Well poop. I was going to have Carol and the kids over for a "fancy dinner", but the flu going around seems to have caught up with the clan. I had some of the ingredients already purchased, so I went ahead and made a shortened version of the dinner.
For the meat course, I made a slow smoked prime rib. I crusted it in a combination of sea salt, oregano, black pepper, and onion. I ran the smoker at around 275-325 for just under two hours, which took the two-rib roast to 120. I let it rest for 15 minutes, at which point it had coasted up to 128. The result was a pretty darn uniform traditional rare.
For the sauce, a Tom Common reduction of chicken, oxtail, red and white wines. I took it down close to a glaze, but left it a bit looser than I do for more formal dinners. I sort of wanted it to be like an "au jus."
I had a baked potato. But, had the kids come over I was going to do mashed. I also would have added my traditional Green Beans Done Correctly (blanched, shocked, reheated at the last minute in clarified butter) -- a trick that Carol wonderfully trotted out for Christmas dinner much to the pleasure of the guests. And, I was also going to do either a Hollandaise or Foyot sauce. Two sauces do mean love, after all. But, hard to make for one, and only for the most special of occations would I toss what would have been left over.
Even in just "meat and potatoes" mode it turned out very nicely. And I can't recall the last time I had a roast, so it was a wonderful change of pace in that respect. But now I've got a whole bunch of leftovers that need use in sandwiches.