Raving Reviews

I should preface this post with a little note about what I cooked for dinner last night. It was definitely not my typical kind of cooking, however, it was very much Chris' kind of meal and every once in a while I like to surprise my man with something of this nature.

I find myself smack dab in the middle of what I consider the 'cozy' season. Food, like the weather, becomes a bit heartier and therefore, is intended to warm the soul, which is why this meal stuck out to me. There are many dishes I still have to explore, but today I can cross one of them off my list. For our Sunday dinner, I cooked braised short ribs. And when I say cooked, I mean cooked, all day long! If you are familiar with the process, you know that my ribs were in the oven for hours getting themselves all nice and tender. Two of them literally fell of the bone before I even took them out of the dutch oven! I'd say the results made it worth every minute!

I was quite pleased with the turnout and may even venture to short rib territory again someday. The recipe came from the blog, pictures and pancakes and they recommended serving over creamy polenta. While I liked the variation of textures, Chris wasn't so sure about the polenta, although it definitely didn't stop him from polishing off the last of our main dish! I also served with a side of sauteed green beans. Yum!

The flavors were just right for the weather and I would overall recommend this recipe.

Braised Short Ribs
serves 4

3 lbs. beef short ribs
smoked sea salt & fresh ground pepper
2 tbs olive oil
1 granny smith apple, diced
1 onion, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
3 garlic cloves, smashed
5 sprigs thyme
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tbs honey
preheat oven to 300 degrees F. season short ribs generously with smoked salt & ground pepper and heat oil in a medium sized dutch oven. add short ribs, brown on all sides and remove. add apple, onion, celery, garlic and thyme and cook 6 minutes. add tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes until it deepens in color. add wine, chicken stock, vinegar and honey and bring to a boil. add short ribs, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. cover and transfer to the oven, braising for 3 hours and turning halfway through cooking.
remove short ribs from the pot and set aside to cool slightly, meat should fall off the bone. strain the sauce into a large bowl and refrigerate to solidify the fat. when the meat is cool enough to handle, shred and discard the bones. skim fat off top of sauce and use just enough of the sauce to moisten the shredded meat - serve shredded meat warmed.

And you know I couldn't finish off our lovely Sunday meal without a sweet ending! One of my favorite food blogs, Pinch My Salt, posted this Apple Cinnamon Buttermilk Cake about a week ago and simply could not stop raving about how fantastic it was. Since everything I have tried from her blog has been delightful, I've come to trust her when she says something is really good. Naturally, I have been looking for a good excuse to try this cake.

Do I even need to say how fantastic it turned out? What's that, you want to hear it anyways?? Alright, you twisted my arm! This recipe is jam packed with delicious fall flavors, from the tart apple bites, to the warm cinnamon and the moist base I could pretty much make this cake every weekend! An absolute must try!



Follow the link for this recipe: Apple Cinnamon Buttermilk Cake.

On a side note, if you are looking for a great food log, Pinch My Salt is it! She even posted pumpkin doughnuts last week. A woman after my own heart!

This fabulous meal was only one of many great happenings this weekend!

*Friday night we celebrated my Aunt Judy's birthday with fajitas and margaritas:)
*Breakfast with my girlfriends Saturday morning was wonderful! Girl talk over poached eggs and coffee really can't be bad!
*We met the German exchange student Chris' parents will be hosting for the next 8 months. She's super sweet!
*I got to talk to my sweet friend Lael, who is currently living in New Zealand!
*I studied my little head off and am now just about ready to take the ACSM certification exam!
*Audrey Hepburn's Roman Holiday accompanied us while we made a homemade pizza Saturday night!
*And most importantly, I feel really rested, even though the extent of my sleeping in this weekend was 6am!

Hope your weekend was wonderful!