Braised Short Ribs

Recently dear hubby was gone for a week and I wanted to make a nice dinner for his first night back.  But, I had to plan ahead since I was going to be out of the house the whole day before he returned.  So down to the freezer I go and the Short ribs from the happy pig we purchased last year jumped out at me.

What to do next?  Head to the Internet to look for the perfect recipe!  What should I find but a Braised Short Rib recipe from Tom Colicchio on the Food and Wine website.  Now I've seen Tom comment on short ribs multiple times on the Top Chef show, so I think, surely this is an excellent recipe!  It has many steps, but that's ok, I had the time throughout the week, just not the day of dinner.

You can find the Braised Short Rib recipe from Tom Colicchio by clicking on the link in this line.

You must start this recipe at least one day in advance.  First, brown the short ribs - they already look and smell yummy!

Next, saute the vegetables and mix with wine and thyme.  Pour over the ribs and refrigerate overnight.

Next day, add the chicken stock and cook in the oven.  I followed it through this step (step 3 in the recipe) and then refrigerated it again.  Also, before refrigerating it again, I took the sauce without the thyme sprigs and pureed all the vegetables into it.  Yum!

Finally, I baked it again until the meat was falling off the bones and the sauce had reduced (maybe a little too much), but it was amazing.  I set this out with a bottle of red wine, a salad with homemade blue cheese dressing, and egg noodles with buttered breadcrumbs.  A great way to catch up after a week apart.

What's your favorite relaxing "catch up" meal?

Peanut Butter Cookies

Don't ever underestimate how a simple batch of homemade cookies can show someone you love and support them - along with making them the hero of the day.

It can be as simple as the recipe on the back of the Nestle Toll house Chocolate Chip package, but homemade cookies make people smile.

As my husband headed off on a week of teaching students in the Southern Utah desert recently, I wanted to send him off with something sweet both for him and the whole group.  I decided on Peanut Butter Cookies.  I knew at least one member of the group was gluten free, so I made two different batch of cookies.

If you google Best Peanut Butter Cookies, the following recipe will come up on Cooks.com.  And, I heard many times, those were just the best Peanut Butter cookies!  So I guess they aren't lying.  The recipe made enough for me to send cookies for the whole class and take some to share with my fellow ski patrollers that Saturday, about 3-4 dozen.
World's Best Peanut Butter Cookie

2 sticks butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups peanut butter (I used chunky unsweetened)
2 1/2 cups flour (I used 1/2 whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix butter, sugar, vanilla and peanut butter.  Add eggs and beat.  Add flour and baking soda.  Cook at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. 

I rolled these in chopped peanuts before putting them on the baking sheet and scoring them with my fork.

 If you know someone that is gluten free, the following recipe is the best ever to give them a treat, you don't have to buy any special flours!

I found the below recipe at Whole Foods Market. 

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
1 large egg
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup creamy unsweetened peanut butter (I used unsweetened chunky pb)
1/2 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla
1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Beat together egg, sugar, baking soda and vanilla in a standing mixer with the paddle attachment or with a hand held mixer.  Beat in the peanut butter.  Stir in chocolate chips if using.

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet, pressing lightly with the back of a fork. (I rolled my cookies in chopped peanuts before putting them on the baking sheet.) Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly set.  Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

My cookies are a bit darker because I used unrefined sugar, but they were still yummy!

What are your favorite cookies to make for your loved ones?

Salmon Croquettes

We had a lovely meal this week, especially for a Wednesday.  I love working at home as I can prep bigger meals through the day.  In this case Salmon Croquettes are a fancy way of saying Salmon Patties, but they really were the best Salmon Patties I've ever had.  I had a recipe for the Salmon that I printed off from Saveur.   The rest of the meal, I decided on after I already had the Salmon Croquettes together.

Salmon Croquettes

Now, this Salmon Croquette recipe has quite a few steps, just a warning.  You can find the whole recipe here on the Saveur website.  Below are some of my thoughts.

First, it called for Old Bay Seasoning.  I do not have Old Bay Seasoning, which those that have seen my spice cabinet may not believe.  But, I do have every individual spice, so I just looked up a recipe for that seasoning online and made it myself.  I used this Old Bay recipe I found on about.com.  Aren't I handy?

Next, you actually simmer the fish in a mix of water, Seasoning, and white Wine.    This is a new step to me, but it imparted some great flavor in the Salmon.
You'll notice in the recipe there is a lot of let sit for 1/2 hour, let sit for 1 hour.  I think the purpose is just to meld the flavors and sett the croquettes so they don't fall apart.  You can plan ahead to do this, but note, I only let my patties sit for 20 minutes at the end and they didn't fall apart.

Now, it tells you to measure them out in 1/3 cup size and pack them in.  Check out how perfect my Pampered chef, wet and dry measuring cup worked for this!  I just packed it in and pushed the cup to get them out.  This is the best measuring cup ever for things like peanut butter, sour cream, yogurt, etc.

The patties came out in perfect shapes and sizes.

As you can see, I had red onion in the fridge, but isn't that colorful?

Butter glazed Carrots

This is called, what do I have in the vegetable drawer?  Carrots ... slice, slice and I have a vegetable.

Quinoa with Kale, Green Onion, and Toasted Almonds

Never underestimate the joy of quick cooking grains like Quinoa and Couscous.  While they cook, just slice up some green onions and greens, toast some nuts, and mix in appropriate spices.  Tada! You have a side.

Did anyone grow up with Salmon Patties?  These are just a fancy version.

A Fine Meal

I recently enjoyed a dinner I want to share.  It was at a restaurant called Toulouse Petit.  The menu, which is typed daily, says Toulouse Petit: Kitchen Lounge and Universe.

I didn't take pictures as it was dark in the restaurant so you'll have to imagine.

Cocktails
Old Fashioned no. 46
     Maker's 46, sugar, angostura bitters, orange oil, cherry
Sezerac
    rye whisky, pernod rinse, bitters, sugar

Salad
Dungeness Crab and Red Grapefruit Salad
     with Avocado and Pistachios,
    shaved fennel, wild arugula fleur de sel

Charcuterie
Duck and Chicken Liver Terrine
    super smooth with madeira, cognac, shallots, thyme

Meat Entrees
Oven Roasted Duck Confit
    over Brussel Sprouts with Housemade Tasso
    shallots, thyme, grain mustard, sherry

Amazing!