Would we really expect anything else from our dear New England weather? On this first day of spring, we might be facing a little overnight snow. Despite the mild snow season, it seems winter wants to give us a reminder of next year’s potential before we go dancing through the daffodils.
It doesn’t sound like it will be a doozy. It doesn’t even sound like a sure bet. But, it’s enough for us to justify sharing one of our favorite “Snow Day” recipes: Wine Soaked Short Ribs with Pancetta Risotto. Because, there’s nothing like a little toasty lovin’ from the kitchen to keep your belly warm and your soul happy on a day when you wanted to be thinking of sandals and not galoshes!
Besides, pretty soon it will be caprese salads and fresh fish on the grill. So, until then, we might as well enjoy this last stick-to-your-ribs type of meal! 🙂
SHORT RIB INGREDIENTS
- 2 Pounds of boneless short ribs
- 2 Chopped shallots
- 4 Smashed garlic cloves
- 1 Chopped onion
- 1 Roughly chopped carrot stick
- 1 Chopped celery stalk
- Few sprigs of thyme & rosemary
- Handful of parsley
- ¼ Cup of brown sugar
- ¼ Cup red wine vinegar
- 1 Small can of tomato past
- ¾ Bottle of Barolo or any other dry red wine. (BTW- we use an entire bottle, if you count the glass for the chef. We won’t tell if you don’t. ;-))
- Few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
- About 3 cups of beef broth
- Zip lock baggie filled with flour, salt, and pepper
- Stick of Butter
TOOLS
- Large skillet
- Slow cooker
- Mixing bowl
- Zip lock baggie
INSTRUCTIONS
- Set crock pot to low.
- While singing along with your favorite Pandora station, chop short ribs into 3 inch or so cubes.
- Toss cubed beef into baggie with flour mixture until thoroughly coated.
- Melt butter in large skillet NOTE: We love our cast iron skillet for this sort of task! Plus, they say our diets are low in iron. So, besides the weight of a solid pan making your cooking feel extra hearty, just thing about the health benefit. 🙂
- Brown beef on all sides.
- Mix 2 chopped shallots, 4 smashed garlic cloves, 1 chopped onion, 1 roughly chopped carrot stick, 1 chopped celery stalk, few sprigs of thyme and rosemary, handful of parsley, ¼ cup of brown sugar, ¼ cup red wine vinegar, 1 small can of tomato paste, and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce into bowl.
- Once beef is browned, place into slow cooker, and give it a nice flavorful bathe it in the beef broth.
- With the butter and leftover browned beef bits still sizzling and in the skillet, add all of our lovely ingredients. Saute for about five to ten minutes.
- Scoop ingredients into slow cooker.
- Pour a little of the red wine into the skillet to lift up all of those tasty tidbits that might still be holding onto the pan. Once you can ensure all of that delicious flavor is now mixed into the wine, add it into the slow cooker.
- Add about half of the remaining bottle of wine.
- Set a timer for nine hours. Add the rest of the wine about five hours later.
- Once the beef is starting to break apart into tender morsels, turn off and enjoy over risotto! (Recipe follows.)
PANCETTA RISOTTO INGREDIENTS
- 1 Stick of butter
- 1 ½ Cups of dry arborito risotto rice
- ½ Cup of pancetta
- 2 Shallots
- 1 Small onion
- 1 Garlic clove
- ½ to 1 bottle of dry white wine
- 2 Cups chicken or vegetable stock
- ½ Cup of Parmesan/Romano cheese blend
- ¼ Cup of mozzarella
- Salt and pepper to taste.
INSTRUCTIONS
- Finely chop shallots, small onion, and garlic. TIP: If you don’t want to cry, grab your snorkeling gear and don the mask to avoid those tear-shedding fumes.
- Melt butter in a large pot.
- Saute pancetta, shallots, onion, and garlic on medium heat.
- Add rice to the pot and lightly toast those pretty little pearls.
- Lower the heat a touch and douse with a healthy pour of white wine.
- Stir until liquid is absorbed.
- Next add about a ½ a cup of chicken or vegetable stock.
- Continue alternating between wine and stock until liquids are absorbed and rice is no longer crunchy or even chewy. NOTE: At this point, feel free to pour yourself some more wine and start dancing to that Pandora station.
- Turn off heat, add cheeses, and stir until the risotto has a nice glorious gooey texture.
Lastly, manjia and enjoy!
And hauties, what’s one more little snow storm? After all, we’re New Englanders! We don’t balk at a little bit of weather. We just serve up some good food, pour ourselves some wine, and wait a day until the weather changes. 🙂
Cheers!
Happy Spring!
Jess & Kim 🙂
