Recipe Review

For Valentine's Day dinner, I had decided to try my hand at Braised Short Ribs.  I had a recipe picked out and figured it would be as good of a day as any to test it on my family.  Then we ended up having friends coming for dinner as well.  I don't know about you, but the last thing I wanted was to test a completely new recipe out on friends!

I had everything purchased though, so Braised Short Ribs were still on my menu.  I just needed a recipe from a trusted source!  Who else other than The Pioneer Woman could fill that need?!  I just knew that she had to have made these at some point and placed it on her website.  So, I went digging around and sure enough, Bingo, Braised Short Ribs. 

One thing that I love about The Pioneer Woman's Cooking section has to be her photographs.  She shows a photo of every step, and her cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl, is the same as well.  If you click on the short rib link above, you will understand what I mean, if you have been living under a rock somewhere and have no idea who The Pioneer Woman is.

So, with my laptop in hand in the kitchen, I set off to make my first ever batch of braised short ribs.
Well, let me back up just a step.  I knew I needed a larger dutch oven for this adventure.  My Le Creuset just wasn't large enough.  And since I'm not currently working, purchasing a larger Le Creuset was not going to happen.  I ventured off to Walmart and found this Better Homes and Gardens version.  I have used it a for a few other recipes and I am quite pleased with it!

The recipe has multiple steps that actually move rather quickly once you get started.  For that reason, I gathered, chopped, prepared and dredged everything before I was ready to cook.

Carrots and Onions, chopped

Sprinkle salt and pepper on ribs then dredge in flour

Slice up pancetta

Now I was ready to start cooking!

I added the pancetta to the pan to fry until it was crispy.  With these enamel dutch ovens, they heat quickly and my kitchen got quite smokey until I was able to get the heat regulated.  Medium worked just fine for me!

Once the pancetta is crispy, remove it from the pot, leaving the rendered fat that is left behind.  Add in some olive oil to the pan and add the ribs to brown them on all sides.  I worked in batches of 4 since I had 12 ribs that I was cooking and I didn't want to overcrowd the pan.

Okay, well this photo shows 3, I must have removed one before taking this photo.  You only need about a minute on each side.  Not really cooking them here, just browning to seal in the flavor.

Once all the ribs are done, place them aside and add carrots and onions to the pot.  Cook only for a few minutes.

I then added red wine to deglaze the pan.  Make sure you scrape around the bottom of the pan to get all of the good stuff.  I let this come to a boil and then added in beef stock.

After all liquid is in, place ribs back into the pot, put the lid on it and put it in the oven for an hour and a half at 350 degrees.  Then turn down to 325 degrees for another half hour.

I really wish they would create scratch and sniff computers.  I'm telling you these smelled fabulous!  The flour from the ribs allowed the liquid to thicken a bit, and the ribs just fell off the bone!

I made potatoes and broccoli to go along with it.  Then made up a huge thing of strawberry shortcake with homemade whip cream for dessert.  I'm still stuffed!

This meal was a huge success and I strongly urge you to visit The Pioneer Woman recipe page to take a gander at her photos.  They make mine look like a 4 yr old took them!

I found the recipe to be easy to follow and comprehend.  And the final result was super delicious.  I have made numerous recipes from both her website and her cookbook and haven't had anything bad yet!

Cookbook Tuesday, Well Wednesday this week

Have you seen the T.V show on OWN called Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag?  It has become a fixation for me.  I love the premise of the show.  I also love the fact that not everything they cook turns out FABULOUS!  Here's the deal, they choose recipes from a cookbook, cook them in a certain amount of time and then serve them to a chef.  Anna cracks me up because they constantly have to "bleep"  her.  Meaning she curses in the kitchen.  I feel normal when I watch these two.  Messes in the kitchen and everything. 

What I love about the show is that they are not trying to create their own recipes.  They use what is out there and let you know the results.  Not sure if you have noticed lately, but cookbooks are expensive.  Have you ever looked at a cookbook, bought it, got it home and never cooked anything out of it?  It is frustrating.  They also will take everyday kitchen items that you need to use for the recipe and test a few to let you know which ones are the best.  Some of these come in extremely handy, others, not so much.  Like the episode where they tested chopsticks.  Didn't understand that one!

