Secret Recipe Club: Short Ribs and Truffle Parmesan Fries

It's time for another Secret Recipe Club!  My last two Secret Recipe blogs have really been pretty easy for me to choose what to make, but this month I was really overwhelmed!  First off, Barbara from Barbara Bakes  is yet another long lost soul mate, and stalking, er, reading dozens of posts on her blog, was really quite fun.   She is a  Mass Comm major, (me too) obviously a cook, baker, blogger and her photo shows her in a Tuscano apron.  I may own one very similar to that!

She had some great things to choose from, but when I read her post on Short Ribs, I knew I found my recipe.  Her husband raved about them, and after our amazing dinner at Bottega I knew Scott would appreciate my attempt at short ribs.  She used a recipe from Simply Recipes and served hers with caramelized onion mashed potatoes, but I decided to make Parmiagiano Truffle Fries like we had at Bottega.

The first big change I made in this recipe was that I brined the ribs first for about 4 hours.  If you have never brined your meat, you are missing out!  I am no chemist, but I look at it like this, after you drink too many margaritas and eat too many chips and salsa, you retain water...sort of the same idea.  Brined meat is amazingly juicy and tender.  If you choose to brine just one thing, brine your Thanksgiving turkey.  You will thank me later!  I used a half cup of the Williams Sonoma brine dissolved in enough water to cover the short ribs.   I only cooked 6 ribs instead of 12, and my other change was that I first served them right from the oven instead of chilling the cooked ribs overnight and skimming the fat off.  My hubby works at home, and if I had these braising all day and he came down from the think tank for dinner, and I gave him a turkey burger, well, he'd be a little unhappy.  To compensate, I upped the baking time and lowered my oven temp.  We took a walk after dinner to keep the cholesterol moving!  To be fair, we ate the leftovers the next day after taking off the hardened fat, and warmed them stovetop.  Scott decided they were even better. Here is the recipe.

Short Ribs
from Barbara Bakes, that she got from Simply Recipes!

6 bone in beef short ribs
salt and pepper
¼ cup olive oil
1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped ( I love carrots and added more than her recipe)
1 bottle good, dry red wine (I went Spanish Grenache)
3 cups beef stock (does anyone actually sell veal stock?)

Preheat oven to 300°.  Over moderate heat, heat the olive oil and brown the short ribs (patted dry) on all sides.  Work in batches so the pan is never crowded.  Remove from pan, and saute the onion, celery and carrot in pan until browned.  Remove, and deglaze pan with the wine and reduce liquid by three quarters until thick and syrupy.  Return short ribs and veggies back to pan.  Add the stock to cover the ribs.  Bring to a boil, cover and bake for about 3½ hours.  They should be fork tender.

Truffle Parmesan Fries
From Napa Style, Michael Chiarello

Russet Potatoes
Ice Water
Peanut Oil
Truffle Salt
Fresh Grated Parmesan

So this is new for me, I don't fry often.  I followed the Napa Style recipe pretty close.  I sliced the potatoes thin, like match sticks, a perfect job for a mandoline. Then  I soaked them in ice water because this apparently makes them crispy.  I am not a frying expert, so I took his word for it.  I fried them first in 325° oil and drained them.  Then before serving I fried them crispy in 375° oil.  I do not keep truffle oil on hand, which is what they drizzle on the hot fries at Bottega. So I used Truffle & Salt which worked beautifully.

 Top with the cheese and serve with the short ribs and a nice glass of red wine from Chiarello Vineyards.  Ahh, reliving my vacation!

Thank you Barbara Bakes, I am coming back to make Mardi Gras King Cake which looks delicious and is a great Mardis Gras staple in this part of the country, but I have never made my own!  Also check out the other reveals in the Secret Recipe Club below.So, what are you waiting for?  Get in there and cook!

To see other great recipes from this month's Secret Recipe Club, follow the links below!

Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies   Crockpot Pulled Goat   Savory Cheesy Bites   Potato-Spinach Salmon Patties   Salmon En Croute   Chickpeas Feta Salad and Tahina   Homemade Cliff Bars   Honey Nut Scones   Curried Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Soup   Apple-Almond Cake   Vegetable Orzotto   Pumpkin Butter Honey Cake   Pumpkin-seeds pesto over Salmon, rice-noodles and   Dark Chocolate Granola Bars and Pumpkin Spice Bubb   Cranberry Compote Parfaits   Chock Full of Healthy Muffins   Pumpkin Blondies   S’mores Bars   Short Ribs and Truffle Parmesan Fries   Crockpot Slow Cook Apple Cake   Eggplant Parmesan Pasta Bake   Pumpkin Granola   Baby Back Ribs with Tuscan Espresso BBQ Sauce   Overnight Baked Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal   Caponata Polenta Stack   Twisted Chicken Piccata   Indian-Spiced Lentils   Risotto Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms   Potato Perogies   Chocolate Chip Cookies   Frosting Made from… Pumpkin Pie   Brother Boniface’s Pumpkin Bread   Bacon Egg and Cheese Scones   Eggplant Stew and Polenta   Eggless Chocolate Cake (Balls)   Sweet Potato Chips   Apple Cheese Beer Quick Bread   Cranberry White Chocolate Almond Cookies   Saffron Almond Rice Pilaf   Pecan Doodle Cookies   Corn Chowder   Turkish Delight   Blueberry White Chocolate Blondies   Spicy Butternut Squash and Coconut Soup   Candy-Covered-Chocolate-Dipped Pretzels   Chocolate Crinkle Cookies   Simple Butter Cake with Peach Sauce   Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuits   Cheesy Chicken Penne Pasta   Cheesy Sausage and Basil Stuffed Chicken Breasts   Bakewell Tart   Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie   Eggplant Parmesan Pizza   Blueberry Breakfast Cake   Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens   Chocolate Almond Pastries   gingerbread muffins   Honey Whole Wheat English? Muffins   Portobello Sausage Risotto   Raspberry Almond Meringue Cake   Pumpkin Gnocchi with Creamy Mushrooms   Big Soft Ginger Cookies   Caramelized Onion, Spinach, and Pumpkin Hummus Piz   Chocolate-Caramel-Bacon Bark   Overnight Pumpkin Monkey Bread with Maple Cream Ch   Simple Corn Chowder   Green Chutney   Garlic & Herb Whole Wheat Crackers with Roasted Re   Fresh Corn Cakes with Peppers   Cinnamon Roll Muffins   Chocolate Chip Cookies with Chickpeas   Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies   Creamy Mac n' Cheese   Whole Wheat Walnut Bread

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