I've read many great recipes from this section on how to make a good Prime Rib roast. After digesting all the good techniques and the various 'flavors' of them, I decided that I would make mine for this year's Christmas dinner the way I always have: Keeping it simple.

Most all of the posted recipes have one thing in common: Once the over door is closed, keep it closed. Amen to that. But here's my take on the theme that allows you to cook an outstanding prime rib roast with minimal prep, minimal execution, and maximum enjoyment by saving time that you can better spend entertaining family and friends in the process.

Here's the deal: One five to six pound bone-in ribeye can feed three to six people, depending on how many times they ask for more after the first serving. Always use a fresh roast. I froze one once to cook for a dinner later on (it was on sale at the time) and I was not pleased with the flavor after it was finished.

- Take the roast out of the refrigerator a couple of hours before cooking so that it can come to room temperature. Once at room temperature, coat with garlic infused olive oil. That's great stuff...usually found at better grocery outlets. If you can't find it, make your own. Add crushed garlic to olive oil and stir it up. You decide how much garlic suits you. And yes, you will get your fingers a bit oily but you should rub it in to the meat.

- I see where some recipes call for removing the bone and then strapping the roast back on it for cooking with some string. What's the point of that? I leave the rib bones attached. I don't care how much room it takes on a plate to have the bone in. The finished product tastes better and does not dry out. I'll serve the side dishes/baked potato on separate plates if I have to. The objective here is great tasting food, not the accomodation of tiny dinner plates. You decide. Try it both ways and see what your prefer.

- I use a salt grinder and coat all sides of the roast well, followed by a coating of pepper from the pepper grinder. Tip: Do the salt/pepper thing with the oiled roast setting in the rack in the roasting pan. Helps with cleanup a lot and adds seasoning to the pan drippings.

- You will absolutely need a meat thermometer. Read the directions that came with it so you can use it properly. Put the tip of the probe into the center of the 'eye' of the roast. Stick it in from one end to improve top side oven clearance.

- Some recipes say to preheat the oven. I don't. I tried that once. Have you ever opened an oven door and felt 450 degrees F come blasting out with a big pan in your hands? It's not necessary to endure that agony. Put the pan in the oven and then crank it up. Be sure your meat thermometer is in and functioning before you close the oven door because it's going to stay closed until it's done.

- I use a convection oven so set it at 425 degrees. 450 for a conventional oven. Once it's up to temperature (convection ovens heat up quickly), cook the roast for about 20 minutes then lower the temperature to 325 degrees (don't open the door to fiddle with roast) and cook for another 20 minutes per pound or until the internal temperature reaches 135 degrees in the center. Some folks like 120. I prefer 135 and I get a nice medium rare warm center that isn't trying to crawl off the table and run away. I've also found that a lot of digital meat probes will not take 120 degrees as a preset. The bottom range is usually 130. If your probe conks out midway through the cooking, or you're having too much fun entertaining and miss seeing the temp in the probe readout, you won't overcook it at 20 minutes per pound at 325 (convection or conventional). Cooking is supposed to be fun, right?

- Take out the roasting pan, remove the roast from the rack, and set it on your carving board. It needs to 'rest' and reabsorb the juices back to the middle. Cover it with paper towels. Don't use foil or put in a covered pan. The nice crispy 'end pieces' will turn into nice soggy 'end pieces.' Bummer.

- Don't worry if it's not served steaming hot. The longer it sits, the better. 20-30 minutes works great and it takes the pressure off putting the rest of the dinner on the table. I've used this recipe for over 30 years and it works great. And it's simple: Put it in, turn it on, and take it out. Enjoy.