Gourmet food...

Our oldest son-in-law loves eating and cooking gourmet food.  So when they came down for Easter weekend, I planned a meal that we could have on Passover night.  We ended up not preparing or eating the meal on Passover because we all had a stomach bug.  But we all felt good enough to enjoy it the next night and still talked about the significance of Passover in understanding Easter. 

I chose Braised Short Ribs and Charroset (recipes from Clive Berkman), Caprese Salad and asparagus.  The recipe for today is the ribs.  These are SO good!  My mouth is watering just writing about them.  I bought grass-fed boneless ribs for this recipe.  For those of you who do not buy wine on a regular basis, just buy an inexpensive bottle at your grocery store.  I don't like the taste of alcohol, but once it's burned off (I had to get my son-in-law to show me how to do this), the wine flavor is amazing in this recipe. 

Braised Short Ribs
(Serves 10)

1 bottle Cabernet Sauvignon
6 pounds boneless short ribs
salt
1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
Matzoh meal or flour, for dredging
10 cloves garlic, peeled
8 large shallots, peeled, trimmed, rinsed, split and dried
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 stalks celery, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium leek, white and light green parts only, coarsely chopped
6 sprigs Italian parsley
2 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 quarts beef or chicken stock
freshly ground white pepper

Pour the wine into a large saucepan set over medium heat.  When the wine is heated, slightly tip the pan and carefully set it aflame with a lighter or a match.  You will see transparent blue flames on the surface of the wine.  Let the flames die out, then increase the heat so that the wine boils; allow it to boil until it cooks down by half.  Remove from the heat.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large casserole, large enough to hold 6 ribs, over medium-high heat.  Season the ribs all over with salt and the crushed pepper.  Dust the ribs with about 2 Tbsp of matzoh meal or flour and then when the oil is hot, slip the ribs into the pot and sear for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until well browned.

(One batch browned, another batch ready to go.)

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Transfer the browned ribs to a plate.  Remove all but 1 Tbsp of fat from the pot; lower the heat to medium and toss in the vegetables and herbs.  Brown the vegetables lightly, 5 to 7 minutes, then stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute to blend.

Add the reduced wine, browned ribs and stock (broth) to the pot.  Bring to a boil; cover the pot tightly and slide it into the oven to braise for about 2 1/2 hours or until the ribs are tender enough to be easily pierced with a fork.  Every 30 minutes or so, lift the lid and skim and discard whatever fat may have bubbled up to the surface.

Carefully transfer the meat to a heated serving platter with a lip and keep warm.  Boil the pan liquid until it thickens and reduces to approximately 1 quart.  Season with salt and pepper and pass through a fine-mesh strainer; discard the solids.

Presentation: Pour the sauce over the meat on the platter.  Serve with vegetables of your choice.

Plated: (small glass dish) Charroset, braised ribs, asparagus and Caprese salad (made with a slice of tomato and a slice of fresh mozarella cheese sprinkled with chopped fresh basil and balsamic vinegar.) Yum!