Short Ribs - In Short

I had a couple friends over for short ribs the other night. It wasn't raining, but I was in the mood to braise. We needed comfort food and there's nothing more comforting than meat falling off the bone with mashed potatoes.

So here's how you make comfort on a plate:

1. Salt and pepper the short ribs.

2. Pour flour in a shallow dish. Add lots of salt and pepper to it.

3. Toss the short ribs in the flour until they're covered. Tap off extra flour. You're looking for a light coat.

4. Heat olive oil on medium high in a pan on the stove top.

5. When oil is hot, brown the short ribs on all sides.

6. Remove them from your pan and set aside.

7. Lower heat.

8. Chop onions, celery and smash two or three garlic cloves. Add onions and celery to the pan.

9. When onions begin to soften, add garlic to the pan.

10. Saute for a few minutes. Then add one 28 oz. can diced tomatoes.

11. Add some red wine. About half a bottle of anything you'd enjoy drinking will do.

12. Stir it all together.

13. Put the short ribs in the liquid. Cover. Let them cook on low heat for 2 1/2 hours.

14. After 2 1/2 hours, add carrots and brussel sprouts to pan. Let them cook for about 30 minutes. (To make sure they're done, fork them. If the carrots and brussel sprouts fall off the fork, you're good to go.)

15. Enjoy!

Naturally, the ultimate comfort requires mashed potatoes. Here's how to make simple smashies:

1. Peel potatoes and cut them into chunks that are all about the same size.

2. Submerge them in a pot of salted cold water.

NOTE:

Potatoes cook evenly in cold water. If you put them in hot water, the outside cooks faster than the inside.

3. Boil for about 15 minutes. (Use the fork test. If your tater slides off the fork, it's done!)

4. Meanwhile, heat some milk and butter in a separate pot. Don't boil it, just heat it.

NOTE: Cold milk makes "pastatoes."

5. When the potatoes are done, add the milk and butter and mash them up.

6. Salt and pepper to taste.

In the end, you should have a fabulous meal of comfort food that looks like this:

The meat will fall apart in your mouth. And the flour you coated the ribs in helps to thicken the wine and tomato mixture into a heavenly gravy.

I recommend drinking the remainder of the wine with your meal. Red wine and beef are a beautiful couple.

Let me know how it turns out!

Suzie