anything you can cook, i can cook better

delectable

braised beef short ribs, whipped vanilla bean sweet potatoes with ginger garlic green beans

dutch oven heaven

halfway there

the "holy trinity" + vino = delicious

fresh off the bandsaw from ben's meats

big sis

Well, what can I say.  This meal was divine!  I will disclose to you that when a colleague asked me what I did this weekend I had to think about and determined that my weekend was spent planning and executing this meal.  On Saturday, I mapped out the closest butcher to my house and zipped on down to Ben’s Meats.  It is located on 159st and Stony Plain Road in Edmonton.  It is a small little place, if you blink you could miss it. Especially if the guy behind you is honking and giving you the finger for driving too slow. I had to go around the block three times until I found a spot to park in that wasn’t going to involve a tow truck when it was time for me to leave, due to the snow piling up on the roadways.  I entered Ben’s Meats and found out that it is also a dutch specialty store.  There were two employees cutting up chunks of Gouda that were the size of wagon wheels. I must say that I am not from the generation of having the opportunity of knowing where my meat comes from. It comes from the freezer or from the meat department at the local grocery store.  Don’t get me wrong, I did grow up spending some weekends chopping heads off chickens and removing tail feathers with pliers. An aunt was always willing to give an anatomy lesson on the innards of a fresh chicken to us kids.  As an adult, and living in the city I have sort of lost that authenticity. Ben’s Meats made me want to know my meat.  I walked right up to the counter and said I would like eight chunks of “english cut” beef short ribs please.  Ben looked at me and said “I am going to have to go to the back for that, just a sec…”  He came back with I guess what would be a side of beef and showed me the marbling and which section he was going to cut from.  I nodded like I knew what he was talking about.  I love it when people enjoy their craft.  He hammered out nine short ribs on the band saw (we compromised) and I paid $14.65.  I made out like a bandit and will definitely be back.  Thanks, Ben.

Sunday:

I borrowed a shiny blue dutch oven from the basement dweller.  She had purchased it in 2004 and I only know this because the receipt was still in it.  She reluctantly handed it over since it had never been used. I told her that I would leave her some ribs in her fridge for when she got home from work (only fair).  I then spent 45 furious minutes getting the stickers off the side of the dutch oven because they have been there for so frigging long. I was afraid that they would start on fire once I placed it in the oven so I used up every non-abrasive in the house.

So, after some time into the virgin dutch oven went the following:

8 or 9 beef short ribs

pat the meat with a paper towel (Julia Child style)

warm the dutch oven on a stovetop burner on med-high

pour in a couple glugs of olive oil

sear the beef ribs on all sides 4 at a time,  add salt and pepper (be patient, take a tea towel and flap at fire detector as it will go off due to the smoke factor…all the while without burning the hell out of the meat)

take the beef ribs out of the dutch oven and add in Emiril’s “holy trinity” :

1 diced onion

2 diced celery stalks

2 diced carrots

+

1 diced shallot

2 smashed garlic cloves

2 tsp red pepper flakes

saute for a few minutes and add 1/4 bottle of dry red wine and let it reduce (pour a glass for yourself, or drink right out of the bottle like I do)

add the meat back in allowing each piece to breathe (don’t crowd the meat)

add some pearl onions

a tied bunch of thyme

another 1/4 bottle of dry red wine (a glass for yourself)

2 cups beef broth

place lid on dutch oven and place on bottom rack at 350 degrees for 3 hrs

check on it when you go into the kitchen to get another glass of wine

$24.35 feeds four

I think the pictures speak for themselves.  I used a recipe from food and wine website for some vanilla bean whipped sweet potatoes and steamed some green beans with some chopped ginger, garlic and cracked pepper.  I was serving it to hubby and his friend. We did not speak while we ate.  The true sign of a good meal. Mmmm….meat.

Oh yeah…Ben’s Meats…go there now.