Primal Steer

Here in the land of beef, there are cows a plenty and as much meat as you can fathom. Just because the price of moo-moos has gone up in recent times doesn't make it any less delicious, or less craved. Or carved.

The husband comes from a farming family, many of which to this day raise beef cattle, and have on occasion provided us with cuts of amazing beef from their grass fed creatures. There is no comparison between this prior mentioned meat and what you get at the stores, even the best butchers. The fresh-factor is incredible. As soon as I am allowed to purchase a deep freeze, we will be purchasing a quarter or even half a cow for our very own, and then there will be beef a plenty for 6 months or more. Prime Partying!

I had never actually had home cooked prime rib before last night. This cut of meat is more expensive than the tenderloin, it seems--or at least close in price. It was almost 10 lbs for the 9 family members that were at table. You have to realize there were 5 men at the table, all of whom are exemplary eaters. We had only a little left in the end for treats today at lunch. As the chefs du jour, we chose a potato gratin, potatoes with 4 cups of cream, garlic, thyme and chives to go along, and a simple salad with homemade dressing. The Roast was cooked bone in with a crust of fresh horseradish and garlic, which was not curiously strong at all until after it was cooked for 2 hours. It was a perfect med-rare, and it was silent round the table after serving time. We did an accompanying mushroom sauce for the topper.

We brought a couple of bottles of the vine with us, and this year's beaujolais nouveau went along like a song.

This new holiday tradition in the husband's family's house will be much missed next year when we're with mine in Kansas, so we'll be expecting the P.R. at Thanksgiving, instead of the noble bird.

Happy Holidays to all!