Braised Short Ribs

I have a few bonus minutes right now because Baz has decided to take an extraordinarily long nap -- for him -- and Amelia has been kind enough to synchronize her latest nap to his. Guess going to Miami Beach Regional Library's story time was a good idea. Who knew a couple of kid books and sing-a-long songs would make everyone so tired. But, it might not last long, so I am going to try and take advantage of every precious minute. Besides, I made the best dinner last night and wanted to share.

Sure, overnight marinating and cooking something for four hours may not be in everyone's time budget. But, short ribs are one of those things you just have to let cook so even though it does take a ton of time, it isn't difficult or strenuous to make. It's quite simple actually. And it was so worth it! Damien even said it was a top five.

I looked at several different recipes and then sort of made up my own. The cure that I use is mostly based on a recipe I found for my favorite short ribs at Michy's here in Miami. It's one of our favorite restaurants and Michelle Bernstein is a fantastic local chef who you have seen as a judge on Top Chef from time to time. The rest of the recipe is based a lot on her ideas as well as the Balthazar recipe. I liked that Michelle's are a little sweet and spicy, but I think Balthazar's are so French and rich.

The only thing I wish I had done differently was made more ribs! 1 1/2 pounds didn't go as far as I would have thought.

Braised Short Ribs

Cure:

3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon powdered ginger
2 pounds short ribs (with bones)

Combine all of the spices in a one gallon zip-lock bag and shake well. Dry the short ribs with paper towels and add them to the bag. Move them around so that all sides are coated with the spices. Refrigerate overnight or up to two days. (I chilled them for two nights.)

To cook the ribs:

2 tablespoons canola oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 carrots, chopped or 1 cup of baby carrots
2 celery ribs
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons ginger, minced (I used powdered ginger because I forgot the fresh version and I really wish I hadn't done that.)
1 jalapeno pepper, cut in half (remove seeds depending on how spicy you want it)
1/4 cup orange juice
16 ounces chicken stock
16 ounces robust red wine like cabernet sauvignon
1 sprig of thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
handful of parsley

Heat the oil in a pot that can also go in the oven -- like a dutch oven -- over medium heat. Add the garlic. Take the ribs out of the bag and without removing any of the spices that are sticking to the ribs, add them to the hot oil. Brown the short ribs on all sides being careful not to burn them but trying to get them crispy. Remove the ribs from the pot and set aside. Pour out just about all of the fat retaining about 1 tablespoon in the pot. Return to the heat.

Add the vegetables and saute until the onion is translucent. Then add the rest of the ingredients and bring it to a boil. Add the ribs back to the pot. Bring back up to a boil. Make sure that the ribs are completely covered with liquid. If not, add more chicken stock, wine and even water to cover.

Put the pot in a 350 degree oven and allow to cook for 3 hours. The ribs are done when they are very tender and are falling off the bone.

Take the pot out of the oven and remove the ribs. Set the aside. Pour the liquid through a sieve to remove all of the vegetables and herbs. Return the remaining liquid to the pot and continue cooking until it reduces by about half -- about 1 hour.

If you'd like the sauce to be a little thicker -- which I did -- take a tablespoon of flour and mix it with two tablespoons of water, stirring it until it is completely smooth. Very slowly add it to the sauce while stirring constantly to avoid any lumps.

Return the ribs to the sauce to reheat. You can serve it immediately, but this dish is also wonderful reheated later in the day.

I served the ribs on top of mashed sweet potatoes and a side of sauteed green beans. I wish I had found some haricot verts instead, but they were fine. It looked impressive and the ribs were succulent and super tasty. Like I said, I wish I had more.

So, that's it. Enjoy!

Mad Men Martini Mondays and Risotto ai Funghi (e Asparagi)

Having a second baby started out much better than I had anticipated. Let's face it - having Baz really kicked my ass. I was stunned by the sleep deprivation and had this false notion that I would be able to control things. I quickly learned that you can function on much less sleep than what I was used to (hello, I use to sleep 9 or 10 hours a night pre-baby) and that the babies control everything. There is no rushing them to eat, sleep or adjust. They do everything on their own, unrelenting time.

Amelia has been a sweet relief. She took to breastfeeding super well. She started sleeping 6 hours a night very early on and she takes her brother's "attention" with a grain of salt. It's only now, almost 8 weeks later, that I am starting to feel a little "fatigued". Baz at 18 1/2 months has way more energy than my 36 year old body can handle and Amelia is figuring out that control thing. She cries less than Baz did, but boy does she make up for lost time when she does. Her mind-bending screams in the car are stuff of legends.

