Happy Easter! Sorry again for the long absence. Both my brother and sister chastised me this weekend for not posting in so long. So, here I am.Last weekend while shopping, we found a package of short ribs and added them to the cart. With food already in mind for the week, these were set aside until this weekend and they were worth the wait.
Jim looked through a few cookbooks and found a few recipes online to get an idea how he would make braised short ribs. His recipe turned out wonderful and although it too several hours to make it was a fairly easy recipe.
As the main course was bubbling away, he tossed some potatoes and Brussels Sprouts in the oven for side dishes. Add in a nice bottle of red wine and we had dinner.
Jim's Braised Short Ribs4 lbs. beef short ribs
1 (750 ml) bottle of red wine, preferably a dry red
1 15 oz can of beef stock
1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced
2 stalks of celery cut into 4-inch pieces
2 carrots cut into 3-inch pieces
flour
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp thyme
1 bay leaf
Pour the wine into a medium sauce pan over medium high heat and reduce by half. Set aside.
Coat the meat in flour and brown on all sides in a dutch oven. Rest on a plate when done.
Sautee the onions, celery, and carrots until the onions are soft. 
Add the wine, beef, beef stock, mustard seeds, thyme and bay leaf. Reduce to low, cover and let braise for 3 hours. 
Strain the liquid and return to the dutch oven, reduce by half. Serve with the beef.
Hi, Barbara, thanks for commenting on my blog. You've dropped off in frequency too! What's going on?
ReplyDeleteSimba is in his twilight years, I'm afraid. He was recently bitten by a raccoon and after a heavy round of anti-inflammatories we discovered his kidneys had been damaged (probably not just from this incident, but it made the damage discernable). Now he's on meds for that and a breathing issue, is "inappetant" as they say, so in order to get him to eat I'm trying every type of meat under the sun and even then sometimes he won't eat it. I also have to give him subcutaneous fluids twice a week since his kidneys aren't working too well.
Despite it all, for the most part he seems pretty happy. He gets tired when he needs hydrating and overall his energy level is a little off, but he still enjoys his life and is lovable as ever.
So, I'm preparing myself for the day when none of these therapies will be sufficient, but it doesn't necessarily have to be soon. We could have another year or even two, and for a 13-1/2 year old dog, that's not so bad!
It gives me easy access to tears for my acting, as you can imagine.
How's Sophie doing?