Garlic Braised Short Ribs with Red Wine with Creamy Polenta

 

We've cooked short ribs several times since discovering this cut of meat. It's not cheap and they can be hard to find.

When visiting Mario's Italian Deli in Fort Myers last week, I had the butcher package up 2 pounds. Well, in the end, 2 pounds was 4 short ribs! Three were nice and meaty and thick, although the fourth was on the small side. 

I wanted to have polenta with them, so settled on this New York Times recipe that seemed to scream POLENTA PLEASE!

First off, you will need a medium or large Dutch oven. I bought a large one for our Fort Myers kitchen on Amazon. It is a Lodge and it was a special price of $49. I am sure that there is a reason to buy a Le Creuset, but not for my needs. I love my Dutch ovens. I have a pair of Tramontina Dutch ovens I bought at Costco for $79 and they are my go-to pots in Marion.

Heat the oven to 275 degrees.

SHORT RIB SEAR: Heat 2 T oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the short ribs on all six sides with salt and pepper. This recipe calls for 5 pounds (a better number of ribs than just 2 pounds) and you will need to sear them in batches until they are deeply and evenly browned, about 6-8 min. per batch. Transfer them onto a large plate. Most of the visible fat should be cooked off.

COOKING SAUCE: Use 2 T of the fat from the Dutch oven, but leave all the browned bits. Reduce the heat to medium and add the following, in four steps:

1. 2 large heads of garlic, halved crosswise between the top and bottom. Remove most of the papery stuff but not so that the garlic cloves fall apart. Cook cut side down until golden brown, being careful not to burn (about 1-2 min.) 

1. 1 medium onion, chopped; 4 ribs of celery, chopped; 2 medium carrots, chopped. Add these to the pan with the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Be generous with the seasoning - I found my sauce to be a bit less rich than I would have liked. Cook until all the vegetables are softened, about 5-10 minutes. Add 3 T tomato paste and cook until the paste has started to carmelize, stirring constantly, about 2-3 minutes.
2. Add 2 cups dry red wine and scrape up the bits, deglazing the pan. Let this simmer 2-3 minutes, taking the edge off the wine and reducing the liquid slightly. 
3. Stir in 2 cups beef stock or bone broth along with 4 sprigs of thyme.

BRAISE IN OVEN: Using tongs, return the short ribs to the pot along with juices - bone side up. Cover them in the sauce. Bring to a simmer and cover and transfer to the heated oven.

Cook until the short ribs are tender about 3-1/2 to 4 hours. 

Remove the ribs from the pot being careful not to remove the meat from the bone (or rather, capture the bone along with the tender meat.)

Either strain the sauce OR keep all the vegetables in the sauce and cool quickly and try to spoon off extra fat.  Pick up the large pieces of garlic paper. Process the sauce and vegetables, seasoning to taste. 

Hint: Make the ribs the day beforehand and chill the sauce in the fridge AND remove the fat the next day. Process the sauce in a food processor until chunky but not pureed.  Reheat with ribs. 

CREAMY POLENTA: 

An instant pot comes in handy for polenta. Place 4 cups water and 1 cup polenta in the IP pan. Stir and add 1 tsp. salt. Cook on porridge for 20 minutes. The IP will vent constantly in the porridge setting.

When the cooking is done, carefully vent and remove cover. The polenta will have a layer of water on top. Stir vigorously until creamy, adding in 1 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese and light or heavy cream as you need to for a creamy polenta. Add salt and pepper. 

FINALLY, serve ribs with creamy polenta, sprinkled with sauce and 1 cup finely chopped parsley, 1/2 c. chopped chives, and 1 T. lemon zest. 

Mussels in Sauce with Grilled Buttered Bread

We love the frozen mussels that you find in a box and packed in a bag with garlic and butter. You can find them anywhere - many of them are imported from Ireland. 

Although they are great cooked and served with a baguette of bread and a salad, there are other ways to serve them. Add them to a fish chowder or New England stew. The garlic wine sauce is a time saver. 

We often serve them in a creamy sauce as a first course. Here's how I do it:

Chop about 1/4 cup of shallots and about 3/4 cup of celery (and tops) and 1/2 cup carrots and a few sprigs of parsley. Saute in buttery olive oil with a nice helping of Herbs d'Provence and some pepper and some celery seed.  (Salt to taste at the end because the garlic and wine sauce has salt.)  Sprinkle vegetables with Wondra or white flour and cook a few more minutes.

Cook the mussels in the packaging in the microwave - about 5-6 minutes per bag until all are opened. Discard the one or two that haven't opened. Shell all but about 8-12 mussels. 

Add about 1/2 cup or more of cream to the vegetables and stir until you have a nice creamy sauce. Add the shelled mussels. 

Plate in warmed soup plates and top with a few mussels in the shells, sprinkle with chopped chives, and add buttered and grilled bread or croutons.

