Christmas Punch

Internet photo from Cooking Classy, Not my photo.

The trick to keeping your punch fresh and not letting it get watered down is to make ice cubes with the ingredients in the punch. For this punch I used plastic cups and filled them with cranberries, lime & pineapple slices and ginger ale. I made the ice cubes a day in advance so they would be sure to freeze well.

INGREDIENTS

Punch

1 - 2 liter cranberry ginger ale

1 - 2 liter ginger ale

1 - 64 oz cranberry juice cocktail

1 - 64 oz pineapple juice

2 cups simple syrup

Ice Cubes

1 - 2 liter ginger ale or cranberry ginger ale

lime slices

pineapple slices

cranberries

plastic cups, 12 oz size

DIRECTIONS

Punch; add all ingredients into a large punch bowl or large drink dispenser and stir.

Ice Cubes; layer lime, pineapple and cranberries into a cup, pour ginger ale to fill. Allow to freeze overnight before using. Make at least 6 of these large ice cubes. 

You can easily mix and match any fruit drink and soda combination you desire to make it your own. 

Simple syrup can be omitted if you want a more tart punch.

Punch recipe inspired by Allrecipes Holiday Punch.

Homemade Eggnog

Homemade Eggnog is quite easy to make and way better than store bought. This recipe is full of flavor but not heavy like some eggnog's can be.

INGREDIENTS
5 cups whole milk
8 whole cinnamon sticks
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 + 1/8 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp vanilla extract
10 egg yokes
1-2/3 cup white sugar
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups half and half
4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 + 1/8 tsp nutmeg

INSTRUCTIONS
-Put the milk, cinnamon, cloves and 2 tsp vanilla into a large saucepan. Let simmer on low for 5 minutes. 
-In a separate bowl whisk together sugar and egg yokes for about 1 minute.
-Turn the heat under the milk up to medium-high heat. Remove the cinnamon sticks. Stir the milk constantly until it just starts to boil, them immediately turn off the heat.
-Slowly whisk in about 1/4 of the hot milk into the egg/sugar mixture. Then pour all of the egg/sugar mixture back into the saucepan and whisk it all together. Put it over medium heat, whisking constantly for 3 minutes. It will thicken a bit.
-Pour the hot eggnog through a sieve into a large bowl or beverage container and let cool at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, mix the cream, half & half, vanilla and nutmeg in a bowl and let sit in fridge until eggnog mixture has cooled.
-After 1 hour, stir the cream mixture into the eggnog mixture. Store in the fridge and allow to cool at least 4 hours before serving. Best if made the day before, so all the spices can meld together.

Alcohol can be added before serving, to taste. Dark rum, bourbon and brandy are traditional options.

Beef Rib Roast

Cooking a beef rib roast can be so intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. The most important things to know are ... don't be afraid to season the roast, invest in a good meat thermometer and know the weight of your roast. 

Here is my method for cooking the perfect roast. 

1 boneless or bone-in rib roast (tied and trimmed)
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 tablespoons fresh cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
2-3 large cloves minced garlic
*If you're making a roast larger than 4-5 pounds, you will need to up the amount of your spice rub accordingly.

The key to this method is knowing the exact weight of your prime rib. Just copy it off the label, write it on a sticky note and stick it on your fridge before you throw away the wrapping.

The night before cooking the prime rib, unwrap the roast, cover with your season rub and let it sit uncovered in the refrigerator. I use fresh minced garlic, fresh minced rosemary, fresh cracked black pepper and a lot of salt. You want your rub to look like a crust.

Two to three hours before you want to begin cooking, take the roast out of the fridge and place it on a sheet pan at room temperature.

Half an hour before you start roasting, pre-heat your oven to 500 F.

Now it's time to do your calculation. Simply multiply the weight of your roast by five. That's your total roasting time, in minutes. For instance, if you have a 4-pound roast, 4 × 5 = 20 minutes. An 8-pound roast? 8 × 5 = 40 minutes. Remember that number.

When you're ready to cook, set the roast in a roasting pan with a rack, fat-side-up. Insert a meat thermometer or a digital probe thermometer into the deepest part of the meat, being careful not to hit bone.

Put the roast in the preheated oven and roast it for exactly however many minutes you calculated above.

When the time's up, turn off the oven and walk away. Do not open the oven door for any reason for the next two hours.

Repeat = DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR FOR ANY REASON FOR THE NEXT 2 HOURS!!

In two hours, take the prime rib out of the oven, carve, and serve. Your thermometer should read 130 F, perfect medium-rare.

(You'll notice that there's no resting time, which might come as a surprise if you're used to resting your meat after roasting it. Resting isn't necessary with this recipe because the meat is basically resting as it sits in the oven.)

**If you want your roast to be more medium to medium well, you will need to cook it for 6 minutes per pound. For instance if you have a 4-pound roast, 4 × 6 = 24 minutes. An 8-pound roast? 8 × 6 = 48 minutes.

ENJOY!