Braised Short Rib in Fennel Puree

I took this recipe from Thomas Keller and modified it to my liking.   It tasted as amazing as the picture shows. This is probably how I will make all of my braises going forward.  This recipe costs $30 ($10 for food and $20 for the wine) takes about 2 hours total time (only half of that is actually cooking) and feeds 2-3 people.

Red Wine Reduction
1 bottle good red wine, Cabernet perhaps
1 red onion, diced
1 cup peeled carrots, chopped
1 fennel bulb, green parts only, reserve frawns for garnish
1 leek, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, smashed
3 thyme sprigs
6-flat-leaf parsley sprigs
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns


You will also need to reserve:
1 yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup carrot, chopped
1  leek, chopped white and light green parts only
2 garlic cloves, smashed
3 thyme sprigs
1 bay leave

Combine all the ingredient for the red wine reduction in a large Dutch oven or other heavy ovenproof pot that will hold the everything comfortably. Bring the liquid to a simmer over high heat and then reduce the heat to low to maintain the simmer for 45 to 50 minutes or until the the wine has reduced to a glaze consistency. Turnoff the heat.  Then add the reserved fresh onion, carrots, leeks, garlic, thyme and bay leaves to the wine reduction and toss together. 


Optional Step: Cut a piece of cheesecloth about 4 inches larger than the diameter of the pot. Moisten the cheesecloth and wring dry, place over the vegetables, and fold over the edges to form a “nest” for the meat. The cheesecloth will allow the liquid to flavor and cook the meat but prevent bits of vegetables and herbs from clinging to it. 


Short Rib Braise

6 pieces boneless short rib, about 1.5 lbs
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
All-purpose flour
Canola oil
1 box organic vegetable or chicken stock

While that red wine reduction is cooking, trim the short ribs and season all sides generously with salt and pepper and coat in flour, patting off any excess. Heat some canola oil in a large sauté pan over high heat until it shimmers. Add the meat fat-side-down, reduce the heat, and brown the meat for 3 minutes on each side. Set aside on a rack.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.Put the short rib on the cheesecloth and add the stock; it should come just to the top of the meat. Cut a lid of aluminum or parchment paper and place it over the meat.

Transfer the pot to the oven and reduce the heat to 325°F  The  short ribs will braise for 1 1/2 or until very tender. To check, uncover the meat and press on it: the fibers should separate as you press down, but the meat shouldn't be falling apart., Transfer the meat to a heatproof container. Strain the braising liquid twice through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, then strain into a fat separator or deep bowl and allow the fat to rise to the top. Skim off the fat and strain the liquid over the sliced meat. 

Fennel Puree
1 organic fennel bulb, white part only, chopped 
1/2 white onion, chopped 
1 shallot chopped
4 tablespoons, extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
salt and white pepper to taste

Once the meat is braising, place the fennel, onion and shallot in a medium pot of cool water. Start on medium high until boiling.  Let boil 8-10 minutes or until tender.  Place all the ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Lay the short ribs into the fennel puree and garnish with the reserved fennel frawns.  Spoon some sauce over the meat and serve.  Buon Apetito!!

Risotto Milanese with Veal Osso Bucco and Gremolata

This classic Northern Italian composition is the definition of comfort food.  This dish takes 2 hours, costs $30 and feeds 2 very well.

Risotto Milanese - 1 hour
1/2 organic white onion, diced
1/2 organic leek, diced
1/4 cup shallots, diced
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons pancetta, diced (optional)
1 cup white wine, pinot grigio 
1 1/2 cups Arborio rise
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups water
1 teaspoon saffron
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 tablespoon of butter
salt and pepper


Combine water, stock and saffron threads in a medium saucepan and place on low heat. Start a seperate large high sided sauce pot or very large sautee pan on medium low heat (4 of 10) and add olive oil and butter. Then add the chopped onions, leeks and shallots and cook until the onion is translucent, about 7 minutes. Now add the 2 cups of Arborio rice. Stir the rice and vegetables until it begins to toast a bit and becomes translucent, about 4 minutes. Now add the wine and stir until most of the wine has cooked off. Now add three ladles of the warmed stock. Stir the rice well until all of the liquid is almost all absorbed. Then add three more ladles of stock and stir it in again until absorbed. Stir the pot every 3-4 minutes or so, don't walk away. Keep adding the three ladles of stock every time the liquid is almost absorbed. It should take about 35 to 40 minutes for the rice to stop absorbing the liquid rapidly and begin to get tender. About 5 to 6 times of adding the stock. Once the rice is tender but with a little bite left, turn off the heat on the risotto and add the butter and Parmesan cheeses and mix well.  Let stand and mix again gentle, serve immediately. 

