Eye of the Round

This turns out a great Eye of the Round every time.  

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  Season the roast with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and rub all over with butter.  (If you are feeling ambitious, insert garlic cloves inside the roast).  Place roast in pan or baking dish, and DO NOT COVER and DO NOT ADD WATER.   

Place the roast in a preheated oven, but begin by reducing the temperature to 475 degrees.  Roast for 7 minutes per pound.  (3 lb roast would go in for 21 minutes). 

Turn off oven after the initial heated roast.   Let meat sit in hot oven for 2 hours. 

After the first hour, remove roast to brush over with juices and insert meat thermometer.  Set alarm to notify when internal temperature has reached 135.  

Greek Dressing

Ina Garten's Greek Salad Recipe is delicious, but for quick reference, below is the guide to the dressing itself.  

1/2 Cup Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 ground pepper
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Thanksgiving Turkey - Best Ever ...so they say

Our first year in the dorm coincided with our actual wedding. While we married the June before school started (living in sin was no way to start things off), we saved the real ceremony for November - November 15th to be exact. With all the family in town for the wedding, Thanksgiving was notably downplayed; it didn’t make sense for everyone to gather in town again. So, I was left to make Thanksgiving dinner for my new husband and his father.


Now, my husband tells me that the turkey I made that year was the best he’d ever had. He also tactlessly told his mother that it was the best turkey he had ever eaten. As we have mentioned in earlier submissions, my darling husband does not have the most discriminating palate, but I might have to agree that it was a damn good bird. The first tip to any great meal is to starve your guests so they are so hungry by the time dinner is served that Tofurkey was seem delicious Kidding… it was rather late when ate dinner that year.



Item #1 - Turkey Prep: After the Bird is Thawed
Ingredients:
Thawed Turkey
Dried Poultry Seasoning (get good stuff - splurge on Williams Sonoma or Fresh Market’s Brand)
Butter
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Plastic Wrap
Huge Ziploc Bag (optional)

Instructions:
Ok, once the turkey has thawed, it requires little preparation before cooking. Remove the neck and giblets from the body cavity. Wash the inside and outside of the turkey; rinse the giblets separately and in a bowl (set aside). To prevent the spread of bacteria, wash your hands, utensils and sink after they have come in contact with the raw turkey.  409 is your best friend!

Dry the bird with a clean, fresh bar towel… pat it softly (like you really care about its safety, after all, it was a $40 dollar investment – give it some love).  In a bowl, make a goopy mess of cold (but soft) butter and a bit of olive oil.  Kneed it with your fingers and then apply to the turkey gently massaging the bird.  Again, I cannot reiterate this enough: adding a little love comes through in the taste - I swear! After you massage the butter and oil, apply salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning to the outside of the bird. Essentially, we want a buttery oily outside with great seasoning coating. Wrap your turkey in saran wrap – TIGHT!

Item #2 - Turkey Prep: Just Before it Enters the Oven


Dry Rubbed Bird

Butter

Olive Oil

Fresh Rosemary

Fresh Marjoram

Fresh Sage

Fresh Thyme

Fresh Oregano

**For all these herbs, just buy a couple packages, depending on the bird size, of the Fresh Poultry Blend at your local market**

Celery

Onions

Lemons - washed

Breadcrumbs



In a large bowl, combine fresh herbs (chopped and cut), vegetables (cut in large pieces), Breadcrumbs, and Lemons (washed and cut). Add butter

Arroz Con Pollo

This is Cai's delicious Arroz Con Pollo.  It proves that if you ask someone to make a dish so many time, eventually, they will give you the recipe:
Chicken Thighs (8-10)
1 Cup Pearl Rice
3 Chicken Broth
1 8oz Tomato Sauce
4 Cloves Garlic
1 Green Pepper
1 Yellow Onion
Manzanilla Olives
1 8oz Can LeSeur Petit Peas
8oz Beer
Pimentos
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
1 Tbsp Oregano
3 Bay Leaves
Saute Chicken with minced garlic and onion in EVOO.
Add tomato sauce, stir and simmer a couple of minutes.
Add rice and 3 cups of chicken broth, salt, pepper, oregano, and bay leaves.  Add the green pepper (quartered).  Bring to a boil.
Add beer and reduce heat to a low simmer and cover.  When liquids start to get low, add olives, pimentos, and peas. Taste and adjust if the mixture looks too dry.  

Christmas Sugar Cookies

Grandmother Dorothy's Sugar Cookie Recipe is delicious.  Who knows what will happen to the tattered, dirty note card, so here's to preservation!

2 Cups Sifted Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Cup Butter or Shortening
1 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Tbsp Milk
1/4 tsp salt

Sift 1 1/2 cups of flour with baking powder and salt.  Cream the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and milk.
Mix well.  Add enough of the remaining flour to make a dough just thick enough to roll.  Chill.  Roll to about 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured board.  Cut, decorate.

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes

**Cookies may be decorated with green strips of gum drops to resemble a candle.  Use red gum drop cut into a triangle for the flame.  (Before Baking).