Garlic Rib Roast

Some ingredients ask nothing more from us than a little privacy: an hour or two of solitude over a moderate fire, flanked by a flock of garlic, a glaze of extra-virgin oil, and a crusting of coarse salt and pepper. If you are smart enough to give such respect to a standing rib roast of beef, it will reward you beyond measure. If possible, have your butcher cut the meat from the bone along the ribs, leaving it attached at its widest end.