Homemade Holidays : An Exile in New York, a military brat, a mom who poached a tree. . .and the search for figgy pudding. ‘Tis the season to remember. With recipes. : A Proper Roast

Christmas has always been a very special time for our family and food has always played a special part. There were homemade Christmas cookies, candies and pies. Our Christmas dinner usually included meat rather than poultry for the main dish. Ham or beef were our choices, and Prime rib was usually my favorite.

This Prime rib recipe is very easy to prepare and wonderfully tasty. Use a sharp knife to make pocket-like slits between the ribs of the roast, then spoon most of the herb stuffing into the pockets. Rubbing the outside of the beef with a cut clove of garlic gives a light garlic flavor to the meat and mustard gives an added tang. Roast the meat to your taste, but Prime rib is wonderfully tasty and juicy when cooked rare or medium-rare.

Accompany the roast with baby rose potatoes, which can be added to the pan juices of the roast during the last 45 minutes of cooking. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with chopped rosemary. Drizzle on a little lemon juice at the end of the cooking time.

Serve the beef with horseradish or horseradish folded into a little whipped cream with a dash of salt. Round out the dinner with steamed asparagus, a cranberry Waldorf or green salad, assorted relishes, homemade rolls, cranberry and pumpkin breads, homemade apple pie and fruit cake.

STUFFED RIB ROAST

1 (7- to 8-pound) standing rib roast (4-rib roast cut from small end of whole rib)

1/4 cup butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons minced onion

3 cups fresh bread crumbs

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

1 1/2 teaspoons minced thyme

Salt, pepper

1 clove garlic, cut in half

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Trim excess fat from rib roast. Make 4 slits in top of roast between bones.

Melt butter in small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onion. Saute until tender. Stir in bread crumbs. Heat and stir until bread is lightly toasted. Stir in rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper to taste.

Set aside 1/4 crumb mixture for top of roast. Stuff remaining crumb mixture into slits in roast.

Rub outside of roast with cut clove of garlic halves. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread mustard over tip and sides of roast.

Roast in large roasting pan, bone-side down, at 325 degrees to desired degree of doneness. Allow 25 minutes per pound for rare.

Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over top of roast during last hour of roasting. Cover with foil, if crumbs seem to be getting too dark.

Test with meat thermometer--125 degrees for rare; 135 degrees for medium; 155 degrees for well-done. Let meat stand 10 minutes before carving. Makes 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

470 calories; 388 mg sodium; 157 mg cholesterol; 24 grams fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 50 grams protein; 0.12 gram fiber.

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