MNN - Mother Nature Network

Combine the salt, pepper, and garlic and rub the mixture all over the roast. Place bone side down in a roasting pan large enough to hold the roast and the potatoes, and set aside for 30 minutes to 2 hours at room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 500˚F. Scatter the potatoes in the roasting pan. Add the roast, place in the oven, roast 15 minutes, and then (without opening the oven door) reduce the oven heat to 325˚F. Reset the timer for 15 minutes per pound for a roast that is rare in the center. Meanwhile, prepare the base for the Individual Spinach Soufflés.

When the timer goes off, check the roast with an instant-read thermometer; you are looking for an internal temperature of 120˚F for a medium-rare roast, 115˚F for rare. (It will go higher as it sits out of the oven.) When the roast reaches the desired temperature, remove it from the oven and set it aside, loosely covered with foil. Reset the oven to 375˚F and proceed with the soufflés.

When the soufflés are in the oven, transfer the roast to a carving board with a channel to catch the juices (or, lacking that, a smallish board set in a rimmed sheet pan). Transfer the potatoes to a serving dish. Pour out the clear fat from a corner of the roasting pan, keeping any dark brown juices that settle to the bottom. Add the stock to the pan and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom. If your roasting pan is flameproof, heat it on top of the stove while you deglaze it; otherwise, scrape the contents into a small saucepan and simmer until reduced slightly.

To carve the roast in the classic manner, stand it up on one end and hold it steady with a fork while you slice horizontally to the bone, then slide the knife along the bone to free the slice. A less classical but somewhat easier technique is to set the roast on the cutting board in the same position in which it roasted, then tip it up on its large side to expose the bones; carve down along the bones to free the whole rib eye from the bones, then lay the roast back down and slice the meat crosswise. Offer the first slice to the guest who likes meat closer to medium.