So, right about now I needed to figure out some sort of pick-me-up. My answer: Don Draper. I don't know about you, but I love the show Mad Men. Damien and I bought the first couple of seasons on DVD when Baz was first born and we were hooked immediately. This season started a couple of weeks ago but we are finding it just way too hard to stay up until 10pm to watch the fresh episodes on Sunday nights. So, I came up with a plan: We save Sunday's show on our DVR until Monday night so that after the kids were fed, bathed and put to bed, we can have martinis and a date with Don Draper. Last night was our first Mad Men Martini Monday.

In honor of the event, I also decided to be a little ambitious with dinner. After all, Don deserved it. And I guess Damien did, too. He's been a great big help despite the fact that work has been a little challenging lately. (It's all Wyclef Jean's fault.) So, I decided to make risotto -- a dish I know he loves.

Without further ado, here is the way I made Risotto ai Funghi with a little bit of asparagus for color and nutrition:

Risotto ai Funghi e Asparagi)

6 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 or 6 stalks of asparagus, cut into small pieces
1/4 oyster mushrooms, finely chopped
1/4 cup shitake mushrooms, finely chopped
salt and pepper
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, broken up into small pieces by hand
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons butter

Heat up the chicken stock so that it is warm but not too hot. Set it aside over low heat.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a medium to large pot. When it's nice and hot, add the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is translucent but not yet browned (about 8 minutes).

At the same time, heat up two more tablespoons of olive oil in a separate pan. When it is hot, add the asparagus, oyster mushrooms and shitake mushrooms. Saute just a bit, coating the vegetables with the olive oil (the asparagus should be slightly softened but not mushy.) Season with salt and pepper.

Returning to the first pot, when the onions are translucent, add the rice and toast it for about 4 or 5 minutes or until the rice is opaque. Add the dried porcini mushrooms. Then add the wine. Stir constantly until the wine seems to be absorbed into the rice.

Now you will start adding in the chicken stock one ladle at a time. It is very important that you let each ladle's worth of stock absorb into the rice before adding another. Stir it constantly as it is added. When you have added about 3 cups, start tasting the rice to make sure you do not overcook it. You'll probably need close to 5 or 6 cups, but the tenderness of the rice and consistency are what's important. The rice should be al dente but not hard, but it should also not be mushy.

When you are one ladle shy of reaching the right consistency, add in the sauteed asparagus and mushroom mixture from earlier. Add the last ladle continuing to stir constantly. Now add in the parmesan cheese and butter. You should have a rich, creamy risotto now with rice that is still slightly al dente.

Serve immediately.

The constant stirring as you patiently add the ladles of chicken stock are the toughest part. It'll make your arms tired, for sure. But it really only takes about 30 to 40 minutes from start to finish to make this dish and it is absolutely delicious, especially with an extra sprinkling of Parmesan cheese on top. Of course, I do think risotto takes some practice. Mine was a little bit mushier than I would have liked, but still really tasty.

Mad Men Martini Monday #1 - a complete success. Next week, maybe we'll have oysters and steak.

Banana Bread (with Chocolate Chips)

I know it's been a while. It's been so long that I now have another baby! Amelia Francesca was born two weeks early on July 2, 2010. Note to other expectant moms: Try not to give birth on a Friday night at 9:41pm of a holiday weekend. You may be greeted at the front desk of the maternity ward by an eyes-glazed-over receptionist asking, "What are you here for?" Uh, well, let's see. I am standing here in the maternity ward swaying back in forth in pain and with what looks like a basketball under my shirt. What do you think?

Needless to say, it was quite a night, but all ended well. And now I feel inspired to cook again!

Then this morning, I had the rare treat of everyone sleeping in -- even new baby. I also had three ripe ripe bananas sitting around so I decided to make my family some fresh banana bread to wake up to. I looked up a few recipes and finally came up with this one of my own:

Banana Bread (with Chocolate Chips)

2 cups buckwheat flour*

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 ripe bananas

2 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup chocolate chips**

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees and prepare a loaf pan by coating with butter and dusting with flour.

Combine the four dry ingredients -- flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. I suppose you should sift them together, but who has time for that, right? Set aside.

Beat the sugar and brown sugar into the butter until light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla and cinnamon.

Mash the bananas with a fork and then add to the beaten eggs.

Add the egg and banana mixture to the sugar mixture. Slowly mix in the flour mixture until everything is evenly combined. Add the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. A toothpick or knife should come out clean when inserted.

*I used buckwheat flour because I didn't have enough regular white flour and, I have to say, it was a great choice. I really liked the flavor it added. I found the buckwheat flour at Whole Foods one day and had grand visions of making the kind of buckwheat crepes I have come to love at one of my favorite local spots -- A La Folie. Never happened.

**Of course, I made them dirtier by adding chocolate chips but they can easily be omitted. Or, you can substitute nuts if you'd prefer.

And of course, you can always make muffins instead. I haven't but I am sure it would work just fine. I just don't know how long you'd want to bake them.

So, that's it. My first post-baby #2 recipe. I hope you like it!