No more turkey...SHORT RIBS!!!

I had some short ribs in the freezer and I was sick of turkey. What can I make? Well Dr Food came up with a recipe from "Simple to Spectacular" It was the Stewed Short Rib with Marrow Butter. Of course I couldn't do the simple. I HAD to do the spectacular.



It entailed soaking and then simmering the bone marrow to make a compound butter.

It came out great!



The other dish I made was out of the new Paula Wolfert book "Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking" It was Potato Gratin with Julienne of Mushrooms and Comte Cheese. I have to say that potatoes are my favorite food other than artichokes. This dish was awesome.



So it ended up being a really fantastic dinner.



Stewed Short Ribs with marrow butter
Simple to Spectacular
Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman

2 Tbl neutral oil, such as canolaor grapeseed
3 Tbl butter
4lbs short ribs
1 lrg onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 lrg carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
4 lrg cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 bottle fruity but sturdy red wine, such as Cotes du Rhone or Zinfandel
3 branches thyme
4 stems parsley
1 bay leaf
4 oz marrow, cut into slices
2 Tbl minced shallots
3 Tbl roughly chopped basil
3 Tbl roughly chopped chives
3 Tbl roughly chopped chervil
3 Tbl roughly chopped parsley
2 Tbl butter, softened
1 Tbl fresh lemon juice, or to taste

1. Put a tablespoon each of the oil and butter in a deep heavyskillet or casserole and turn the heat to high. Brown the ribs well on all sides, seasonig well with salt and pepper as they cook; this will take about 20 minutes. Remove the ribs, pour out and discard the fat, and wipe out the pan.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Put the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and anther tablespoon of butter in the pan, turn the heat to medium-high, and add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, a large pinch of salt, and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes.

3. Add the red wine, thyme, parsley stems and bay leaf to the pan and bring to a boil; add the ribs, cover, and put in the oven. Cook until the meat is very tender and falling from the bone, about 3 hours; turn the meat once or twice an hour.

4. Meanwhile, soak the marrow in cold salted water to cover for 2 hours. Bring a pot of water to a bol and add the marrow; cook very gently for 2 to 3 minutes, then drain.

5. Put 1 tablespoon butter in a small skillet and turn the heat to medium. Add the shallots, along with a pinch of salt, and cook stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Putthis in a small food processor with 2 tablespoons of each of the herbs, the marrow, and the softened butter and puree. Add salt and pepper and lemon juice to taste.

6. Transfer the ribs to a platter. Strain the vegetables and liquid, pressing hard on the vegetables to extract all of their juices, into another large pan and refrigerate (and then remove fat that comes to surface) or reheat (I used a separator cup to remove the fat). Bring to a boil and stir in the marrow butter; whisk until slightly thickened, then add the ribs. Heat the ribs through, adjust the seasoning as necessary, and serve, garnished with the remaining herbs.

You can be spectacular too!