Fall is the time of year I begin to think about comfort food. Soups, stews and one pot meals. Meals that cook for longer periods of time and fill the house with lovely smells. Over the years I have tried to prepare short ribs, with no success. They always came out tough, greasy and tastless. In the past several weeks a number of the chefs on Food Network have prepared them in many ways. When Danny Boome, The Rescue Chef, helped a young woman recreate the short rib meal that was served at her wedding, his technique and side dishes caught my attention. So this weekend I prepared his meal:
Short Ribs Bourguigonne
Dijon Mashed Potatoes
Baked Figs with Chopped Pistachios in Mascarpone
The short ribs were dredged in a seasoned flour, browned in a dutch oven, removed and set aside. Then the vegetables were browned in the pot in bacon drippings. Red wine and beef stock were added and simmered for about 10 minutes to further soften the vegetables. The ribs are returned to the pot, covered and finished in the oven. Something I had not done before. I had cooked mine on top of the stove. They took about 3 hours. The aroma is mouthwatering. The meat was fall off the bone tender and the wine vegetable gravy perfect.
Dijon mashed potatoes were an interesting change of pace. The yukon golds are cooked and mashed with butter, milk, a pinch of nutmeg and a tablespoon of Dijon mustard. These were perfect with the gravy from the meat. All in all a great dish that I will prepare again.
The dessert brought 2 ingredients I have had little to no experience using. Fresh figs and mascaropne. Finding fresh figs proved to be a challenge. Finally at Caputo's Market I found a basket of them. The figs are roasted in the oven and served warm with mascarpone which has been slightly sweetened with a bit of honey. The mascarpone gently melts over the warm figs. The dessert is topped with chopped pistachios, sprinkled lightly with cinnamon and finished with grated dark chocolate. I enjoyed the dish very much and it's pretty to look at.
All in all, this weeks project was a good one and one I expect to repeat over the cold months ahead.
Wow! This menu sounds great for fall. Haven't had much luck with ribs in general, (finding descent ones at our regular store and/or preparing them) but I would be willing to give this a try. Like you, I really like the one-pot, fix it and forget it meals this time of year. (Especially on the weekends.) The potatoes sound awesome, and I am intrigued by the dessert. Will keep an eye out for figs. Have seen them somewhere, but off hand can't recall.
ReplyDeleteLet me know what you think if you try it. I too had trouble finding shortribs and they are expensive, but cooked on the bone....YUM! Good luck with the figs. General supermarkets don't carry them (I asked), but the fruit markets and Whole Foods had them.
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