Jaybird........here is my grandmother's hamloaf recipe! I am happy to share it. It is a favorite of my family and if my grandmother were alive, she would be 109! She was a GREAT cook and I inherited her personal cookbook with even recipes for all the shortages during the war!!!! Ham Loaf: 2 lbs. ground lean pork 2 lbs. ground lean ham 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups milk 2 cups crushed graham crackers Mix and shaape into a loaf. Put into a WELL(I found out the hard way) greased(or "Pam"ed) loaf pan. Ham loaf topping: 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard 1/2 cup vinegar 1 can tomato soup Mix and pour over loaf. Bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours. I usually double this and make two loaves. Just love it leftover too!! And for the prime rib, I don't use any rubs or anything. I just stick it in a roasting bag(the kind for turkeys) and bake until internal temp is about 145. With the Reynolds bags there is a chart to use.....but you can find tons of recipes for rubs and sauces to serve with it online. The one above with horseradish and sour cream sounds wonderful. My SO just uses horseradish, but I might just doctor it up this year!!! Whatever you do, don't be intimidated by a standing rib roast or prime rib. THey are just another type of roast!!!!!!!!! Good luck!!!! Julie

I'm unconcerned about using galvanized nails in roasting meat - at least, doing in occasionally. Here is why: Zinc is an essential nutrient, in small quantities. Recommended daily intake is about 11 mg/day for adults. There are zinc supplement pills, if you don't get enough. Upper limit for sustained intake is about 40 milligrams/day. For one-time exposure to zinc, toxic effects start around 100 mg. Each galvanized nail has around 0.6 gram of zinc. So about 15% of the zinc on the nail would have to dissolve into one serving of meat, to get into the range of toxicity. But the zinc coating on a nail won't start melting until around 800 F. This temperature is never reached inside the meat. It never gets above 120 F in there. That is a temperature similar to hot tap water. So I conclude that roughly "no" zinc got into the meat. Nails can have oil and grease on them too, but hopefully I cleaned that off by scrubbing with detergent and hot water.

As mentioned many times, my favourite method is the High Heat Method of Barbara Kakfa's. Produces a perfectly every time. I usually take my beef out of the oven when the temperature reaches 115 to 120°. As it rests for 15 to 20 minutes the internal temperature will rise another 5 to 10 degrees. Home Cookin 4.9 Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table High Heat cooking Instructions ============================== . General Instructions (for Barbara Kafka's "Roasting A Simple Art") "Different meats and different cuts have different cooking times. That's why there are recipes. I did try to find a universal rule so that I could say as I do for fish, "ten minutes per inch" or for chicken "ten minutes per pound," and then describe the exceptions. It didn't work. Timing is as much a factor of fat content, bone content, and the shape of the roast as a specific kind of meat. The only easy rules are for boneless loin of pork or beef (the shell or strip) and venison and beef fillet. They always cook in the same amount of time since the only way they increase in size is according to their length, which will not influence the cooking time." This is her recipe for a Simple Rib Roast 4 1/2 pound without short ribs Standing rib roast (2 Ribs) or 26 Pound standing rib roast (7 ribs total) 2 to 6 cloves garlic, peeled and slivered Kosher salt to taste Freshly ground black pepper 1/2 to 2 1/2 cups red wine for deglazing 1 recipe for Yorkshire pudding. Roast should be at room temperature, not taken directly from the fridge. Place oven rack on the second level from the bottom. Heat oven to 500°F. Place small roast in a 14 X 12 X2 inch roasting pan. bone side down. The large roast will need an 18 X 13 X 2 inch roasting pan. Snuggle most of the garlic, is using, under the fat and spread remainder under the meat. Season well with salt and pepper. Roast for 45 minutes. With meat in oven, reduce heat to 325° and roast for an additional 3 minutes per pound.( i.e.: 4lb =12minutes, 7lb = 21 minutes, 26 lb =78 minutes) etc..Increase heat to 450°F and roast for another 15 minutes regardless of size. Meat temperature should read 135 on an instant - read thermometer. If you like it more rare, reduce the additional 3 minutes per pound to 2 minutes or for less rare, increase the 3 minutes to 5 minutes. Remove roast from oven. Transfer to a serving platter. Pour or spoon off excess fat, reserving about 1/8 cup to 1/4 cup of fat. Put pan over high heat and add wine. Deglaze pan well scraping with a wooden spoon. Let reduce by half. Pour liquid into a small saucepan and reserve. For Whole New York Strip Loin, the directions are a little bit different. According to Barbara Kafka's instructions, it doesn't matter what size the New York strip roast is the directions are the same. Roasted New York Strip Loin one 10 pound New York Strip (16 inches) Trussed 1 head of garlic cloves lightly smashed and peeled, optional 3 to 4 springs fresh thyme kosher salt pepper 1 1/2 cup basic beef stock or a combination of beef stock, veal stock or red wine 2 tablespoons basic veal glaze optional. Place oven rack on second level from the top of the oven, or second from the bottom if the fat cover is thick. Heat oven to 500°F. Place strip of beef in an 18 x 12 x 2 inch roasting pan. If using, slip whole cloves of garlic between underside of meat and string. Tuck in the thyme. Slip some more garlic under the string along the top of the meat. Sprinkle the meat on all sides liberally with salt and pepper. Put into oven one hour before it will be served. Roast for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove and transfer meat to a platter. Cut off strings. Remove the garlic cloves that are too blackened to use. Pour fat from pan. Put the roasting pan on top of the stove. Add stock or wine and the veal glaze, if using and bring to a boil, scraping the bottom vigorously with a wooden spoon. Add flavorings, if using, and any juices that have collected in the platter on which the beef is resting. Let reduce by half. Taste for salt and pepper, pour into a sauceboat and serve. Roasted Whole beef Fillet According to Barbara........"I buy the meat by the inch. It cooks exactly the same way no matter the length as long as it s more than 4 inches long. When ordering, I usually allow about an inch and a quarter per person and an extra half inch for the two end slices. By this rule, six people will require an eight inch piece of fillet. The muscles in a fillet all run lengthwise so that when it is sliced a crossed the serving it is also tenderized. The fillet is also called the tenderloin, and it is tender. It is a long round muscle that hides behind the bones on which the shell steak and the rib roast reside. T-bone steaks have some of the shell and, on the other side of the bone, a circle of the fillet, or tenderloin. A filet mignon is a slice cut a crossed the whole fillet to make an individual steak. 4 to 5 pound whole beef fillet (about 3 to 3 1/2 inches in diameter, a good 18 inches long) 1 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 3/4 cup red wine for deglazing, optional, or 1 recipe semi-perigourdine sauce Place oven rack on second level from bottom. heat oven to 500°F Place fillet in an 18 x 12 x 2 inch roasting pan. Rub fillet with butter and oil. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. roast for 10 minutes. turn. roast 10 minutes more. Transfer fillet to a serving platter. Pour or spoon off excess fat. Put pan on top of the burner. Add the wine or sauce and bring contents to a boil while scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Let reduce by half. Season with salt and pepper. And if you have time, definitely presalt.

