Valerie’s Home Cooking – Valerie Bertinelli
This recipe calls for putting the short rib meat on a sliced baguette with cheese, and chives, and other ingredients (which is all outlined in the recipe) but being the rebel that I am, I just served them up as short ribs with a side of saffron rice and biscuits. Because, why not! But honestly, the main reason I didn’t follow the recipe exactly the way it was written is because I could never get John to eat short ribs on a baguette with cream cheese, et. al. So I went a bit more traditional and followed the short rib portion of the recipe and just didn’t follow the portion pertaining to the baguette. But one day I do want to try it just to see how the flavors mix.
As for how the short ribs turned out overall? REALLY good. Very tasty. The blend of ingredients gave them a sweet and savory taste that were really enjoyable. Definitely worth making again.
Ingredients:
Short Ribs
1 pound boneless beef short ribs, trimmed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, quartered
1 medium carrot, cut into large chunks
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 thyme sprig, plus more for garnish
½ cup dry red wine
1½ cups reduced-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Additional Ingredients
12 (½-inch-thick) baguette slices
¼ cup cream cheese, softened
½ cup crumbled blue cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives, plus more for garnish
2 small plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
Cut the short ribs into 12 bite-size pieces. Sprinkle with salt, paprika, and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper. Heat the olive oil in a small Dutch oven over medium. Add the short rib pieces, and cook, turning to brown all over, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the Dutch oven.
Ass the onion carrot, garlic, and thyme to the Dutch oven, and cook until the vegetables just begin to brown, about 2 minutes. Add the wine, and increase the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil, and cook until the liquid is reduced to about a ½ cup, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the short rib pieces, broth, honey and vinegar, and reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cover and cook until the beef is tender but not falling apart. About 1 hour and 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef and vegetables to a large platter.
Preheat the oven to 400º F. Remove and discard the vegetables ad thyme spring from the beef mixture.
Increase the heat to high, and bring the liquid in the Dutch oven to a boil. Boil until the liquid is reduced to about 1 cup, about 2 minutes. Return the beef to the Dutch oven, and toss to coat. Remove from the heat, and cover to keep warm.
Place the baguette slices in a single layer on a baking sheet, and bake until just crisp but not browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to broil.
Place the cream cheese, blue cheese, 1 tablespoon chopped chives, and remaining ¼ teaspoon of pepper in a small bowl, and mash until combined. Spread about 1 tablespoon of the mixture on each toast, and broil until the cheese mixture just begins to brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
Top each cheese toast with 1 tomato slice and 1 piece of the glazed short rib. Garnish with the chopped chives and thyme.
Dinner With Diana 