and does NOT like to hold a curl. Like alot of thick Asian hair, you can try to curl it, but unless you have skills, it probably won't stay. This was my first process done to my hair (i.e. virgin hair), so I've never permed, dyed, or done any other chemical process on my hair. 

Process: My appointment was at 9 AM and I was completely done by around 1:30. Yes it is a LONG time. As some other people have mentioned it DOES stink. Since I was a hair model, the people doing my process were being trained so it might have taken a bit longer than normal, and my hair was being stubborn so we had to sit a bit longer for my hair to 'relax' before they could add the heat element. 

The obligatory 'medusa' digital perm shot. 

The salon: The staff at Barbaria are SO nice! It's a really beautiful salon and you can totally tell that the staff gets along & they are all experienced. I was a little hesitant to be a hair model for something so permanent, especially since they haven't done it before. I would suggest that anyone looking for their hair to get done to go there! It's very clean & they give you little robes to put on so you don't have to worry about cut hair getting into your clothes. Even as someone getting a free service, I was treated nicely. 

If you're anything like me, you signed up for this digital perm (or someone mentioned it to you, or for whatever reason you came up with the idea) and so now you're doing research on it! For me, I thought that the digital perm was going to be an 'easy way to get beautiful loosely curled hair' and for the most part (in my case) that's true. The most useful website for me by far was http://eatpraylove.hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Take-Care-Of-Digital-Permed-Hair. The author breaks down what a digital perm is, and the two videos are by far the most helpful out there for teaching you to section and twirl your hair. 

If you just got your digital perm, and you're waiting to wash your hair (since they say don't shower for 24-48 hours to let it 'set'), your hair might start to look like this: 

(this was actually only 4 hours after the salon)

(this was roughly 24 hours after) 

DON'T PANIC! If you are like me, you are freaking out and thinking your hair is the one type of hair to completely reject any idea of being wavy.. And you start googling things like "what to do when your digital perm fails". Mine was free & I was freaking out, so I can only imagine the panic if I had paid money for it. DON'T WORRY! Once you shower, your straightened digital perm will pop back into its beautiful curly new self. 

Things that work for me: twirling my hair. I never used to play with my hair, now I play with it almost constantly. This might sound stupid, but one side of my hands twirled one way, and the other twirled the other. Don't do this! I ended up having to retrain my left hand to twirl in the same direction as my right. Think about it this way, if you curl something counter clockwise and then go back and curl it clockwise, it'll just end up confused, and then straighten out. 

Online there are not a lot of suggested products, most of the posts by people are from the phillipines, and if you live in the US like me, you can find those products on Amazon.com.  However, I had a $10 coupon for Ulta so I wanted to buy my products there. I bought the Tigi Foxy Curl Definer spray to help my curls out when it's not wet, and when it's dry, I use the curl defining cream that I bought from Barbaria. I also bought a conditioning mask and use that once a week. 

Overall: I think that the digital perm looks pretty good. It doesn't quite look like all the pictures you see online of amazingly curled hair thats like Victoria Secret or Salon status, but I'm sure thats more me not knowing how to achieve that than the digital perm itself. Like I said, I'm kind of a dummy when it comes to these things.  I don't know that the product really helps, I feel like the cream weighs my hair down a bit, but it does seem to keep more of a 'curl'. I tried sleeping with the suggested 'princess leia' buns, but must have done it wrong cause I woke up looking like a poodle.. no joke. I had a lot of baby hairs before, so the digital perm did seem to smooth those out, and I feel like my hair looks a lot more interesting curled than it does straight. I do not have a diffuser, so I can't blow dry my hair properly. So I try to air dry my hair for the most part (this takes about 3-4 HOURS UGH) twirling the whole time. My hair seems to keep the curl pretty well, although I do twirl it whenever I can. I work in a surgery room so for a majority of the day it's kept in a single bun in the back (even though I know they say 2 is better). It's a good way to have curly hair if you don't know how to use a curling iron! 

This is 3 weeks after my Digital perm. 

Even though it says that the digital perm will last 3 months, I'm doubtful that it will last that long.. 

Overall,  If you're going to get a digital perm:

• Buy some product. You can get away without any product but I think that it's good to have on hand. 
• Be prepared to have wet hair that you are going to need to twirl after your shower for a couple of hours. 
• DON'T panic the first 48 hours of your perm. One post suggested to wait a week before you freak out as this is when your hair will 'relax' into the style its going to hold. Please don't be like me and call the salon you got it done with in a panic. 
• Twirl your hair as much as you can without seeming like an idiot. In my opinion, the longer and more you twirl your hair, the longer your curls will stay around. 