Anyhoo, the point I'm trying to make here is that I love to cook.  And I typically can cook really well.  I have a few recipes that have been born out of  some section of my brain, that are actually good.  But mostly, I turn to cookbooks, online recipes and magazines for inspiration and information.  Anna and Kristina make me feel that it is okay for me NOT to be a chef and create my own recipes. 

So, with that being said, that is what Tuesdays will become.  Maybe Thursdays too.  We'll see.  I will take recipes out of varying cookbooks, make them and report here what I have uncovered.  I'm not promising miracles.  But I do hope to help the average person out there who wants to cook, discover the joys of cooking and that it isn't that difficult. 

(Ooh, Ooh, did anyone see the episode of America's Worst Cooks where the girl had to make poached eggs, so she cracked the egg and dropped the whole thing, shell and all into the water!  It made me laugh, it made me feel better about having to look up how to hard boil an egg a few years back!  I hate eggs, so I try very hard not to cook them!)

I have plenty of cookbooks here, but if there is a recipe you are interested in, let me know! Can be drink recipes as well.  I love making martini's and mixed drinks, so I'm always up for a challenge.  The first recipes will be posted here tomorrow.  I know tomorrow is Wednesday, but goodness gracious, how long do you want this post to be? 

See ya all tomorrow!

Kudos At Last!

I made dinner tonight, and this conversation happened because of it.

Kyle:  Please don't put mayonnaise in the potatoes anymore.

Me:  What??? There isn't any mayonnaise in the potatoes.  It is milk, cream, garlic, cheese, and flour.  I thought the potatoes and the chicken were really good.

Jeff:  Hell yeah! 

Me:  What did you just say?

Jeff:  Who, me?

Me:  Yes, did you just compliment a meal I made?

Jeff:  Hell yeah!

Okay, now let me explain my excitement.  My husband eats everything I cook.  I know the few items he doesn't like, peppers or anything spicy, so I always keep them out.  He eats, puts his dish away and not much else.  The only time I know he doesn't like anything is when I'm asked "will this be going into the rotation?"  I then know to shelf the recipe for another time.  A LONG time.

So, to actually receive a compliment is a HUGE thing.  He eats because he knows if he comments at all, I won't cook anymore.  I want to know if he doesn't like something, it helps me alter recipes and make them better, but the criticism has to be worded properly.  I would never serve anything I wouldn't actually eat myself.  Problem is, I was raised to eat just about anything!  Rabbit, lamb, oysters, calamari, etc.  My husband, was not raised this way.  His palette has grown leaps and bounds over the last 11 years!  I know if he doesn't say anything he actually likes it.  But a compliment, WOW.  Actually, I guess that would be a HELL YEAH!

Sangria

It has been so hot and humid here lately, that I figured I would do something different for drinks with dinner. So, yesterday morning was spent chopping, slicing and peeling various fruits for a White Sangria. I added apples, grapes, lemons, limes, oranges and pineapple. Then added Pinot Grigio, Rum, Citrus Vodka and Cointreau with some simple syrup. I then placed it in the fridge all day, poured it over ice and served it with dinner. It was delicious, which was obvious by the fact that the pitcher was empty by the time the dishes were done!

What's For Dinner?

This is for my sister in law, Stacey, who requested I cook something for dinner that she can then have the recipe for. So, in honor of The Pioneer Woman, who I am going to see tomorrow in Orlando at her book signing, I tried the following recipe:

Hot and Spicy Drumsticks, by Terri from the Tasty Kitchen. I had to make some changes because I didn't have all of the ingredients that Terri used.

Ingredients: Apricot Preserves, Ketchup, Soy Sauce, Garlic, chili powder. Original recipes calls for Hot Sauce. Since my husband likes nothing spicy, I don't carry hot sauce, so I substituted the chili powder. Cutting it from 2 tsp to 1 tsp. ( The wine in the background? That is mine for drinking. No wine in this recipe, just forgot to move the evidence before I took the photo!)

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and cook until the apricot preserves have melted down. Pour over chicken in a greased baking dish. Place in the oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs since this is what I had on hand.

All done and smells, wonderful. Scratch and Sniff . Did you try? hee, hee... just kidding, no scratch and sniff yet.

What's for dinner? Apricot Chicken over Rice. It was Yummy. Thanks Pioneer Woman, and see you tomorrow!