Last Friday Jonah and I were supposed to host a dinner party. We had already gone grocery shopping and planned the menu and everything when Jonah came down with the bug that the family upstairs had earlier in the week. It was not good. So we switched locations, I did all the cooking, and carted it all over to our friend Warren’s house. Jonah ended up feeling better and was able to come. Yay! I made braised short ribs with mashed potatoes and apple pie for dessert (post coming soon). This recipe is adapted from the Gourmet Today cookbook, which is wonderful. It’s really pretty easy.
This meal is so freaking good. The meat gets so tender, the sauce is so rich, the carrots soak up all the juices. Oh man. I whipped up some mashed potatoes to serve it with (peel potatoes, boil them, mash them, add some cream, butter, salt, and pepper and stir). The meal was greatly enjoyed by our friends Erica, Corey, and Warren as a little celebration of their having successfully completed a stressful semester.
1 bottle (750 ml) dry red wine In a saucepan, boil the wine, uncovered, until reduced to about 1 cup. Meanwhile, pat the ribs dry and season them with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large pot (5 quart) over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, add ribs in two batches, turning occasionally until browned on all sides (about 8 minutes per batch). Move the ribs to a large bowl, set aside. Reduce heat to medium and add shallots and carrots to fat and oil remaining in the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to another bowl, leaving behind as much of the juices as possible. Now add the reduced wine and mustard to the pot and stir. Put the ribs in too, meat side down, cover tightly, and let simmer for 1 1/2 hours. (Now is a good time to make the mashed potatoes if you’re going to make some.) After all that time waiting, gently stir the shallots, carrots, and tomatoes into the pot (I forgot to add our tomatoes, so that’s why you don’t see them in any pictures). Cover again and simmer until meat is very tender, about another hour. Now, carefully transfer ribs and veggies to a platter. Skim fat off the cooking liquid. To use the liquid for sauce (which you’ll really want to do), it should coat a spoon (and supposedly measure ~1 cup). If you need, you can boil it to reduce it some more.Braised Short Ribs
Ingredients
4 pounds beef short ribs, cut into 2 1/2 inch lengths by butcher
salt and pepper
2 Tbl olive oil
10 shallots, trimmed
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces (or whatever size pieces you like cooked carrots)
3 Tbl Dijon mustard
6 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwiseInstructions