Bone-in Prime Rib

Although ever since moving to New York, my kitchen has downsized quite a bit, that does not mean that I do not eat most of my meals at home. I often find it still a lot more satisfying to consume a home-cooked meal and contrary to the popular myth, it is not cheaper to eat out than at home in New York City. However, with this compact kitchen, most of my meals have also become relatively simple, no more granite slab cooked steaks or charcoal barbecued ribs, but if there's one thing I can still do, it's a pretty decent bone-in prime rib.

This is a 2lb (or about 1kg) bone-in prime rib picked up from the butcher. Let it rest in room temperature for awhile, you don't want to cook this too cold and definitely not frozen. Season with salt, black pepper and paprika or whatever seasoning you like to taste.

Sear the slab of animal in a pan on high heat for 1-2 minutes on each side. This is to seal in the juice so it'll remain succulent and moist after the roasting.

Put it in the roasting pan and into a pre-heated oven at 375degF (about 190degC) for about 30-40minutes or until medium.

Take it out of the oven and let it sit for about 5-10minutes to allow the juices to be reabsorbed.

Enjoy. Now there's no more need for Lawry's anymore hey?

D

Five Guys, Washington DC

I've always found DC to have a nice number of eateries that will fit almost any budget. Although Five Guys is originally from Arlington, Virginia, it's in DC where they really took off, having spawned quite a number of branches in DC, they've gone on to spread to other states.

As their namesake suggests, they do take their fries and burgers quite seriously. Their fries are made from fresh potatoes and prepared almost as when they're ordered. There's a signboard up stating where their fries are from as well. If I'm not wrong, these spuds were from somewhere in Idaho (where else?). Simply seasoned with some salt and black pepper, these were pretty tasty on its own. There's also no reason to order a larger serve because although the size of the cup may vary, they throw everything into a brown paper bag and just fill it up anyway.

There's a bit of a gimmick in their burger nomenclature here, a "little burger" is basically your standard burger and their standard burger here comes with double patties. Needless to say I went for the bacon cheeseburger which came with two very nice and juicy patties. Another plus to this place is that all additional toppings are free, I think I chose mustard, catsup, jalapenos, mushrooms, fried onions, lettuce and tomato. All in all, this made a pretty good lunch. Some aspects of fastfood still remain though, all the patties are only cooked to well-done which is a bit of bummer but they were still juicy enough to be quite delectable indeeed. For fastfood, this is definitely better than your average.

D

p.s: An absolutely happy Chinese New Year to all my Chinese readers out there!