New Years Resolutions

I don't usually do New Years Resolutions...they generally don't work, but I found myself needing to start paying closer attention not to what I was eating, but how much I was eating. I have always had a problem with portion control (what can I say I love food). I signed up with this online program and started paying attention to how many calories I was consuming a day. Quite an eye opener I have to say. Now of course I hope to shed a few pounds on this journey of calorie counting, but we shall see. I also don't stick to my calorie counting on the weekends.

So the bf bought me a lovely 5 qt. braiser and I figured the best way to break it in was to make some delicious short ribs.

I seasoned these babies well with salt and fresh ground pepper and seared them in my shiny new braiser until browned on all sides.

Look at how pretty they are getting.

Pull the short ribs out when browned and set aside. Then to the hot pan I added a mirepoix plus garlic (bout 4 cloves) more salt and fresh ground pepper sautee til soft.

After the mirepoix cooked I added to the pan 2 Cu. red wine, 2 Cu. beef broth, 1 tsp. of liquid smoke (I adore that stuff) a little finde grind oregano and a few sprigs of fresh rosemary from outside my front door. I pulled the rosemary sprigs out after about 5 min. of steeping.

Cook the liquid down some (bout half)

Place the ribs back into the pan.

Put in a preheated oven (250 oughta about do it). Is that not a gorgeous pan?

Then after the ribs are almost completely cooked and tenderlicious (should be a word) you let the pan cool completely and slip it into the fridge over night until the grease raises to the top and hardens.

Remove the grease from the top layer. Yuck.

Then put the lid back on and slip those ribs back into a preheated oven (bout 300) for about an hour.

I served my short ribs up with cheesy polenta and some fried beans. They were absolutely amazing. Now if you decide to go with mashed potatoes you can take that lovely sauce in the bottom of the pan and puree it and use it for gravy. I assure you it is fantastic. Now remember if you want to have this for Sunday dinner you need to start it on Saturday afternoon. Have a blessed weekend.