Sunday ramble

"Rain possible after 1 pm" reads our weather forecast for the moment. Okay, we should be home by then, when, a glass of red and eggplant parmesan for Sunday dinner. The red is a California petite sirah that I found on my wine rack and opened to enjoy a glass with the prime rib we cooked Thursday afternoon when Kris came over for supper.

Reading, I've got how to cook a standing rib roast (this was a small one that I'd bought for Christmas, then realized it'd be too small for the company arriving, so stuck it in the freezer until this past week.

Anyway. Thaw the roast. Let it sit out for a couple hours and come to room temp. (You have to start your calc from the Time that you want to sit down to eat, and back up from there). Let it sit. Smear it with olive oil and coat it heavily with large grain sea salt. Four hours and about ten minutes before your planned meal Time, put it in the freezer for two hours, so the cap freezes (this keeps the cap from cooking gray, so gives you a nice red rare cap like the rest of the roast later when you carve it).

Just before the two hours are up, heat a cast iron skillet to red hot and have it ready. At the same Time, preheat your oven to 225°F and also have ready a pan with a rack on it. At still the same Time, set your meat probe thermometer to ring at 112°F.

At the two hour point, take the roast beef out of the freezer and sear it black on all sides, every surface, rocking it on the rounded sides so as to get every spot. Takes one to two minutes per side.

Once seared, put the roast on the rack and insert the temp probe to the halfway middle of the roast. The temp read will go to about 47°F, the temp in the center of the roast. Put the roast in the preheated 225°F oven and close the door.

Relax, but check repeatedly and watch as the meat temp rises slowly toward 112°F. Takes about two hours.

When the alarm sounds that it's at 112°F take it out of the oven, cover with silver foil and reset the temp probe alarm to sound again at 118°F. Takes about ten to fifteen minutes. Once it reaches 118°F remove the silver foil, move the roast from its rack to a cutting board and carve. I've done this three Times now, and it always gives me a perfectly red rare roast all the way through, including a red rare cap, never a gray cap.

Have a frying pan heated on the stovetop in case the meat is too rare for anyone.

Nine to five, eight hours sleep last night, our plan was to go to eight o'clock worship this morning, but that didn't work out, so we'll see everyone for the ten-thirty service. Remember, today is the Last Sunday after the Epiphany (the Epiphany may be defined either As the arrival of the magi at Bethlehem (Western Church) or As the Baptism of the Lord Jesus (Eastern Church). The feature for today is Jesus on the mountaintop with Peter, James, and John, and being transfigured before them in dazzling white as Moses and Elijah appear with him and God speaking from Heaven.

What's the purpose of this? To clarify that Jesus is the Son of God, and to elevate Jesus equal to and senior to Moses and Elijah, as witnessed by Jesus' most reliable three disciples.

A retired Naval officer, I understand about seniority. Moses and Elijah are four striper captains. Jesus is the rear admiral. At the End of Days and Second Coming, when Jesus takes over to reign as king in the new kingdom of God on earth, Jesus will be promoted to Fleet Admiral like the uniform that King Charles III now wears.

That's quite a promotion jump. I remember what a surprise it was when Admiral Zumwalt was made CNO. He was a really good guy.

So will Jesus be when he returns as king.

RSF&PTL

T88&c

Rev (Retired) Commander USN (Retired)

pic: USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) on sea trials. Will a warship be named for Jesus? Not going there.