Maxine Visits And We Prepare Saturday Night Dinner.

My dear friend, Maxine, came for her semi-annual visit this weekend and you can believe that lots of delicious food was consumed. Our menu for Saturday night dinner: Rib roast with a brandy and peppercorn sauce Smashed herbed potatoes Mashed turnips Green pea/mushroom/onion/wilted lettuce

Here's the mise en place for the brandy peppercorn sauce, a Tyler Florence recipe. olive oil shallots

garlic fresh thyme brandy beef stock cream coarse grain mustard green and pink peppercorns in brine

I sliced the shallot, minced the garlic, and used my handy-dandy herb strippers to strip the thyme leaves off the stems.

I sauteed the shallots, garlic, and thyme in the olive oil for a few minutes.

Brandy gets added to the pan. I wish I'd remember to keep my camera horizontal when shooting videos, but I always forget. I guess I get too excited what with flames shooting in the air. More flames.

After the flames died down, I added the beef stock and reduced by half.

Maxine helps out in the kitchen.

Cream went in next.

Then the mustard.

Reduce again by half.

And finally add in the peppercorns. I'll be making this sauce again as it is quite good. As a matter of fact, I'm eating a roast beef sandwich on whole wheat toast with Gray Poupon mustard and horseradish for lunch right now and I'm dipping it into the Brandy/Peppercorn sauce. And it is goooooood.

Next, Amy Finley's cracked potatoes. Except I used sage and rosemary instead of thyme, so I guess that makes them Rosie Hawthorne's potatoes.

Since Maxine had never had turnips except for raw ones, Mr. Hawthorne made mashed turnips. Just simmer turnip slices until tender, mash with butter, and add salt and pepper. It's a very nice change from mashed potatoes, and makes you go, "Hmmm, what's that flavor?" Except NOT.

I really like my pea/mushroom/onion/wilted lettuce dish. Just saute mushrooms in butter. (Don't add salt until after mushrooms are browned, else the salt draws out the moisture in the shrooms and they'll steam instead of saute.) Add in FROZEN PEAS - NOT CANNED, because if you use canned, yes, I will hunt you down and cause physical harm.

Add in onion chunks and lettuce and just heat until lettuce is wilted. Salt and pepper. And you have a delicious side dish. Next, a 7-pound, bone-in rib roast.

Mr. Hawthorne trimmed off some of the fat, then seasoned with salt and pepper.

Mr. Hawthorne put the roast in a preheated 500 degree oven for 12 minutes, then cut the oven off, opened the door, and got the temperature down to 225. This is where a digital thermometer is crucial. When the internal temperature reached 122 degrees, he took the roast out of the oven and let it continue to cook, covered, until the temperature reached 135 degrees.

And here's a wonderfully tender, rare roast.

Here's our meal: rare roast beef with brandy peppercorn sauce, mashed turnips, peas with onions, mushrooms, and wilted lettuce, and cracked potatoes with sage and rosemary. In case you were wondering, this was a delicious meal.