Welcome

Welcome to my blog. My blogging journey began about in August 2009 as a photo-a-day blog which has since transitioned to combine my love of good food and photography. Today, using as many local and fresh ingredients as we can, my boyfriend and myself spend time researching recipes, making our own adaptations, cooking, taking photos, eating, and finally reflecting on all or part of the above listed process here. I hope you take the time to not only read and look at our photos, but please cook some of the recipes yourself. You are invited and encourage to leave feedback as we continue our culinary journey!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Red Wine-Braised Ribs and Mashed Cauliflower

Back in March when I purchased the new crockpot cookbook, Daniele had picked out his favorite dish: red wine-braised ribs. He knew he would love them and he was right.

I personally don't like ribs. I find them too much work to eat and simply too messy. Not to mention hard to cook. Well, one of the glorious things about cooking ribs in the crockpot is that after cooking on low for 8 hours, the meat just falls off the bone. So, you don't need to work to get the meat off the bone and none of the meat is wasted! We served this dish with mashed cauliflower, a substitution for mashed potatoes.

Red Wine-Braised Ribs and Mashed Cauliflower
  • 2 pounds bone-in pork ribs (or beef, if you prefer)
  • salt and pepper
  • canola oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 1 celery rib, chopped
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup dry red wine
  • 1 tablespoon balsami vinegar
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • minced, fresh parsley
Defrost ribs and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet and brown short ribs well on all side for approximately 10 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.

Add onion, carrot, celery, tomato, and thyme to skillet and cook for about 10 minutes until onions are softened and browned. Stir in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add wine and vinegar to mixture and stir until a smooth consistency. Bring to a boil and simmer about 5 minutes, transfer to slow cooker.

Stir in slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Serve warm with fresh parsley.

Sidedish: Mashed Cauliflower
I enjoyed this sidedish, but found it much more difficult to make than I was expecting. To prepare, boil a head of cauliflower until it is very soft (at least 15 minutes, if not longer). Since mashing a cauliflower is actually very difficult, and you will not get the same consistency as mashed potatoes if you do it by hand, I suggest using a food processor or blender. Put the boiled pieces of cauliflower in a food processor, and mix in some milk, butter, salt, pepper, and any other seasonings. Blend until smooth.




2 comments:

  1. P.S. look at the pretty kitty in the window behind my plate!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This are great dishes you have here.Taste and surely look delicious!

    ReplyDelete