Food And Wine. . .

I haven't done a whole lot of food blogging lately, so I know I'm owing you guys one and here it is.

I learned the hard way in cooking that simple is sometimes best. Everyone, including me, is guilty of throwing every spice, herb, mustard, wine imaginable into a pot and cooking the shit out of it and it really doesn't have to be that complicated.

For this reason, I remember a particular appetizer course of a seven course prix fixe dinner I had at The Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco years ago and remember nothing of the rest of the menu.  Well, except for the 60-year old port wine I had with the cheese course. The appetizer was four types of heirloom tomato concasse (peeled, seeded and diced) that had been pressed into individual ring molds along a rectangular plate leaving behind four distinct round disks of beautiful tomato. There were purple tomatoes, probably Brandywine, a yellow variety, a typical red tomato and a green one. Accompanying the tomatoes were several slivers of dried prosciutto ham and nothing more. The tomatoes had hardly been doctored beyond peeling and seeding; there were no pungent olive oils or tart balsamic reductions on the plate. Not even an herb garnish. It was simply tomato and salty ham and it couldn't have been more divine. Each of the tomatoes differed so greatly from one another in texture, acidity and sweetness which all balanced perfectly with the savory and crisp prosciutto. Simple perfection.

Today we visit that same principle, but with the classic combination of beef and red wine.

Braised Beef Short Ribs in Pinot Noir, carmelized onions and rosemary

1.5 lbs. beef short ribs
1 medium onion, sliced
3 large cloves of garlic, sliced
2 cups of Fat Bastard pinot noir
1-2 cups of chicken stock or water
1 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP honey
1-2 inch spring of rosemary, bruised
2 bay leaves
olive oil
butter
salt and pepper, to taste
flour, for dredging

Season the beef with salt and pepper and dredge in seasoned flour, dusting off excess. Brown the beef in olive oil on all sides until colored brown nicely, place browned beef in deep casserole or pot.

Should look something like this:

After browning all of the ribs, add 1/2 TBSP of butter to the pan and saute the onions over medium high heat for 4 minutes, reduce heat to medium low and allow the onions to caramelize slowly. Stir them frequently. After 8 minutes add the sugar and continue to slowly caramelize the onions. Do not let them burn, reduce heat even lower if necessary.

Once the onions have caramelized, slide them to one side of the pan and add another 1/2 TBSP of butter, then add the garlic. Slide the pan so the side with the onions is off the burner slightly and increase the heat to just above medium low. Allow the garlic to brown as shown in the picture below. Please do not burn the garlic as the only thing in a kitchen that tastes worse than burnt garlic is burnt beans.

Once the garlic has browned, deglaze the pan with the red wine. Reduce this by half and add to the pot with the beef. Add 1 to 2 cups of chicken stock or water to the pan until the beef is about half to two-thirds covered. Bruise the rosemary with the back of a knife and add it, the honey, bay leaf, salt and pepper to the pot. Skim as much fat as possible from the surface as you bring to a boil, cover and place in a 325 degree oven for 1.5 to 2 hours.

When it is done cooking there should be a reduced and thickened jus of sweet and sour goodness in the bottom of the pan and the meat should be fork tender. If it's not tender enough, cook a little longer.

Serve over rice or risotto or do like I do and eat it right out of the pot.  Enjoy and bon appetit!