Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Braised short ribs and thank-yous


Did I mention that I went in with a coworker on a metric tonne of beef? Well, it was really just like half a grass-fed/finished beeve (yes I learned that term from Michael Pollan) from Mt. Vernon, WA. But the point is I have all this meat in my (non-storage-sized, just regular household kitchen-sized) freezer. I'm still working through the lamb from last winter. But I digress...

The good thing about being on the Pill (besides not producing ill-timed, shit-smearing monsters) is that I know exactly when I'm going to start my period. More importantly, I know when I'm going to get all cunty and stabby. Then I can braise some short ribs on the weekend for a quick weeknight reheat, and I can avoid the stabby part. The cunty part, I can't help. I just gotta be me.

So on Sunday, I gave these bad boys a nice long braise. I had to trim them pretty good first, to get rid of some of the shitton of tallow these had coating them. Salt, pepper and dried thyme. That was really it. Sear for some maillard, brown the mirepoix in the rendered beef fat (and what the hell, a little bacon fat for extra hugs), deglaze with a splash of red wine and cover in beef stock. Oven for two hours. Tonight all I had to do was boil some potatoes. A spoonful of creme fraiche on top makes the drippings into a creamy sauce.

Note the lack of greenery, save a sprig of parsley. This makes six days in a row that we have had red meat for dinner, and I think I'm growing a goiter. Lighter suppers the rest of the week! I'm serious, too - we're expecting a heat wave this Friday. Straight from 60 degrees to 90 FUCKING DEGREES. We got screwed out of a springtime just like we got screwed out of autumn. Fuck you, climate change!


But onto nicer things, like people who like me (who really, really like me)! I got a couple of awards from my co-bloggers. Awards I absolutely do not deserve. The first one was the You Make My Day award, gifted to me by Judy of No Fear Entertaining. I can't imagine really making her day, since she has it all (plus 2 wunderkind daughters and a greenhouse!). Thank you, Judy.



The other award came from Amy at We Are Never Full (I assume her hubz Jonny concurs? God I hope so). If my purpose is to be a source of cursing and half-assed food photography, then I guess I deliver. I kid. I'm going to be sincere for a moment, here. I really wish I could do nothing else but think of recipes, cook and shoot them in daylight, and write about it. The catch? I like my salary and bennies. A lot. Maybe if I ever I have a (non ill-timed, non shit-smearing) kid I can do this for real. Until then, I'll do my best to keep blogging purposefully.

This sounds trite, I know, but I'm just going to give these awards back to all of my readers (and the people on my blogroll in particular). None of you do this without giving a shit (even just a little). You are all committed, and give as much time and attention as you can afford. Thank you for being a part of my community! Do you want to gouge your eyes out with a grapefruit spoon yet? No? Good. Watch this video.

20 comments:

Norm Schoen said...

OMG-Now you are just showing off. I love braising and I have a Short Rib recipe I will shoot to you.
I am voting that you yank out leg of lamb to grill/roast and invite me to dinner so can pull some Bordeaux out of my cellar. I have a bunch of stuff coming into it's drinking window (it is a big window though). Roasted Lamb and Bordeaux wine go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly, or Oscar and Felix or Dean and Jerry or is that Tom and Jerry?

Peter G | Souvlaki For The Soul said...

Well Missy..another information fuelled post...What with cycles and braising ribs to mood swings! Seriously, its the writing and food that brings me here. A simple beef recipe turns into a weekday gourmet meal...love the simplicity of the flavours including the bacon fat! I like the music of that video too!..>till next time Cheers!

Laura Paterson said...

Being in a somewhat cunty and stabby mood myself today, cheers for making me laugh out loud ;)

Actually scratch that... being in a totally cunty and stabby mood.

Ooooo - get me - I don't usually type swear words!

Oh yeah, and nice braising :)

Brittany said...

wow, so much to cover...

The short ribs looked amazing. I too have a freezer of beef, after an ill thought out notion I would buy half a cow, and then grossly unestimated just what that meant in terms of beef for life. But, if your braised short ribs are the secret to putting and end to the one week every month I spend weeping in the shower like a scene out of Fatal Attraction, cursing my ovaries...looks like I have some shortribs to thaw.

