I went to Lucques the one and only time I've explored Los Angeles. L.A., I was not a fan of (it's too-too and far up itself for my taste), but Lucques...that's another story.
The recipe even says that they would get requests for these ribs all year long, despite trying to cook seasonally. So, cooking them when it's 80 something outside with the a/c blaring just seems like the right thing to do.
Ingredients:
Short Ribs:
6 beef short ribs (14 to 16oz each) [Mine were way smaller sadly, but there's only 2 of us]
1 TB plus 1 tsp thyme leaves, and 4 whole sprigs thyme
1 TB freshly cracked black pepper
3 dozen small pearl onions [or, cipollinis because when there's a choice, always choose cipollini!]
1/2 c. olive oil
1 c. diced onion
1/3 c. diced carrot
1/3 c. diced celery
2 bay leaves
2 TB balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 c. port
2 1/2 c. hearty red wine
6 c. beef stock
4 sprigs flat leaf parsley
Potato Puree:
1 1/2 lbs russet potatoes
1 1/2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes
3/4 c. heavy cream
3/4 c. whole milk
8 oz (2 sticks) butter, cut into chunks
Horseradish Cream:
3/4 c. creme fraiche
1 TB prepared horseradish [more if you are a horsey sauce lover - I did double]
salt & pepper
**Note on timing - you need to "marinate" the meat the night before**
Season the short ribs with 1 TB thyme and the cracked black pepper. Use your hands to coat the meat well. Cover, and refrigerate overnight. [I ended up missing the window to put these in the oven *and* meet my daughter's dinner time, so this got pushed another night]
Mix the ingredients for the horseradish cream. Taste for seasoning. Set aside.
Take the short ribs out of the refrigerator an hour before cooking, so they come to room temperature. After 30 minutes, season them generously with salt on all sides. Preheat the oven to 425F.
Toss the pearl onions with 2TB olive oil, 1 tsp thyme, 3/4 tsp salt, and a pinch of pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet and roast 15 minutes, until tender. When they have cooled, slip off the skins with your fingers and set aside. [Also, can someone explain to me why my parchment paper, unbeknownst to me, seems to have ignited?] Turn down the oven to 325F.
When it's time to cook the short ribs, heat the large saute pan over high heat for 3 minutes. Pour in 3 TB olive oil, wait a minute or two, until pan is super hot. Place the short ribs in the pan, and sear until they are nicely browned on all three meaty sides. Depending on your pan, you may need to do them in batches. Do not crowd the meat or get lazy; it will take at least 15 min. When the ribs are nicely browned, transfer them to a braising pan. They should sit bones up, in one layer.
Turn the heat down to medium, and add the carrot, onion, celery, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves. Stir and scrape up all the crusty bits in the pan. Cook 6-8 minutes, until the vegetables begin to caramelize. Add the balsamic, port, and red wine. Turn the heat up to high, and reduce the liquid by half.
Add the stock and bring to a boil. Pour the liquid over the short ribs, scraping any vegetables that have fallen on the ribs back into the liquid. The stock mixture should almost cover the ribs. Tuck the parsley sprigs around the meat. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and a tight-fitting lid (if you have one). Braise in the oven for about 3 hours.
The last hour of the meat cooking, place the potatoes, whole and unpeeled, in a large sauce pan. Add 2 TB salt and fill the pot with cold water. Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat, turn down the heat to low, and simmer about 45 minutes, until tender. One type of potato might be done before the other, so check doneness, and remove one variety first, if necessary.
When the potatoes are cooked through, strain them, and set them aside to cool for 10 minutes or so. Heat the cream and milk together in a small saucepan, then turn off the heat. When the potatoes have cooled, peel them, and pass through a food mill or potato ricer. Put the riced potatoes in a heavy bottomed pan. Heat over medium heat a few minutes, stirring continously, to dry them out a little. Add the butter slowly, stirring constantly. Season with 2 1/2 tsp salt.
When all the butter has been incorporated, slowly stir in the warm cream mixture, until you have a smooth puree. Taste for seasoning.
When the meat is done, it will yield easily with a knife. Let the ribs rest 10 minutes in their juices, then transfer to a baking sheet.
Turn up the oven to 400F. Place the ribs in the oven for 10-15 min, to brown.
Strain the broth into a saucepan, pressing down the vegetables with a ladle to extract all the juices. Skim the fat from the sauce and, if the broth seems thin, reduce it over medium high heat to thicken slightly. Taste for seasoning.
Don't mind me...I'm just licking the pan, the plate, and everything in between. This recipe was restaurant quality - the potatoes alone are reason to make this. My family should know that this is how I'm making Thanksgiving potatoes from now on. The book is a bit annoying in that it is organized in meals rather than appetizers, meat, seafood, sides, etc. It was hard to find anything, but I'm glad I found this!
I'm going to start rating the recipes the way that my Dad used to, scribbled in the books with the date. The ratings go as follows: Superb > Excellent > Very Good > Ok > Do not make
Recipe: Superb
Cookbook: 7/10
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