Sunday Lunch

I like the Sunday Lunch traditional made popular by the English. Well I am certain that many cultures take to a Sunday Lunch rather than the North American Sunday dinner we enjoy; but lunch on a Sunday frees up the rest of the day or evening for families to have some rejuvination time before the work week takes over. Last week I invited my hubby's family over for Sunday Lunch and I served the most delicious Crusted Prime Rib Roast Sandwhiches. Originally it was suggested that I throw some hotdogs on the grill because my mother-in-law likes hotdogs...but to tell you the God's honest truth...I just couldn't sign my name to that. It's not like I've anything against a good hotdog - I enjoyed exactly 2 and a half this summer which I'll write about in a moment. However, adults are not children and even our children are tired of being served tubesteaks at every possible turn. Back to lunch. It was a delicious lunch that I served with a new appetizer and my famous cauliflower soup. Bon Appetite!!!

Prime Rib Roast Sandwhiches - Always have a thermometer to cook your roast. Set the oven to 450 degrees. I have also read to put your roast in the oven at when the meat itself is room temperature. My roast came straight from the refrigerator because I had to hurry and get it in as we were having company at noon. First off make a paste to rub all over the roast:

Tara's Prime Rib Paste: in a bowl mix, one cut up small onion, 2 tbsp. of creamy horseradish, 2 tbsp. of fresh oregano (use dried if you like), 1 tbsp. of fresh bottled garlic, 1 tsp. of salt, 1/2 tsp. of pepper, 1/4 cup of mayo, 1/4 cup of flour, and 1/4 cup of red wine. Stir all together until creamy and mixed well. Now saturate the roast in the paste PUT IN YOUR MEAT THERMOMETER then put the roast into the 450 degree oven for 20 minutes on the middle rack. Check it over the next 20 minutes to make sure that the crust doesn't burn. Everyone's oven is different. Put on lowest rack if you prefer.

This should make the paste on your roast into a nice crust. Then lower the temperature to 300 degrees. Babysit your roast and check the thermometer from time to time to see how you would like to serve your roast. We served ours just before it hit medium as I was making sandwhiches and didn't want the bread to look like a crime scene. Once again it is your personal choice - don't let anyone argue with you about it! My roast was in for about 2 hours. It's nice then to let the roast rest for at least 20 minutes before cutting and serving. Make a little tin foil tent over it while still in the pan.

While Your Prime Rib is cooking.....

Here is a quaint little crostini appetizer I made partially the night before. Save the baguette part of it for the morning just before company arrives. Let it be the last thing you do.

Gorgonzola and Grape Crostini: Put the following into a container overnight to save on time in the morning and to allow the flavors of the mixture to mingle and develop. 1/4 cup of carmelized onions, 1 cup of sliced green or red or both grapes, 2 tbsp. of fresh oregano leaves, 1/4 cup of white or red wine, 2 tbsp. of sugar, 1/4 tsp. of black pepper. In the morning slice up baguette into 1 inch slices and toast at a low temperature until just slightly brown. Flip all of the baguette slices over and do the same on the other side. Allow to cool so that when you add the cheese, it won't melt. Once cool, add a generous tsp. of gorgonzola cheese per baguette slice, then top with the grape mixture. Be careful to drain the juices before topping it on the bread. You don't want it to get soggy. You can garnish with a little more oregano and serve. My mother in law who is very picky loved this. P.S. The carmelized onions added a lovely buttery taste to the crostini.

My Famous Cauliflower Soup: When making this soup, just keep tasting it until you like it. This is a soup with measurements, but I am always adding a little more pepper, or nutmeg, or salt, or whatever it needs. Boil one head of cauliflower until tender. Cool. Then put the cauliflower and about three cups of the water you boiled it in, into a blender. Liquify until blended and creamy. Then add one package of Boursin Cheese - which you can find in the deli section of an urban grocery store (there is also a recipe for mock Boursin cheese which you can search for on the internet that you make with cream cheese) and continue blending. Pour back into the pot and bring to a light boil, then turn the soup down to low. I simmered my soup for a couple of hours. It got pretty thick so I added a cup of cream to the pot. I also added a couple of pinches of nutmeg, salt, and pepper until it was just right for me. I also added a little artificial sweetener to it to bring the flavor up; perhaps just a tsp. of it, feel free to add a little sugar instead. Because I didn't have enough soup bowls for this rather large group, I served the soup in dainty tea cups passed on to my husband and I from his late Grandfather. They looked good and it was just enough soup, the perfect serving - not too much and not too little.