alright here's the final pics...smoked prime rib and rotisserie boneless leg of lamb.

prime rib was awesome and cooked perfectly...everyone wanted different levels of doneness so I just cut the whole thing in smaller pieces rather than slices so it looks kind of weird....

lamb was just slightly over cooked for my preference but still very tasty. I think I took it to about 133 or so and then it rested for about an hour so probably rose to 140. Delicious but just a tad too medium for me.











prime rib is the last pic, lamb is second to last pic

overall, I would do the exact same thing and just pull the lamb off a little earlier to get more medium rare but it was my first time on lamb so lesson learned plus I figured I would rather go solid medium rather than scare people with some rare. Prime rib looked really rare because of the low and slow hickory/cherry smoke but it was pulled at approximately 128 and then rest and broiled for 5 mins right before service

served with green bean casserole, twice baked potatoes, Caesar salad and a lot of booze

merry Christmas

Looks delicious!

Very impressive durango.

Here's the Christmas dinner I made for my parents as well as my aunt and uncle. I made everything from scratch except the salad dressings and the chocolate and caramel sauces. I ran out of time, oh well. I made some baguette dough which I brought over there to bake fresh before the meal.

First course: mixed spring green salad with a cucumber lily and a tomato rose (youtube ftw)



Second course: 120° sous vide cold water South African lobster tail with a champagne and lemon bearnaise sauce, pan fried asparagus, and a scallion tree. I poured some clarified butter over the lobster after the pic.


3rd course: 124° sous vide filet mignon that I pan fried for about 50 seconds a side in a super hot cast iron pan in clarified butter. There's also red wine shallot and garlic reduction sauce, a spiral cut portabella mushroom, and a pomme maxim (the potato pin wheel thing). I screwed up plating this one, because I didn't try putting the pomme maxim into the slit I cut in the mushroom until I already had put the mushroom on top of the mashed potatoes. I had piped the potatoes all fancy-like onto the plate. They unfortuately got mushed down a bit. silly me, I should have put them in the mushroom first before plating. oh well



4th Course: My peanut butter cup cheesecake.



Everyone loved the meal, and I got a couple "best lobster I ever had" and this is the first time I have cooked it. Sous Vide for the win!

Man that looks so good. I really want that desert. I can sprinkle peanut butter cups on your eggs.

Excellent dishes Benny, the attention to detail really shines through!

Very very nice work Benny.

very nice. lobster looks great.

Question: want a really good instant read thermometer. Is it worth the big bucks for the most expensive thermapen?

I think it would depend on how often you would use it and your budget. I have a cheap thermometer, probably spent about $30 or so on it, and it works great. I would still love a thermapen of course, but it would be a luxury for me as opposed to a necessity.

Thermapen so amazing.

++1

Has anyone had any experience with this - Reusable Teflon Cooking Mat?



My friend has been raving about how useful it is, and, by the sounds of it, it does look really good.

I'd stay away from Teflon anything always, due to health risks. For this, I'd just buy a Silpat?

+1

I've never used a teflon mat, but it sounds gimmicky and I don't how it could possibly be better/safer than a Silpat.

Currently brining a turkey using Alton Brown's Good Eats method - hopefully I'll get a couple pics up tomorrow

Got some wellfleet oysters from whole foods and just shucked them out..,.absolutely delicious with some fresh horseradish, spicy cocktail sauce and a splash of lemon

okay so here's a strange post:

for the life of me i can't remember the word that describes a special and rich meal, something that's a treat and usually fattening I suppose, i feel it starts with a "d" but i'm really not sure and it's doing my head in.

you can also use this word to describe non-food things, like a vacation to Dubai at a 7* hotel where you got massages by 5girls at once every day, you get the idea.

I know, ******ed post, but i had nfi where to search for this after google failed me

Decadent?

YES thank you!!!! now i can sleep tonight

Best book to pick up for a beginner cook is?
Not necessarily a recipe book, more just a book on general cooking principles...maybe some recipes too

Essentials of Classic Italian cooking, Marcella hazan.

Modernist cuisine is pretty much goat if you are scientifically minded and curious. It delves deep into the essence of cooking and covers a wide variety of subjects. The recipes mostly might not be too accessible though, haven't read the at home edition, but I suspect those are better.

Despite feeling like Tim feriss is a huckster of sorts, the 4 hour chef is pretty good for basic info and some easy recipes.

If you're at all interested in food I'd recommend anyone reads On Food And Cooking by Harold McGee.

From wiki:

I'd recommend Ruhlman's Twenty: 20 Techniques 100 Recipes A Cook's Manifesto

Its got good recipes & very good pictures of the steps and the recipes I've done are very good