prime rib au jus and bacon potato torte

potato torte adapted from melissa d'arabian

my husband is a meat eater. he likes pretty much everything i put on the table as long as there's meat somewhere in there. i figured he'd be on cloud nine, right? wrong. this was overkill. it is impossible to eat anything but salad with this potato pie. it's not a side dish. and i'm pretty sure the prime rib is no garnish either. it's also likely to knock the wind out of your partener if you cook it at valentine's. probably more literally than you'd think.

the meat is very simple to prepare. i know it can be intimidating buying - and possibly wrecking - such an expensive cut of meat. this is just a very basic preparation, you barely have to do anything but plop it in the oven and wait for it to cook. all you need is patience and a meat thermometer.
get the prime rib (6 to 7 lbs) out of the fridge about half hour prior to roasting. preheat oven to 350F. peel and slice 8 garlic cloves. make tiny slits all over the meat and insert one garlic slice in each. season liberally with salt, pepper, and herbes de provence. place the meat on a rack inside a roasting pan and roast about 2 hours or until 135F for medium rare. remove from pan, tent with foil and let it rest 20 minutes before cutting. like melt-aways? you'll like this meat.
bring the pan to heat, add 1 cup beef broth and a glug of wine and cook until reduced by half. spoon this over the meat when serving, and all over the garlic mashed potatoes you'll make instead of pie.
also made a horseradish sauce, 3 tbs prepared horseradish, 3/4 cup sour cream, dash of hot sauce, squeeze of lemon juice, pinch of salt. can't have prime rib without it.

now this pie here. (hope you like it with a side of glare!) it is incredibly good. and it really stands up for itself, it's not going to be put to shame by no piece of meat. all you want with it is a green salad.

for the dough:
2 sticks butter, very cold and cubed
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 ts salt
8 to 10 tb ice water

pulse the salted flour with the butter in your food processor until it's a coarse meal. add ice water by the tablespoon just until larger clumps start to form. divide in two and shape into disks. wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. take one out and roll it to 10 inch diameter, line a pie dish with it and return it to the fridge.

the filling:
6 slices bacon
2/3 cup heavy cream
5-6 medium potatoes
1/4 cup grated gruyere or parmesan
1 egg, for egg wash

preheat oven to 375F. cook the bacon until brown but not too crispy, let cool and crumble it. heat the cream on low heat - you can infuse it with thyme or rosemary if you like. thinly slice potatoes, (if you have a mandoline, that works great) and working in circles make layers on your crust, making sure to season each layer with salt and pepper and bacon bits. make an even layer of cheese on top and then pour the cream slowly, all over the dish, to allow it to seep evenly. roll out the remaining dough disk. place it on top and crimp the edges to seal. brush with egg wash and make a couple slits to let the steam escape. put it on a baking sheet and bake it for 50 to 60 minutes. cover the edges with foil if they get too dark too soon. once you remove it from the oven let it rest at least 15 minutes before cutting.

i'd tell you about dessert, but there was no one left breathing after this meal. completely exhausted, did not even bother with the dishes until the next morning. gah. now i have that 'it's good, it's bad' song stuck in my head.