Receta Christmas dishes: Nadia G.’s Rockin’ Roast Beef
I first came across Nadia G. of Bitchin Kitchen at a BlogWorld Expo 2010 food blogging session. I admired how she transitioned her online brand to primetime television. So, when I got home, I checked out her show on the Cooking Channel. I thought her cooking was rather elementary, but my son and husband said she was a babe and my eight-year-old daughter thinks Nadia’s sidekick, Hans, was also a hottie. Bitchin Kitchen is a show the whole family can enjoy watching together. Well, sorta.
Cookin’ for Trouble cookbook
When I received Nadia’s latest cookbook, Cookin’ for Trouble, I wasn’t expecting much. Her show’s rather campy and I thought the cookbook would be high on humor and not much on quality. I was pleasantly surprised to find that each Bitchin Kitchen recipe is accompanied by a gorgeous, full color photograph by Ryan Szulc and food styled by Noah Witenoff.
In addition, there are recipes for beginners as well as seasoned cooks. In addition, while her target audience is young and planning weddings and bachelor parties, families with kids will enjoy her dishes, too. I especially like her spin on classics such as pizza and lemon meringue to something more sophisticated and trendy.
Speaking of trendy, she also has recipes for sliders (tuna) and cupcakes (tiramisu). She even has some vegan and gluten free dishes. There are also healthy dishes like gazpacho, low sugar jam, and creamy cream-less soups. And for the ladies a few pictures of Hans with his shirt off – yay says Lucie! Nadia knows what her audience wants!
If you’re a fan of the show or just like great food pictures and cool recipes, check out Cookin’ for Trouble. It would make a great holiday gift for the foodie on your gift giving list.
Nadia G’s Christmas roast beef
Nadia’s roast beef dish is called Midnight Prime Roast Beef in her Feast of the Seven Dishes show airing this month. (See the video below.) However, in Cookin’ for Trouble, it’s called Rockin’ Roast Beef with a boneless beef rump roast. The recipes are slightly different, but either way, it’s a classic Christmas dinner roast beef dish.
My first attempt at this dish was with a rather small – and lean - beef tip roast. It was given to me by my mother-in-law and had been sitting in the freezer for awhile begging to be cooked. I kept my fingers crossed that it would work. I followed Nadia’s directions, but cut down the amount of time and kept an eye on the meat thermometer. Even so, it was slightly overcooked while the potatoes were undercooked and needed to be microwaved before serving. Shoot!
When I make this again – and I will – I’ll use a real prime rib beef roast with a nice layer of juicy fat since the beef tip roast was delicious, but not as tender and juicy as I hoped. Also, I recommend doubling (at least) the amount of mushrooms as they smelled heavenly and tasted just as good. I used small red and purple potatoes, but fingerling potatoes would work very well, too. I also had trouble finding pearl onions, so I used regular onions cut into quarters.
You can serve this with the pan juices thinned with some beef broth for au jus. In Cookin’ for Trouble, Nadia gave recipes for a teriyaki sauce and a chipotle mayo as dipping sauces. I tried the spicy chipotle mayo sauce, which was a wonderful change from the more traditional prepared horseradish. The recipe is below, too.
- Nadia G’s Rockin' Roast Beef
- Recipe courtesy of Nadia G. and the Cooking Channel
- Total time: 2 hours 25 minutes
- Prep: 25 minutes
- Cook: 2 hours
- Yield: 8 to 12 servings
- Ingredients:
- One 3 1/2-pound beef prime rib roast
- 1 tablespoon ground mustard
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups pearl onions
- 20 whole mushrooms
- 10 small potatoes
Directions:
In a roasting pan, place the beef fat side up and rub it with the ground mustard, black pepper, and sea salt.
Let it stand at room temperature for 2 hours. (This is really important to do so you get that pink color in the middle of your roast.)
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F and brown for roast for about 15 minutes. Then lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
When the roast begins to drip its juices – about 30 to 60 minutes – add the potatoes, onions and mushrooms to the roasting pan.
Continue to cook until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the beef registers 135 degrees F.
Transfer to a cutting board to rest for about 15 minutes.
Slice the beef thinly, and serve on a large platter with the roasted onions, mushrooms and potatoes.
Chipotle Mayo
Recipe courtesy of Nadia G
Ingredients:
1 cup prepared mayonnaise
6 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
ground black pepper
Directions:
In a food processor, blend together the mayonnaise, chipotle peppers, sea salt and black pepper to taste.
Keep chilled until ready to serve.
This is my entry for the Zanussi Cookers make every meal a masterpiece competition.
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Disclosure: I received a review copy of Cookin’ for Trouble to facilitate this review. All opinions and experiences are my own.