If you live in the California Bay Area, I would totally suggest going to Barbaria Salon in Foster City. They're really nice, and they know what they are doing.

  Good luck! I'll try to re-update with what happens to it later on. 

Spinach Manicotti

Spinach and Cheese Manicotti

 I wasn't able to find a recipe I liked so I combined two recipes and then added a twist of my own. This is very easy to make and apparently can be done ahead of time (according to one of the recipes). The two recipes I referenced were "http://www.cookingclassy.com/2012/05/manicotti-a-simple-yet-incredible-entree/" and "https://ringr.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/manicotti-stuffed-with-spinach-ricotta/"

My family is only 3, and not large eaters so I only made half of the box, or enough to fill a 9x9 pan.
For the noodles, I used:
1/2 pkg (or 4 oz) of Manicotti Noodles
1/2 container (or approx 8 oz) Ricotta Cheese
1/2 lb finely grated Mozzerella Cheese
3 oz finely grated Parmersean
1 egg
1 tbsp basil
1/2 cup frozen spinach (defrosted & drained)
2 cloves garlic sauteed in olive oil
sprinkle of black pepper.

For the Sauce I used:
2 cloves garlic (minced and sauteed in olive oil)
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 Tbsp dried basil
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp parsley, oregano, thyme
1/4 tsp italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:

1. Cook the noodles according to the packaging.  
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 
3. Using a fork, mix together the cheeses (Ricotta, Mozzerella, and Parmersean). Then add the egg, basil and spinach and mix until well combined. Add the garlic & olive oil mixture and then sprinkle in pepper. Mix until creamy and then stuff the noodles with the filling (You can use a pastry bag, but I find that it's easier with your fingers).
4. Place stuffed manicotti to the side. 
5. Make the sauce.
1. Saute garlic in the olive oil and then add the canned crushed tomatoes.
2. Add the seasonings and mix
3. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes (stirring occasionally).
   
   
6. Pour sauce over the bottom of the pan and then lay manicotti on top.
   
   
   
   
7. Pour the rest of the sauce on top and then bake in oven for 20 minutes or until bubbly! 
8. Let cool so you don't burn your tongue and then serve while still warm.

Chocolate Brownies~

 Chocolate brownies!

  Today I baked chocolate brownies using a recipe that can be found at http://sweetasacookie.com/the-best-homemade-double-chocolate-brownies/. Unfortunately I ran out of eggs, so I had to change the Recipe a little bit. By replacing 2 eggs with 1 banana, it added a slight banana flavor resulting in a not as rich brownie. The banana also resulted in a lot moister, gooey-er brownies than it looks from the picture. I also only added 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips instead of 2 as the original recipe calls. Overall, I'm not convinced my changes resulted in the BEST recipe for my tastes, but I'd be willing to actually follow the recipe and give it another try.

Homemade Double Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tbs. vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 mashed banana
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

• 1
  Preheat oven to 350º F.
• 2
  Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with PAM.   Set aside.
• 3
  In a medium saucepan melt butter over low heat.
• 4
  Once butter is completely melted add in sugar and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour sugar mixture into a large bowl.
• 5
  Beat in cocoa, salt, baking powder, vanilla, eggs.
• 6
  Mix until combined.
• 7
  Stir in the flour and chocolate chips until well combined.
• 8
  Spread brownie batter into prepared pan (batter will be very thick).
• 9
  Bake for approximately 25 minutes.
• 10
  Cool on a cooling rack and enjoy!

Coconut Mocha Cupcakes!

A couple of months ago my friend was on a gluten free diet and I bought some shredded coconut to make him cupcakes. After I opened the bag, I realized I needed UNsweetened coconut so off to the back of the cupboard the bag went. Recently, I was looking for a new recipe to try, and low and behold I found this recipe for Coconut Mocha Cupcakes! http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2014/03/coconut-mocha-cupcakes/

I followed the recipe pretty much to the T, although I did not have any buttermilk so I had to make my own (1 TBSP vinegar and then filled to 1 cup with milk as shown here.) and I did not have any coconut extract so I just omitted it.  I also did not pour the batter into a measuring cup, but instead decided to spoon each into the cupcake holder using an ice cream scoop (this means uniform cupcakes, YAY!). Now I'm not quite sure what happened, but I managed to get 18 regular sized cupcakes & 48 mini cupcakes out of the recipe!! This works out for me as I planned on taking some to work & then the rest I will leave for my mom to take with her to work. However, if you're planning on just making some for yourself, be warned!

