Perfect braised shortribs....

A very good friend gave me the perfect gift for my birthday, a gift card for William Sonoma. From the moment I opened the card, I knew what I wanted, my own Le Creuset dutch oven...the hard part was settling on a color. I really wanted steel but they didn't have the size I wanted in stock so I ended up with a beautiful red oven and decided to make my first dinner in in it that night. I went to my grocery store and found great looking short ribs. I had my butcher cut the ribs I'd picked out from the case in half to make them smaller and easier to eat then brought them home and made Tyler Florence's Bistro style short ribs recipe from Foodnetwork.com. I served these with golden mashed potatoes. This recipe is definitely a keeper and will remain a favorite in our house.

Ingredients

Short ribs:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 pounds short ribs, in 1 long piece or at least in pairs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 large tomato, quartered
3 ribs celery
1/2 head garlic, peeled
1/4 bunch fresh thyme
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
2 cups low-sodium, organic beef stock
4 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions
Preheat a cast iron grill or outdoor grill.
Season the short ribs with salt and pepper, drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil, and brown on all sides.
Place the onion, garlic, celery, carrot, and tomato into a food processor and blend until you reach a consistent, smooth pulp.
Take a large Dutch oven and place over medium-high heat. Add a 3-count of extra-virgin olive oil and add the thyme to infuse the oil. Next add the vegetable pulp, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and cook for about 10 minutes. Pour in the red wine and stock and bring it to a boil. Using tongs take the ribs and nestle them into the braising mix; the liquid should just about cover the meat. Place the lid loosely on top, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the meat is very tender, approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
When the ribs are about finished, remove about 1 to 2 cups of liquid and strain into a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Heat the sauce until slightly reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes.
braised shrot ribs with orzo risotto







The next day I put the leftovers over polenta (me) and orzo "risotto" (J) then baked them in the oven with a little parm. They were amazing! If you have a dutch oven and a couple hours to kill I definitely recommend this recipe!


Ps. I LOVE my Le Creuset!

short ribs with polenta

The perfect root beer float

Root beer is one of my favorite things. I love the complexity of flavors, the fizzyness and how it goes well with cheesesteaks, Thai food and of course, ice cream. We have a local restaurant (Doumar's) that makes the best root beer shakes...I literally have dreams about these shakes and now I have the tools to make the
best root beer float at home. It all starts with the best root beer. In my opinion, Weeping Radish Brewery makes the best root beer I have ever tasted. They actually brew the beer and the flavor is so clean and crisp it could almost make you weep. though this libation is wonderful on its own, a little vanilla ice cream makes it sing. Here are the pics to prove it. If you are ever in the Outer Banks of NC or in the Hampton Roads area, try and find this delicacy and you will understand what I mean. If your not in the area, hopefully these pics will make you salivate and remember hot summer days, being a kid and having one of the easiest and tastiest deserts on earth, the root beer float.