Tasty!

Christmas 2012 was different in a couple of ways. First, it was on Tuesday. Really...Tuesday. I'm not a big fan of Tuesday. I wish Christmas could always come on the weekend; Sunday would be good. Christmas in church every year would be terrific. But I was happy no matter what day it fell on, because secondly, The Horn Player and I were off from work together. That's not the rule, but the exception for us. The Lott family shindig was at my brother's 'camp' on Toledo Bend the Saturday before, which by-the-way was wonderful with all our folks together. The losses in the family were obvious, but our resolve to stay tight and make it a celebration despite the underlying sadness was solid. We made the best of it and our first Christmas without Mama and my uncle was okay. We are family no matter what happens to us. 

My brother made a big ole pot of Seafood Gumbo and it's always spot on. I made Mammy's Potato Salad to enjoy with the gumbo and my sister-in-law made 7-Layer Salad. The food was scrumptious and the family time was invaluable. I took a box of old family photo's I'd gotten from Mama's closet and we sat on the floor and shared lots of memories, but mostly laughs. Even the weather cooperated. It was a perfect day to be on the lake.

When Christmas day rolled around, the weather had decidedly taken a turn for the worst. It was cold and very rainy, but it was also Christmas. I was happy to be at home cooking something wonderful; something I'd always wanted to enjoy at Christmastime. Our local supermarket features special cuts like Standing Rib Roast around the holidays and I couldn't pass up another opportunity to experience the cooking and enjoy the feasting. 

4 lb. - 2 rib Standing Rib Roast

Here's what I did.

Allow the roast to come to room temperature. Mix together a spice rub with...

1 part Kosher salt
1/2 part black pepper
1/2 part garlic powder
1/4 part English dry mustard

Mix this together well.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Got some love in this roast, check out the heart ~ ♥

The dry rub I used can be made in any quantity you wish. I used 1-cup of Kosher Salt as the base.

Rub the spice mix on all sides of the roast until well coated. Store the remainder for use later on other meats. I use a small Mason jar to store mine in the spice cabinet.

Coated with my dry rub and into a hot black iron skillet

I preheated my black iron skillet in the oven and brushed a very thin film of oil on the bottom. Place the roast in the skillet rib side down with the fat cap up. Deposit this gorgeous thing into the oven for half an hour on 400 degrees then reduce the heat to 375 for the remaining cooking time. This depends on your oven and size/shape of the roast. The common rule is 16 minutes per pound, but after an hour check the internal temp with a meat thermometer, 115 to 120 degrees for rare and 125 to 130 degrees for medium rare. CHECK OFTEN if necessary to be sure it's just perfect.

The roast was cooked perfectly and our little dinner for two was one of the best Christmas dinner's I've ever had, if I do say so myself.