Braised Beef Short Ribs over Wide Egg Noodles

This dish is not unlike luxurious beef bourguignon, or beef Burgundy but is better as the meat is better.

 Dried porcini are available in many supermarkets, but don’t worry if you can’t find them. Many recipes use tomato paste in lieu of tomatoes. Gordon Ramsey tops his version with cremini mushrooms sautéed with wonderful crispy pancetta which is splendid idea. Julia Child and the French use baby pearl onions in the stew which further enhances the appearance of the final product. Go ahead, and try it, just do not use frozen onions as that have the wrong character producing the wrong mouth feel. The only laborious thing about this dish is that it requires time and attention but anyone with patience can pull off a fabulous result worthy of the finest French restaurant.

Olive oil, for frying

8 Large beef short ribs

4 Cloves garlic, chopped

32 Ounces diced tomatoes

1 bottle of burgundy (Pinot Noir), Chianti, merlot or zinfandel wine

1 cup chopped salted pork

Beef stock as required

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped carrots

1 Vidalia onion chopped

10 bay leaves

Fresh Thyme

Fresh Oregano

Fresh rosemary, chopped

Good pinch of crushed red pepper

10 Dried porcini mushrooms

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Balsamic vinegar, to taste at the end

1 Tablespoon of sugar, to taste at the end

Thicken sauce with wonder flour a little at a time, at the end of the cooking cycle. Chopped Italian parsley and chopped scallion greens to garnish

Preheat the oven to 360 F

Heat a Dutch oven adding a 1/3 cup olive oil when hot. Brown short ribs on all sides really then remove to a plate. Pour off all but four tablespoons of the oil. Add the mirepoix (celery, carrots, and onion) and salted pork cooking on medium until onions begin to clear. Add all the spices (except Bay leaves which are added later whole), salt¹ and pepper and garlic. Cook one minute while stirring. Add diced tomatoes, dried mushrooms and all of the wine. Deglaze the pan, scraping up the bits at the bottom.  Cook on low until the wine is reduced by half 10-20 minutes. Add in the meat, bone side down. Pour in beef stock so meat is covered to a depth of an inch or so but not so the meat is covered. Tuck in the bay leaves careful not to break as these will be removed at the end of cooking as inedible) Place tight fitting lid on Dutch oven making a good seal (use tin foil if necessary.)

Braise short ribs in preheated oven for 2 ½ - 3 ½ hours, basting now and then until the meat is fork tender and falling away from the bone. During the basting, check the stock level, replenish with added beef stock as indicated.

Remove and discard bay leaves. Thicken sauce a bit with flour. Correct the seasoning as required adding a bit of balsamic and sugar, salt to taste. When the short ribs are ready, gently serve over buttered wide egg noodles topped with spoonfuls of the sauce and garnished with parsley and chopped scallion greens.

Notes:

1. Initially, use less salt than you might be inclined, as the salt pork is quiet salty. At the end, you will correct, as necessary.
2. For variations, add port, brandy, scotch, Madeira to the wine reduction stage to bolden the flavors.
3. Additional garnish might include a sauté of wild mushrooms.

Molly’s Dog Food

Molly is an active 5-year old 50 pound boxer with a high metabolism.

7 Cups  chicken stock

4 Heaping cups rice

¼ Pound butter

¼ Cup dried parsley

1 1/2 Cup carrots, chopped

1 Cup chopped green beans

5 Pounds Chicken thighs

Chicken livers, sautéed and chopped

2 Large Sweet potato, peeled, chopped into smaller pieces

Oatmeal, 1 cup, cooked, the chopped

6 Hard boiled eggs, chopped

Additives

Yogurt

Cottage cheese

Pumpkin

Mashed banana

Apple sauce
Ricotta cheese

1/2 tablespoon of fish oil (Omega 3 Fatty Acid Fish Oil)

Cook chicken in 8 cups of water on low for two hours. Remove chicken and retain. When the chicken cools, bone it with your hands, and chop it coursely.

Bring remaining stock to a boil. (Should be about 7 cups) Add butter, parsley, green beans, rice, chopped sweet potato, stir briefly. Add lid, bring to a boil, place in a 310F oven for 60 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the oatmeal in water, microwave on high for two minutes. Set aside. Sauté chicken livers in butter. Set aside. Remove rice from oven then remove the lid. In15 minutes, fluff the rice with a fork. Chop the oatmeal, chicken, chicken livers, eggs, and add into a large bowl all these ingredients and combined with the cooled rice.

Separate cooked dog food into manageable plasticware with lids. Freeze some for later.

Top individual meals with one or more of:

Yogurt

Cottage cheese

Pumpkin

Mashed banana

Apple sauce

Monkfish Bisque

Pare this fine French Bisque with a Napa or California Central Coast buttery¹ Chardonnay or a Viognier. This is an elegant starter for any meal especially a medley of seafood. Monkfish is called the poor man’s lobster” due to its sweet, firm white flesh. Do not infer that, somehow, that implies it’s a second class ingredient.

1 Pound Monkfish fillet cut into ½ cubes

3 Whites of leeks, washed, chopped

2 Medium Idaho baking potatoes, peeled, chopped

¾ Stick of unsalted butter

1 Teaspoon white pepper

½ Teaspoon each of tarragon and nutmeg

1 Cup heavy cream

2 Cups Free Range Chicken bone broth

Sea Salt to taste

Teaspoon of lime or lemon juice

Melt butter in a heavy sauce pan. Sauté leeks over medium until they start to clear. Add potatoes. Sauté and stir of five minutes. Add chicken stock and simmer covered until potato is done. Process to almost smooth with a post blender. Add white pepper, tarragon, and nutmeg. Add the cut up monkfish. Add cream, simmer covered for 5 minutes. Correct seasonings.  A touch of lemon brightens the flavor.

Note:

1. These wines are put through a secondary fermentation process, called malolactic fermentation. This process softens the acidity and gives the wine the characteristic round, soft mouth feel and rich, buttery flavor
2. Cutting the Monkfish into 1/2 inch cubes insures it cooks quickly, an important step.