Dear Reader,
"Don't peek!" is an invitation that something wonderful is waiting. But those two words can also drive me crazy. Tell me not to peek, and then peeking is all I can think about. I can hardly stand waiting. "Patience Suzanne, patience."
One of my favorite recipes for a "foolproof" standing rib roast (which is an expensive cut of meat), requires "no peeking." So the first time I made the recipe and the instructions said to roast the meat for one hour, then turn off the oven and do NOT open the oven door for three hours--it was three hours of torture. Looking through the oven glass door, I had numerous conversations with the meat. "Are you sure you're okay in there? Do you know how much I had to pay for you? I have company coming for dinner, and if you don't turn out, what am I going serve?"
Don't peek! You've got to be kidding. How could one little peek, one little stick of a meat thermometer ruin the roast? But each time I reached to open the oven door, the recipe crawler kept flashing through my mind, warning, "DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR FOR 3 HOURS. This means you Suzanne." So I waited. Pulled up a chair in front of the oven and kept an eye on the roast but without opening the door.
"Remember, I'm out here if you need anything," I reminded the roast.
Popping a standing rib roast into the oven, shutting the door and not opening it again until it's ready to serve, should be one of the easiest, foolproof recipes to make. And in a way it was, with the exception of being an emotional wreck at the end of three hours. (When you buy a standing rib roast, it should really include one 3-hour calm-you-down pill.)
Worked up from all the fussing and anxiety over not peeking, after the three hours by then I was afraid to even open the oven door. But it was wasted worry. Indeed, it was a foolproof recipe. The rib roast did very nicely on its own. It was delicious, company was impressed, and if you make the recipe (below), remember--"Don't peek!"
STANDING RIB ROAST
1 five pound standing rib roast
3/4 cup salt
1/4 pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder (or season to your taste)
Allow roast to stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Rub roast with garlic, pepper and salt, place roast on a rack in the pan with the rib side down and the fatty side up. Roast for 1 hour. Turn off oven. Leave roast in oven but do not open the oven door for 3 hours. About 30 to 40 minutes before serving time, turn oven to 375 degrees and reheat the roast. Important: Do not remove roast or re-open the oven door from time roast is put in until ready to serve. "Now you can peek!"
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
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