I didn't think earlier, but this is an excellent dish for using up cooked meats. It calls for beef or lamb, but I have made it with roast pork or chicken as well and it is delicious. Lamb or Beef Jhal Fraizi -from, "Foolproof Indian Cooking," by Madhur Jaffrey-with slight changes and notes of my own. 350 g (12 oz) cooked, boneless roast lamb or beef 3 T olive oil 1/4 t cumin seeds 1/4 t brown mustard seeds** 8 fenugreek seeds*** 100 g (1 medium) green bell pepper, cut into strips. 1-2 hot green chilies (such as serranos), cut into long, thin slivers. (****Ms. Jaffrey says not to remove the seeds, but if you've a tender mouth, I would scrape the seeds & pith out to cool the dish down.) 150 g (1 medium) onion, cut into half rings, similar in size to the peppers. 1 t Worcestershire sauce 1 t ground cumin 1 t ground coriander 1/4 t ground turmeric 3/4 t salt Freshly ground black pepper to taste. Julienne the cooked meats in 1/4 to 1/2 inch strips. Heat the oil over a medium high heat until quite hot, then add the cumin, mustard and fenugreek seeds. The mustard seeds will begin to pop, when they do, add the bell pepper, onion, and chilies. Stir fry until the onions & peppers are wilted, and perhaps beginning to brown a bit (but not much) and add the meat and other seasonings. Heat through. ****************************************************** This is very good with some plain rice and a side of plain yogurt or a yogurt raita of some kind as a cooling foil to the spiciness of the dish. A simple raita can be made by mixing half a cup of plain yogurt with a couple of tablespoons of grated, squeezed (to remove excess liquid) cucumber and a teaspoon or so of minced mint or cilantro, adding a bit of salt if you like. **Plain, yellow mustard seeds will work as well, if you've got some on hand already and don't want to search out and buy brown just for this recipe. ***It doesn't sound like much, but fenugreek is quite potent, and the flavor is distinct. Fenugreek also keeps a long, long time, much longer than most spices. There really isn't anything I can think of that would be similar, but if you need to do without it, something slightly sweet but pungent would work--maybe some minced cilantro or mint, added at the last minute.