Annnddd....You completely deserve those awards! You are wickedly hilarious and your recipes are pure genius.

Peter M said...

Heather, you seem to be a your best when "Flo's in town"!

Short ribs are one of my faves and I'm glad you didn't trfile with it much.

Have a wonderful C & S rest of the week!

michael, claudia and sierra said...

love the creme fraiche touch...

you have a wonderful blog heather - i'm a big fan. you're a kick ass cook and i admire that. the awards are more than deserved.

Anonymous said...

even better - now we all know what week you'll be getting your period! i'll be sure to DEFINITELY tune into the blog during those times. you know it's gonna be extra funny (read: cunty).

i like the warm and fuzzy heather... and then you make me watch that video. perfect yin and yang.

oh, and those ribs look awesome. great idea to make a shitload the weekend before.

peter said...

My wife is right there with you... I'm about to delve into the freezer to find a hunk of meat to distract her slavering jaws.

See? I don't give a shit, I just cook for self-preservation.

Syd said...

Death by red meat sounds just fine with me. I've never thought about coordinating food choices with menses. Until now.

Amen on the GRASS fed beef, btw.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

All your awards are well deserved Heather. It is meals like this that keep me coming back:D

Heather said...

Norm - You got it! The lamb tastes really gamey, even for me - I might need to give it a soak in rosemary and red wine for a day or two. :)

Petah - Glad you like the music! That was from Gnarls Barkley's latest album (which is fantastic).

Kittie - I should start a Catharsis Through Cuss-Typing therapy group. I'd be rich!

Brittany - I always do this "stocking up" type of shit. What is this, armageddon? We're a family of two, for chrissakes.

Peter the Greek - Mmmm...trifle...

Claudia - Wow, thank you so much for that. I think your blog is pretty awesome too. :)

Ben - Man, wouldn't an interdimensional door kick ass? One from my house to that beach in Jamaica with all those sexy Jamaican street-dancers.

Amy - I think it's only fair to give the internet wide berth of my hormones.

Jube - THERE'D BETTER BE CAKE WITH THAT!!

Syd - A cow was meant to eat grass, not cow. Beef and bad moods always go together.

Valli - Thank you! I know you know a thing or two about simple perfection. (I still want some of your crumpets!)

glamah16 said...

I already figured out your cycle from some previous posts!I find myself less predicatable now that Ive said goodbye to my little friend the Pill. Anway I Ithought a knew a thing or two about braised short ribs until I read your post. I wish I had room for all that meet. One day when the man I get a bigger place.

Leigh said...

well done. I would like to give you 'The Good Stuff Award for the best use of the phrase 'Cunty'' - well done! Any post that starts off with the buying of a metric tonne of beef is always gonna be a winner. I can see the tagline - 'Beef - For When You're Feeling Cunty'

Jen said...

Love, love, love the video! I'm not great on shortribs, but this recipe looked wonderful. Congrats on the awards!

Anonymous said...

This looks fantastic. I love braised short ribs! Slightly off topic, but I'm going to be in Portland for a few days in June, any suggestions of restaurants to hit up while I'm there?

Heather said...

Courtney - Now you're scaring me! I'm actually not quite there yet, I have like 4 more days. :P

Leigh - It's about time! I mean, I've been pandering to the academy for years, and I finally get the recognition I deserve.

Jen - Isn't this vid great? My hubz showed it to me. I'm really in love with this album.

Marc - I have sent a couple suggestions your way.

giz said...

I love the simplicity of braised ribs - you don't have to do alot to them - just cook em slow and they always fall off the bone and provide a satisfying feed.

Where in heaven's name are you fitting all this meat. Does everything just fall out when you pry open the freezer? lol

Judy@nofearentertaining said...

Very cool about the beef. That is definatley the way to buy it now. Get yourself a chest freezer at a garage sale or something. I don't know what I would do without ours.

Thanks for the kind comments and that recipe looks awesome!

Jeff said...

I laugh because I have done the famous buy a 1/2 a cow bit. I live by myself so I ended up becoming my farmer's whore by bragging about the meat he raised and letting people try some.

Thankfully though I am lucky and have a garage that is perfect for my army of freezers.

Emily said...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=U7xKCn1amjY