Billy and I are partners in a film production company called
Modern City Entertainment (MCE), and our first project has just been
completed! We are very excited and proud
of this project, named Heroes Behind the Badge.
MCE has partnered with the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
Fund (NLEOMF) to create this powerful documentary that features some of the
brave men and women of law enforcement who put their lives on the line and
survived, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice. I cannot describe this film and do it
justice, so just click on the Heroes Behind the Badge link to check it out for yourself . Billy and I hadn’t seen the film yet so I
invite the president of our company (who is also a longtime friend) over for
dinner to catch up, and to watch the DVD of Heroes Behind the Badge.
When I have guests over I like to do a dish I can forget
about, and spend time with my guests.
That’s why braising is so great, I put it on the stove and forget about
it for a few hours. Since I’m having a
house full of men for dinner, beef is on the menu. My favorite cut of beef to braise is short
ribs, they are so full of beefy flavor, they release tons of flavors into the
sauce, and they get fall off the bone tender.
Creamy polenta is the perfect accompaniment to soak up some
of that, hearty sauce of the short ribs. I love this Creamy Polenta so much,
that I could bathe in it (that’s a little weird I know).
I like to think that Braised Short Ribs are like a pot full
of love, and Creamy Polenta is like a hug for my tummy! Who doesn’t want love and hugs?
So we watch Heroes Behind the Badge after dinner, while
snacking on Green Cardamom Scented Pear Newtons (stay tuned for those). Needless to say the film brought me to tears
and gave me a new found respect for those officers who do a whole lot more than
just write traffic tickets! I am
especially proud to tell you that 50 percent of the proceeds are going directly
to the NLEOMF!
Here’s how to make that pot full of love and that hug for
your belly; that Billy is still talking about BTW!
Cut the thick layer of fat off the outside of the short
ribs.
Season the short ribs on all sides with salt and pepper. Be generous. |
One of my short ribs wouldn’t fit in the pan, so I browned
it at the same time that I browned both sides of the cippolini onions.
|
Remove the cippolini onions to a plate.
If you don’t have cippolini onions than just increase the amount of diced onion from ½ of a medium onion, to 1 whole medium onion. |
Reduce the heat to medium, and sweat the onions, celery, carrots, garlic and ¼ tsp. of salt in same Dutch oven. |
When the onions are translucent, stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes. |
Nestle the browned short ribs back in to the pot. Don’t add the cippolini onions yet.
Add red wine, the veal (or beef) stock, the maple syrup... |
...And the bay leaves (bundled with the fresh herbs, if using
fresh herbs).
Bring the pot to a low boil. |
Turn the heat to low. Put the lid on askew; this allows the flavors to meld and the liquid to reduce slowly; yielding a rich beefy sauce. Braise (or slowly simmer) for 3 hours. |
Take the Dutch oven off of the heat. Skim the fat from the top. |
Us a hand blender to puree the sauce and the vegetables;
this is how the sauce is thickened.
|
Add the ribs back to the sauce, as well as the cippolini
onions. Taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper if it's needed. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes
more…or until the polenta is done…
|
Use a course cornmeal which has more corn flavor and more
texture than fine/quick cooking polenta.
PLEASE don’t use quick cooking polenta!
|
Whisk the liquid until it’s frothy.
Put the pan on medium high heat and bring to a low boil. Be careful it doesn’t boil over. |
Add the salt and whisk the polenta into the liquid, in a
slow steady stream.
Turn the heat down to low and continue to whisk for a few minutes more to separate the grains. |
When the polenta is the consistency of porridge, remove it
from the heat and stir in the butter and cheese.
|
Pour the Creamy Polenta into a bowl, and ladle the Braised Short Ribs and sauce over the top. |
Enjoy with a salad and crusty bread!
BRAISED SHORT RIBS
Serves 4
2- 2 ½ lbs. Beef chuck short ribs, 4 ribs. 2 ½ pounds sounds like a lot, but much of the
weight is from the bones and fat.
1 Tbsp. Oil, grape seed oil is good
¼ lb. Cippolini onions, peeled *optional
½ Medium onion, small dice *if you
don’t use cippolini onions, then use a whole onion.
2 Celery
stocks, small dice
2 Medium
carrots, small dice
3 – 4 cloves Garlic, smashed
2 Tbsp. Tomato paste
2 cups Red wine
2 cups Veal or beef stock, low sodium
2 Tbsp. Maple syrup *optional
1 tsp. Dried rosemary, or 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 tsp. Dried thyme, or 10 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 Bay leaves
Salt
and pepper to taste
1.
If there
is a thick layer of fat on the outside of the short ribs, then remove it.
2.
Season all sides of the short ribs generously
with salt and pepper.
3.
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium
high. When the pan is hot, put the ribs
in to brown on all sides. Do not over
crowd the pan. When the ribs have
browned remove them to a plate.
4.
Brown both sides of the *cippolini onions. When they have browned, remove them to a
plate.
5.
Turn the heat down to medium and add the diced
onions, celery, carrots, garlic, and a ¼ tsp. of salt. Sweat the vegetables until the onions are
translucent.
6.
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 to 3
minutes.
7. Nestle the browned short ribs back into the pan; and add the red wine, veal (or
beef) stock, *maple syrup, the herbs (if using fresh herbs, tie them into a bundle
with kitchen twine). Don’t add the *cippolini
onions at this point.
8.
Bring the pot up to a mild boil, then put the
lid on askew (this allow the liquid to evaporate, concentrating the flavors,
but at a slow rate of speed), turn the heat down to low and simmer for 3 hours.
9.
After the 3 hours, remove the short ribs to a
dish. Remove the bundle of fresh herbs,
and the bay leaves.
10. Take the the Dutch oven off of the heat and skim the
fat off the top of the liquid.
11.
Use a hand held blender to puree the vegetables and the sauce in the pan;
this is what thickens the sauce.
12.
Add the short ribs back into the pan of pureed sauce,
along with the *cippolini onions.
13.
Taste for seasoning, add more salt and pepper if
necessary.
14.
Return the pan back to the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes with the lid off.
Serve over Creamy Polenta or mashed potatoes.
CREAMY POLENTA
Serves 4
2 cups Water
2 cups Whole milk
1
cup *Heavy
cream
1 cup Course polenta
1 ½ tsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. Butter
½ cup Freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino
Romano cheese *optional
1.
Add the water, milk and heavy cream to a 3 quart
sauce pan. Whisk until the liquid is
frothy.
2.
Put the liquid on to boil over medium high
heat. Watch carefully that it doesn’t
boil over.
3.
Add the salt.
4.
Whisk the polenta into the pan in a slow, steady
stream. It’s very important to use a
whisk at this point.
5.
Turn the heat down to low and continue to whisk
for a couple of minutes to separate the grains.
6.
Put the lid on a simmer at the lowest
temperature, for 35 to 45 minutes. Stir
the polenta with a long handled wooden spoon; at first about every 10 minutes, then when the polenta start to thicken, every 5 minutes, replace the lid each time.
7.
When the polenta is done, it will have porridge
like consistency; remove it from the heat, stir in the butter and *cheese.
*If you don't want to use heavy cream, omit the cream and increase the amount of milk to 3 cups.
I love your shot by shot. Much easier to follow than a recipe.
ReplyDeleteA picture is worth a thousan words!
ReplyDeletei used polenta for the very first time today. actually really really tasty. might have to give this a go. glad to have popped in x
ReplyDelete