My oven bakes hot, so for the regular sized cupcakes I baked them for 17 minutes, while the mini cupcakes I baked for 8. Both times worked well for me, and when I inserted the toothpick they all came out clean. The recipe calls for cooling the cupcakes in the pan for 10 minutes and then removing them to a wire rack until they have cooled completely.

For the frosting I ALWAYS end up with extra frosting for some reason, so this time I decided to cut the recipe in half. I did forget I was halving it in the last step, and added 3 TBSP of coffee. This resulted in a strong coffee flavor, which I liked. Halving the frosting recipe produced EXACTLY the right amount of frosting, which was a little too close for comfort. (although there was still some frosting on the spatula I used & some of the mini cupcakes got skimpy frosting)

If I were to make these cupcakes again (although I probably won't, not because they didn't taste good, but because I'm not a huge coconut fan), I would definitely try toasting the coconut so that the coconut inside the cupcakes weren't as chewy... not a fan of that kind of texture!! Overall, the cupcakes turned out pretty good, rich chocolate cupcakes with a hint of coconut (although you could definitely tell there was coconut based on the texture) and coffee. I really liked the frosting which wasn't too sweet but instead had a nice chocolate/coffee flavor. I will probably come back to the frosting, but try a different type of chocolate cupcake!

Sticky Asian Pork

Dinner for April 3rd:

 Sticky Asian Pork.

Sticky "Asian" Pork

     This recipe was found on Foodgawker.com which is one of my favorite recipe websites. The actual recipe can be found at http://mygoldenpear.com/2014/03/02/sticky-asian-pork/. 

     I deviated a bit from the original recipe because I don't care to eat onions. So instead of chopping the onion very small, I left them in slightly larger pieces so I could easily pick them out. I also did not add the chili flakes as I don't care for spicy food. The recipe turned out a lot lighter in color than the recipe picture, but I don't think that it tasted bad. It sort of tasted like the peanut pork you would get at a thai restaurant but with a sweeter onion flavor. I also used clementines (or cuties!) instead of an orange because that was what i had on hand, this may have added to the sweet flavor, instead of maybe the tangy orange flavor? The next time I make this dish, I think I would reduce the onion to 1/2 onion (instead of the whole onion) and then add some garlic and fish sauce to round out the flavors a little bit. The recipe also called for 2 TBSP of crunchy peanut butter but I only had extra crunchy and smooth. I did 1 1/2 TBSP extra crunchy and then 1/2 TBSP creamy. I may add 1 TBSP creamy and 1 TBSP extra crunchy the next time to add more of a peanut-y flavor. Overall, I think that it was a good recipe & I will try to make it again. It was a good 'throw together' dish as the pork does not need to be marinated, just sliced and fried, although the sauce does take some time to reduce. If you wanted to speed the process up, I would drain some (maybe half) of the 'pork juices' out of the fried pork so there is not as much liquid. My pork (after being fried) probably 'sweated' about 1 cup of pork juices that were then added to the sauce. 

Bulgogi & Lemon bars

Dinner made on April 1st: 

 Bulgogi! 

 This recipe was a success! Found at http://alohaworld.com/ono/viewrecipe.php?id=1098731563&category=Beef, it tasted yummy! I accidentally cut too much ginger off the root, adding about 1-2 TBSP instead of the tsp that the recipe calls for. To make up for this, I doubled the rest of the ingredients in the recipe. The meat turned out a little bit salty, but I don't think that this made the dish not tasty. If you are sensitive to salt, I would suggest using low sodium shoyu.  I think it was better to let it burn a bit in the pan and then use the beef to 'wipe' up the sauce from the pan before doing the next round of meat. Slicing the meat while the beef was still frozen worked best to get thin slices. 

after that, 

Lemon Bars!

The lemon bars were made from a recipe given to my family by our next door neighbor. I made both a 9x9 pan (for my dad) and a 9 x13 pan (for my work). The recipe was for a 9x9 pan, so I essentially tripled it to make it easier. This made it a little bit difficult, especially when I was trying to divide up the batter portion. I accidentally poured more batter into the 9 x 9 pan, so my dad will get thicker lemon portion than my work people. The recipe called for a 350 degrees and 25 minutes of final baking. As the pictures showed, the 9x9 pan came this close to burning so in the future I will definitely be checking the bars at 20 minutes. The 9 x13 pan was the perfect temperature so I think 25 minutes was good for the larger pan.  The lemon bars were also finished with a lemon frosting made from lemon juice and powdered sugar. I used 2 lemons to dilute the powdered sugar, but I think think that it would have been better to use 3 lemons and make the frosting very thin. The consistency I used was more of a past and it would pull up the pieces of lemon bar underneath. I'm not sure how this will affect the finished project, as I still have to wait for them to cool before I can cut into the pan.