Veal Osso Buco - 1.5 hours
2 tablespoons pancetta, finely chopped
2 oz vegetable oil
2 veal shanks
1/2 medium yellow onion, rough chop
1/2 medium red onion, rough chop
2 celery stalks, rough chop
1/2 leek, chopped
2 roma tomato, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 cups dry red wine
2 cups stock (veg, chicken or beef) I used chicken stock
2 sprigs fresh thyme, parsley and oregano (optional)
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of pepper

Turn the oven on to 325. Start a large dutch oven (oven proof pot with lid) or enamel coated cast iron cooking vessel (ie. le crusset) on low heat. Add the pancetta and let that melt and render out the fat, about 10 minutes. Remove the cooked pancetta and reserve it for later. Salt and pepper the veal shanks and coat with a bit of flour. Add the veg oil to the pancetta fat and turn the heat to medium. Add the veal shanks and cook for about 4 minutes on each side or until they get a nice brown on them. Remove them from the pot and set aside. Turn the heat back to low and add the onions, scallions, tomato, garlic, carrots and reserved pancetta. Let that cook for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables have softened. Now turn the heat to medium and add the red wine. Let that cook for about 5 minutes. Now add the chicken stock. Cook this for about 10 more minutes. Now turn off the heat. Add the reserved veal shanks to the pot, the liquid should be about half way up the shanks. Top the shanks with the fresh herbs. Cover the pot and place the whole thing in the oven. This whole technique is called braising.  Let that cook in the oven for 1 hour. Remove and throw away the herbs. Remove the shanks from the pot and set aside. Puree the vegetables and liquid using a stick blender or traditional blender, then strain the liquid from the vegetables. Using a small knife or fork, take out the cooked marrow from the bones and add it to strained liquid. Reduce the sauce for 10 minutes or until desired consistency. Remove the meat from the bone and fat and add the shank pieces back into the sauce to heat up. Remove and serve. 


Gremolata - 20 minutes
1/2 bunch of parsley, stemmed and fine chopped
1 garlic clove, fine dice
1 lemon completely zested, no juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Mix all the ingredients and let stand for at least 20 minutes up to 1 day.


Buon Apetito!

Huge Prime Rib-Eye with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Sunchokes and Shallots

It took a while to make this first post of the New Year so without further ado lets get it started. We got these two 38oz prime grade rib-eyes from Epicure. I also found some sunchokes, or Jerusalem Artichokes, which are a rare find. They are tubers that taste exactly like artichoke heats when roasted. Fingerling potatoes are a small finger sized potato with a creamy texture and a touch of sweetness. I also made a red wine - balsamic reduction to compliment the slow cooked steak. This takes about 2 hours, cost $150 (steaks are about $100 of that) and feeds 4 hungry people.

Red Wine - Balsamic Reduction
1/2 bottle of red wine, I used Valpolicella a light Italian red wine
1 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups beef stock
1/4 cup shallots, sliced
5 parsley sprigs
1 tablespoon of butter

Bring the red wine, balsamic, beef stock and shallots to almost boiling on medium high heat and then lower to low heat and let cook for 2 hours or until reduced to 1/2 a cup of liquid. Add parsley and let cook for 5 minutes. Strain shallots and parsley from the sauce and put back over low heat. Add some fresh cracked black pepper then whisk in the butter slowly and serve immediately.

Slow Roasted Rib-Eye
2 38oz Prime Grade Rib-eye steaks
2 teaspoons of salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of butter

This slow and low steak cooking method is somethin I learned by watching an Alain Ducasse(one of the top US chefs) video on youtube. I have worked in steakhouses and have never seen this method used so I was skeptical at first. However after doing this technique a few times I don't think there is a better way to prepare a steak. The steaks must be at least 1 3/4 inches thick for this to work properly. The results are a through and through medium or medium rare depending on roasting time.

Start a large frying pan on medium low heat (2.5 of 10). Let it heat up for at least 5 minutes. Place the steaks in the pan without any oil or butter. Let them cook without moving them for 17 to 20 minutes or until a golden crust occurs. Now flip the steak and let it cook for another 17 to 20 minutes or until carmelized on that side. Now add the butter to the pan and turn the steak and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the steaks from the pan and place on a foil lined baking sheet on a baking rack. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Let the steaks rest for 20 minutes on the rack. Now place in the oven and let cook 15 for medium rare and 22 minutes for medium. I like rib-eye cooked to about medium to melt out the fat. Take them out and let it rest again for at least 7 minutes. Cut the meat off the bone and slice to serve. Top with the red wine - balsamic sauce.



Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Sunchokes and Shallots
1 lb, fingerling potatoes
1/2 pound sunchokes
1/2 pound baby shallots
olive oil, salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly wash the potatoes and sunchokes. Slice the potatoes on the bias (diagonal) and peel to sunchokes of the outter knobs and thicker skins. Cut the sunchokes into pieces about the same size as the shallots and potatoes. Peel the shallots. Place all of the veggies on a baking sheet and coat with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about an hour or until the potatoes, sunchokes and shallots are tender. Serve them up aside the steak for an earthy and delicious side dish.



My friends Ty, Alp and Ricky all joined me for this awesome early dinner and I appreciate their company and also appreciate them buying the food. This is a meat and potato lovers' dream and the sweet-rich sauce really brings it all together. Thanks guys!