Beef

Richard and Rib Eye

8/03/2008 11:27:00 PM

Sarah: I can't think of a starter to make before the beef on Monday...
Richard: Fuck the starter, let's get straight into the meat!

Good idea.
Rib-Eye Beef Roast, Rendinas Bio-Dynamic & Organic Butchery
Big pointy fork, Kitchen Drawer
Peer Sorensen Chopping Board, Gift from Uncle Mike
Freakin' Sweet Santoku Knife, Kappabashi Kitchen Town in Tokyo



***From the Archives*** I see the photos for this post were uploaded and saved in APRIL, and I'm only publishing them now! Whoops. Better late than never. Enjoy!


I love cooking roasts! I developed a taste for it when I made dozens of them during my How to Eat Project. (Notably from the meat-heavy Weekend Lunch chapter). I don't make them that often any more, but when I do, I like to go all out. We had a meat-loving family friend over for dinner, who we knew would appreciate some good quality beef. I tried to keep the menu quite simple, and let the amazing rib-eye do the talking. Now, a big-ass hunk of organic rib-eye beef will not be cheap. In fact, it will be eyebrow-raisingly expensive. It's totally worth it though - even if just for the improvement in taste from conventional beef. Besides, we only have roasts once in a blue moon, so it's not too bad on the old hip-pocket.

Richard kindly donated dessert, and even more kindly, cleared this with me in advance. Some of you may remember that my biggest pet peeve is when people bring desserts to dinner parties without asking or telling you first. What gives? Anyway, back to the menu.


A Meat-Lover's Dinner for 5
Union Square Cafe Bar Nuts (Nigella Bites)
Rib-Eye Roast of Beef (How to Eat, Feast)
Blue Cheese Dressing (Tyler's Ultimate)
Garlic Creme (Sydney Food)

Goosefat Roast Potatoes
(How to Eat, Feast)
Rocket Salad

Triple Layer Chocolate Mousse Cake (Thank-you Richard!)


Union Square Cafe Bar nuts - my staple pre-dinner nibble. I've recently realised that these can be made a few days in advance, left to cool, and stored in airtight containers. They're better warm, but still great cold, so don't beat yourself up about it.


The table - It was very simple - I didn't want to go OTT, but I still wanted to make sure the table was set before anyone was due to arrive, to give a welcoming impression.

The Sauces - I really went to town with the sauces! I guess I wanted to be like Vlado and let my guests choose whatever condiment they wanted with their beef.
In the background: Tyler Florence's blue-cheese dressing (including blue cheese, chives and buttermilk). In the foreground: Bill Granger's garlic crème (from his steak sandwich recipe).

Impossibly cute condiment set, sent to me by the lovely Lisa as a graduation gift. From left to right: Dijon mustard, Wholegrain mustard, Hot English mustard (hoo-ah!), Tomato Sauce, BBQ Sauce. We only really needed the mustards, but I couldn't leave 2 pots empty.


Goosefat roast-potatoes - These seem to have become my signature dinner-party dish, which I didn't realise until Richard actually started requesting them at various times during the preceding week.
Mmm.... crispy.

Rocket Salad - lightly and astringently dressed to counteract the heaviness of the beef. And to be healthy... oh, who am I kidding?

I bought a 5-pronged rib-eye (one rib per person), which worked out at just over 2 kilos, from memory. It was easy to slice into individual portions.
Who's your daddy?

That's a lot of meat. I used to always have heaps of leftovers whenever I made a roast. Not this time. We devoured all the meat, inhaled the potatoes, and after a glass or two of wine, I was classily gnawing the meat off the rib bones. Damn tasty. (I'll add here that I should have made more potatoes. Fearful of waste, I only made 1 kilo of potatoes, and despite the meat-fest, we could have easily eaten more. No-one said anything on the night, but I noticed that people were eyeing off the last of the roast potatoes. Don't tell Nigella! Oh, the shame of being undercatered!)

And then we got stuck into dessert...

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7 comments

  1. I'm eagerly awaiting my dinner party :D

    I looooove potatoes!

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  2. I love potatoes too! Will you bring a hot date to the dinner party? Or some wine? Hehehe

    xox Sarah

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  3. Like the goose fat roast spuds ( he says before coronary)

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  4. Of course i'd bring a hot date... as long as i can find one!! and wine too.. though i wouldnt know what to buy!!

    xox

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  5. Do my eyes decieve me or are those individual white chocolate lindt balls on the mousse? My very favourite things, what a genius idea. That beef looks gorgeous, sounds like a fabulous dinner. I've never looked back after making Nigella's roast potatoes :)

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  6. Goose fat potatoes sound good. But I'm so ready for a rib eye steak right now. I've been meaning to try cooking a rib eye steak after seeing Guillaume Brahimi do one on Food Safari. It looks so tender and delicious.

    Don't you like people brining dessert? I'd be more than happy if others brought dessert without me knowing beforehand, it just means more leftovers for me later. Though like you wrote in your other post, it's probably rare that someone will dessert anyway.

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  7. Anonymous9:00 PM

    Oh..what did u get the cake from??triple choco?

    ReplyDelete

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