Buttery Shrimp with Peas and Potatoes

This is a Food and Wine recipe that Gerry found and it is delicious. He knows I like potatoes and peas ... and he's a shrimp fan. Perfect combination.

We liked the large shrimp in this recipe - we get them from Costco (15 per pound).

Bring 5 cups of water to a boil in a large skillet and turn down to medium high, stirring in 2 T salt. 

Add:

•  8 ounces baby gold potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices (1-3/4 cup or more to taste), stirring occasionally until barely tender about 5-7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a  plate.

Add:

• 8 ounces fresh or frozen peas (about 1-1/2 cup). Cook until crisp, about 2-3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, pouring off peas into a strainer or colander. Rinse them under cold water. Set aside.

Add 1/4 cup unsalted butter and 1/4 olive oil to the dry skillet. Cook until butter is melted and add:

• 1 medium shallot, finely chopped (1/3 cup)
• 4 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped (about 2 T.)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Add about 15 red pepper flakes (or to taste - the recipe calls for a medium fresh Fresno chile, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped)

Cook and stir until fragrant and softened, about 2-3 minutes. Add and cook, stirring occasionally, until wine is almost completely reduced, about 2 minutes.

• 1/3 dry white wine

Add in a single layer:

• 12 ounces peeled, deveined raw large shrimp.

Sprinkle with black pepper and more salt and cook undisturbed for about 2 minutes. Flip the shrimp and add:

• 1 cup chicken broth

Add potatoes to the skillet and bring to a simmer until shrimp are just cooked and opaque. Add peas. Add:

• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Stir until heated about half a minute. Remove from the heat and season with any additional salt and pepper to taste. 

Sprinkle with fresh dill to taste (1/4 to 1/3 cup). Serve with crusty bread.

Greek Dressing

• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 lemon juiced
• 1tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt and black pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Add all but oil and whisk together. Add in the olive oil, slowly mixing to emulsify.

Irish Apple Cake

Bake at 350 degrees F. for about an hour in a springform pan. 9" best.

Cake:

3 c. flour
1 T baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. COLD butter, cut into small cubes
3 large eggs
3/4 c. heavy cream
2 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 lb. granny smith apples, thinly sliced

Custard:

1/3c. sugar

4 large egg yolks

1-1/4 heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, halved or 2 tsp. vanilla

Prehat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 9" springformpan and line the sides and bottom with parchment. (Not really necessary.)

In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 cups flour, baking powder, salt, spices and sugar. Add cubed butter and incorporate with your hands until you have no large pieces of butter left and the mixture resembles sand. Make a well in the flour/butter and whisk in eggs, heavy cream, and vanilla.

Toss sliced apples with 3 T. flour until evenly coated, then fold into batter. Transfer to the pan and bake until apples are tender, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan.

Irish Soda Bread

I decided to try Irish soda bread once again. I probably made it in Ireland when I lived there in 1983. Most likely, I feasted on the Irish scones from Mary Rose's tea room and bakery on St. Patrick's street. I really have never tasted any like it since. The most common pastry/bread that was served in homes was tea brack (a dark fruit bread) with butter or not. And tea. Lots of tea.

I found this recipe online and, while intimidated by it, and trying it today - March 17th. I'll update it with photos if it is successful!

40 minutes baking time at 425 degrees F.

4-4-1/2 cups flour

1 T. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

4 T butter, cubed and slightly softened

1 cup currants or raisins

1 large egg, beaten lightly

1-3/4 c. buttermilk

Preheat the oven. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Work in the butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Add in the currants or raisins.

Make a well in the flour mixture and add in the egg and buttermilk. Mix with a wooden spoon until the dough is too stiff to stir. Form the dough using floured hands and format rough ball shape. The dough should be a little sticky and like shortcake dough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a round loaf. It will still be sticky and shaggy. Don't overwork the dough!

Place in an iron skillet or on a baking sheet. Score with an X with a knife.

Bake until golden and the bottom sounds hollow - 35-45 min. 

Cool, slice and serve.

Greek Chicken Pasta

I had a hankering for something Greek last night and came up with these ingredients: thin spaghetti or fettuccine, feta cheese, pitted kalamata olives, tiny grape tomatoes, garlic, and chicken breasts. Also a Greek dressing as seasoning (see homemade below.) No photo! We gobbled it down.

Cut up the chicken into strips and saute it in olive oil, being careful to not overcook. Add the halved tomatoes and saute until softened, about a minute. Add the olives. 

At the same time (using about 8 minutes to cook), boil the pasta until al dente. Drain.

At the feta to the chicken for about one minute with 1/4-1/2 cup of the Greek dressing. Toss with hot pasta.

Dressing:

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 lemon juiced

1tsp Dijon mustard

2 minced garlic cloves

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp salt and black pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

Add all but oil and whisk together. Add in the olive oil, slowly mixing to emulsify.