Your Holiday Roast Guide

Roasts are the crown jewels of any holiday feast. They are not only delicious if cooked right but also picture perfect.They add a combination of grace and coziness to any table. The best part is that they're not as scary to make as some people think. Any  roast from goose to ham is pretty easy to cook, starting from prep time to carving..

The New York Times Sunday magazine devoted their entire cooking section  yesterday to these culinary diamonds.The Sunday Times Food editor, Sam Sifton gives his advice and recommendations on the classics. There is the traditional ham , turkey and goose along with the lesser known choices of beef rib roast and crown roast of pork. .These are great suggestions not only for Christmas but for also New Year's Day and especially for an open house. There will be enough meat to go around for that  and the leftovers can easily be made into sandwiches.Another plus are nuggets of useful information that appear in sidebars all over the article.One in particular is what sort of drink to serve with the meat you're serving.

What is great about this guide is that the details are meticulously laid out. If some prep, such as preparing a crown rib roast is too difficult, then , Mr Sifton suggests go to the butcher and have it done there.Two other suggestions are to  get a good meat thermometer and also heavily season the different meats for  optimum flavor. His recommendations for hams calls for a sweet -savory crust of brown sugar and mustard to offset the meat's saltiness. The beef rib roast has a simple rub of just salt , pepper and surprisingly flour/ he also provides the sides that go well with each dish too. Goose should have roasted potatoes and caramelized onions while turkey should have cornbread stuffing and hashed Brussels sprouts.

Holiday meals should have great roasts as their centerpieces.These gems are surprisingly easy to make and heavenly to eat. Choose from these classics and create a memorable meal both for Christmas and the New Year!