Adobong Tadyang (Filipino Short Ribs)

A friend on facebook has made this dish twice and his wife raved about the unique flavors. I figured I had to give it a shot! And wow, it really is great! I couldn't find sherry vinegar. (I was able to find sherry cooking wine, but not sherry vinegar, so I substituted with red wine vinegar. I think the sherry vinegar would have had a bit more fullness and less acidity, so to compensate, I added a few tablespoons of brown sugar.) The end result was really tasty, and my friend's wife was right - it's a flavor I haven't had before and can't wait to have again!

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tbsp. canola oil
• 4 beef short ribs
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 1½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup coconut milk
• ¾ cup sherry vinegar
• ¾ cup soy sauce
• 24 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 small red Thai chiles
• Cooked white rice, for serving (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil in a 6-qt. saucepan over medium-high. Season ribs with salt and ½ tsp. pepper; working in batches, cook, turning as needed, until browned, about 15 minutes. Using a spoon, discard excess oil from pan. Stir in remaining pepper, the stock, coconut milk, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, and chiles; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, covered and stirring occasionally, until meat is falling off the bone, 2½–3 hours. Transfer ribs to a serving platter; keep warm. Simmer sauce over medium-high until thickened, 18–20 minutes; pour over ribs. Serve with rice, if you like.

Bo Kho

One of my favorite Vietnamese dishes growing up, so I finally decided during my snow day to try making it myself! (And I have to admit, it turned out awesome!) Bo Kho is usually eaten as a stew with some airy French baguette pieces to dip in the stew. Sometimes folks eat it as a noodle dish (think Pho), but I prefer it with the bread. 

INGREDIENTS

- 2-3 pounds bone-in beef cut (this time around I used two large pieces of beef shank, and some short ribs that were on sale)

- 3 tsp madras curry powder

- 3 tsp Chinese five spice powder

- 3 stalks lemongrass (or lemongrass purée if you can't find fresh stalks at the store)

- 2-inch knob ginger, cut into big slices

- 1 stick of cinnamon
- 3 star anise
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp salt
- 6-oz can tomato paste
- 2 carrots, cut into 2-inch chunks
- 3 potatoes or more, cut into 2 -inch chunks
- 1 cup pearl onions, or 1 large onion, cut into 2 inch chunks

1) Season the beef with some curry powder, five spice powder, and if you're using lemongrass paste, some of that. (If you're using lemongrass stalks, don't worry about this step.)

2) In a large Dutch oven, brown the beef in small batches in some olive oil. 

3) Remove the beef and set aside.

4) Toss the potatoes, onions, and all the remaining ingredients into the same Dutch oven. (Be sure to scrape up all the brown pieces from the bottom of the pan.) 

5) Add back in the beef and fill the pot with water so that the beef is covered, (about a 3/4 full pot.)

6) Let simmer for three hours.

7) Toast the baguette and serve with the dish!

Skillet Seared Ribeye

Everyone who knows me knows I loves me some steak! And although it causes a bit of smoke in the kitchen (it's fine - just disconnect the smoke detector!) it produces a perfectly cooked steak each time. So grab your iron skillet, and let's get started!

Why an iron skillet, you ask? Grill marks are pretty and all, but I'm more about taste. For all you food science geeks, you know what I'm talking about: the Maillaird  Reaction. The more your meat touches a hot surface (in this case a flat iron skillet) the more browning/caramelization you get on the meat and the tastier it becomes. Oh, I should also add that I currently don't own a grill...so grilling a steak isn't really possible. STILL - I'd choose to pan sear one any day of the week! 

INGREDIENTS FOR STEAK

- a steak (preferably ribeye) that's at least an inch and a half thick

- Lawry's Seasoning Salt or Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning (whatever you have on hand)

- Worcestershire Sauce 

- Dales Steak Seasoning

Seasoning: 

Very simple. Season the thick cut steak with some Lawry's Seasoning Salt or Tony Chachere's, whatever you have in hand. Douse it with some Worcestershire Sauce and Dale's Seasoning. Let sit for at least 20 minutes.

Cooking:

I got these instructions from Alton Brown. Works like a charm.

Place a 10-to-12-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven and heat the oven to 500 degrees F. Bring the steak to room temperature. 

When the oven reaches temperature, remove the skillet (remember it's hot!) and place on the range over high heat for 5 minutes. Remove steak from marinade and coat the steak lightly with oil.

Immediately place the steak in the middle of the hot, dry skillet. Cook 30 seconds without moving. Turn with tongs and cook another 30 seconds, then put the pan straight into the oven for 2 minutes. Flip the steak and cook for another 2 minutes. (This time is for medium-rare steak. If you prefer medium, add a minute to both of the oven turns.)

Remove the steak from the skillet, let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

MUSHROOMS

- Sauté the mushrooms in a pan with the same seasonings as the steak marinade.

INGREDIENTS FOR MASHED SWEET POTATO

- 1 large sweet potato

- 3-4 tbsp butter

- 1 tbsp REAL maple syrup (just splurge and get the real stuff. It's better for you, you don't use it too often, and it makes a world of difference.) or raw honey

- dash of cayenne pepper

Cut the sweet potato up in big chunks and boil until soft enough to mash. (I find if you soak the sweet potato chunks in water for at least an hour beforehand it gets rid of that weird stringy consistency that sweet potatoes sometimes have.) Mash the sweet potato with the other ingredients and serve. (One sweet potato will serve two people.)

INGREDIENTS FOR ASPARAGUS

- bundle of asparagus

- 3 tbsp butter

- 1 shallot, minced

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- dash of olive oil

Although my mother would hate for me to "waste" any part of the asparagus, we're not actually supposed to eat the entire stalk. Asparagus will break on its own when you bend the stalk (right at the point you're supposed to cut it) so I break them by hand instead of cutting them (This is only if I'm eating them as long stalks, which, admittedly, look prettier.)

Melt the butter with the olive oil, add the shallot and garlic. Toss in the asparagus and cover until tender.

Braised Short Ribs (Graham's recipe!)

I've never made short ribs before, but when I saw these beautifully cut ones at Fresh Market, I couldn't resist trying! (Also, Graham sent me his most recent recipe and said they were the best he ever made.)

Ingredients

- 3-4 lbs short ribs

- 1 lb crimini mushrooms, quartered

- 1 medium sweet onion, chopped

- 3 cloves garlic, chopped

- 1 bottle cheap drinkable red wine

- 1 qt. beef broth

- a few sprigs of fresh thyme

1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2) Turn the stovetop on to medium high and put a Dutch oven on it. Pour in olive oil.

3) Salt the short ribs on each side. Brown the short ribs, 2 minutes each side. When they're done, take them out of the Dutch oven and set aside.

4) While the ribs are browning, chop the onions and mushrooms.

5) Once the ribs are removed from the Dutch oven, turn the heat down to medium and throw in the onions and garlic. Add salt and fresh cracked pepper. Sauté until translucent.

6) Add mushrooms. Add more salt and pepper. Cook for five minutes.

7) Pour in the bottle of wine and beef stock.

8) Add short ribs back into the Dutch oven. Make sure they are covered in the wine/broth mixture.

9) Place the entire pot in the oven, with the too slightly ajar. You want the juice to reduce over the next few hours.

Throughout the braising, I tasted and added some Maggi seasoning, Dale's and honey.

We ate this with an artisan baguette. I really liked it. It's definitely not a light meal. I might throw the mushrooms in later on in the process. They were very wine heavy-tasting. The meat was perfect though.