Christmas Dinner

Since my grandparents passed away, I've been trying to adjust to a new type of Christmas.  If you know me, you know two important facts.  The first is I'm not fond of change and the second is family is at the top of my list of favorite things.  We used to gather at my grandparent's house on Christmas Eve for a big Italian dinner that always, always, always included boiled shrimp, lasagna, and meatballs.  There was lots of other food, but we could count on those three items being part of the menu.  We all started by standing around the kitchen island or sitting at one of the tables with a bowl of hot shrimp laughing and talking with my grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, and sisters.  I miss that.  This year we all gathered the day before Christmas Eve at my mother's club house and had the closest thing we've had to a family Christmas dinner since the loss of my grandparents.  It was wonderful having so many of us together.

Christmas day is also different.  We would all get together again for a Christmas dinner on Christmas Day.  Now we stay at our own homes for a variety of reasons.  I realized last year I would need to start some kind of new tradition to make Christmas Day dinner special and to help me move on from the past.  I decided a standing rib roast would be a treat.  Since Publix puts rib roasts on sale Christmas week, it helps with the budget of a big meal.  I only make this dinner once a year so that makes it special too.  This year I made a rib roast dinner again.  I must say it was delicious and enjoyed by the three of us for a couple of days.  I should have taken a picture because it was beautiful.  I guess you'll have to wait until next year for a picture. Sorry.  Maybe you'll forgive me if I share the recipe.

Standing Rib Roast

1  3 rib standing rib roast (or whatever size you may need)
1 sliced onion
1 bag of baby carrots
1 bag of baby potatoes
2 - 3 ribs of celery
butter
salt & pepper to taste
garlic powder
3/4 cup horseradish sauce
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Set the meat out of the refrigerator for about an hour to knock the chill off.  Rub butter on the inside of a 9x13 baking dish and on the sides of the roast.  Put the roast in the dish with the fat side up.  Spread the carrots, onions, and potatoes around the meat.  I cut the potatoes in half, but I don't think you would have to do that.  Sprinkle a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder over the meat and veggies. Cover with tin foil.  Place the dish in the oven preheated at 450 degrees for 1 hour.  Mix the horseradish sauce and Worcestershire sauce together.  Pour the mixture over the meat after it has cooked for 1 hour.  After that, reduce the oven's heat to 250 degrees and cook for 2 more hours.  If you have a larger rib roast, it will need to cook longer.