Mud Season Relief


Ick, it's official, it's ugly in VT right now. Any tourists visiting the Green Mountain State this month are surely wondering, "Where's the green?"
This is not the best representation of our beautiful state and it tends to reflect badly on it's inhabitants as well. As my boss recently told me, "It's hard to be in a good mood when it's so ugly and brown outside." So, true.
So in times like this I, as usual, turn to cooking and drinking good wine to perk me up. And though I'm getting more and more excited to play with the spring-time ingredients that will be here soon and sip chilled rosé on the patio, it's just not quite that time yet.
So here is my recipe for a beautiful belly warmer, Braised Short Ribs and my Winter Panzanella with Syrah Vinaigrette. (I usually serve the short ribs over mashed potatoes as well to soak up the yummy sauce, use your favorite mashed potato recipe.) The wine to pair along? The Sobon Estate Amador County Syrah. A bottle for cooking plus a bottle for drinking, equals a blind eye to the grey and brown landscape out your front door. Cheers to obliviousness!



Syrah Braised Beef Short Ribs
4-6 servings

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter, divided
6 beef short ribs
salt & pepper
2 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped, peeled carrots
1 cup chopped, celery
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 750-ml bottle Syrah, or any full-bodied red wine
2 cups beef broth

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large oven-proof pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle ribs with salt and pepper. Add to pot in single layer and sauté until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes.
2. Transfer ribs to a plate. Add 1 tablespoon butter to pot. Add onions; sauté until brown, about 6 minutes. Add carrots and celery; sauté until beginning to soften, about 6 minutes. Mix in garlic, then rosemary. Add wine and broth; bring to boil, scraping up browned bits.
3. Return ribs and any accumulated juices to pot, arranging in single layer. Bring to simmer; cover and place in oven. Braise until ribs are very tender, about 2 1/2 hours.
4. Using tongs, transfer ribs to clean bowl. Spoon fat from pan juices. Boil juices until just beginning to thicken, about 10 minutes. Swirl in remaining butter until sauce is glossy. Spoon sauce over ribs and serve immediately.

Winter Panzanella with Syrah Vinaigrette
4-6 Servings

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Syrah, or any full-bodied red wine
1 large shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper
1 baguette cut into cubes
about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 fennel bulb, sliced into wedges
1 pear, sliced into wedges
4 oz. watercress, large stems discarded
4 oz. baby spinach
Parmesan cheese shavings

1.Preheat the oven to 400°. In a small saucepan, boil the wine over high heat until reduced to 1/3 cup, about 2 minutes. Add the shallots, 1 garlic clove, and season with salt & pepper.
2. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the bread with about 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the remaining garlic clove. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until crisp and golden, set aside.
3. On another rimmed baking sheet, toss fennel and pear with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and salt & pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes or until golden and tender.
4. Toss warm bread cubes, roasted fennel & pear, watercress and spinach, wine mixture, remaining olive oil and parmesan cheese shavings in a large bowl and serve.

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