Short Ribs...Long Flavor

On Saturday afternoon while we were at Mary and Carlos' place in the Hamptons we decided to make burgers on the grill for dinner along with some salmon and veggies...a classic summer BBQ. So while Carlos and I went to fill up on propane, the rest of the crew went to the store and came home with a surprise - beef short ribs. While our first thought was to incorporate them into the burgers, the final vote was to braise them and use them as burger "toppers". The only problem was that we hadn't shopped for any braising ingredients, so we had to use what was available at the house. Since the group charged me with preparing the ribs, I began rummaging through the cabinets and fridge collecting whatever I could find. The following is the recipe that I invented with what was available:

1.5 lbs of beef short ribs (some bones for flavor, but mostly removed from the bone)
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
2 carrots (or 8 baby carrots) roughly chopped
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 vidalia onion, roughly chopped
1/2 cup of chicken stock
1 bottle of beer (I used Heineken Light)
1/2 cup of honey
A pinch of each of the following, dried: marjoram, thyme, tarragon, and rosemary
3 off-the-vine tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper for seasoning

Begin by seasoning the short ribs well with salt and pepper. Brown them on all sides in the olive oil for 10-15 minutes. Remove the ribs. In the remaining oil and drippings from the browning, saute the garlic, onion, celery, tomatoes, and carrots - seasoning with more salt and pepper. While sauteing, add the bottle of beer and let it come to a boil. Then add the chicken stock and spices and let the combined liquid and vegetables come to a boil once again. Add the short ribs back to the sauce and add the honey. Partially cover your pot with a lid and let the ribs braise for 2 hours. After 2 hours, remove the ribs and bones from the remaining sauce and set them aside. Puree the sauce in a food processor to create a condiment that can be used as a side with the ribs, or on burgers.

This recipe gave the short ribs an amazing flavor from the honey, beer, vegetables and spices. The meat was extremely tender and tasted wonderful as both a burger "topper" and on its own. The condiment made from the sauce was an added bonus that I was not intending, but my Grandmother taught me to never let anything go to waste...so I threw it into the food processor and created a tasty side! You can doctor this recipe anyway you like with more or less honey, red wine instead of beer, and any spices that you love. I will definitely be making variations of this dish again. Until next time, buon appetito!

Coturri Zinfandel Chauvet 2004, Sonoma Valley

My wife Kristi and I spent this past weekend in the Hampton's with our great friends Mary and Carlos and their friends Rian and JC. In preparation for the weekend, I stopped by The Wine List of Summit in Summit, NJ to pick up a few bottles to go with the meals we were planning to make at the house. I decided to get three bottles of white to quench our thirst on the hot evenings and three bottles of red to pair with our BBQing. We ended up opening five of the six and they were all excellent, but one stood head and shoulders above the rest. The 2004 Coturri Zinfandel Chauvet was recommended to me by Neil Rodriguez who is the general manager and buyer at the wine shop. He said that if I was a "zin head" like him that enjoyed big, jammy, chewy zins that this bottle would be for me - and was it ever. Carlos and I decided that we would decant the bottle and let it hang out while we grilled and enjoyed several other beverages. From the first sip the wine wowed us with its fruit and jammy texture, which was no surprise given its deep purple color. This wine was perfect as our last bottle of the evening as it would have been way too big to begin with, even with the right food pairing. Kristi was the only one in the group that didn't love the wine, which I expected given that she typically does not like her wine quite that sweet, or with that much alcohol (14.9%). The wine went perfectly with our dessert which included chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies as well as vanilla bean ice cream. I will definitely be purchasing more of this wine as the $22 price point makes this outstanding wine a great value. Until next time, buon appetito!

Welcome to Fatto Con Amore!

Welcome to my blog, Fatto Con Amore - which means Made With Love in Italian. Look for my first installment next week. Until then, buon appetito!