Braised Short Ribs

Back when I used to cook seriously, which I've taken a break from in the last few months, the following dinner would have been and was billed as a casual Friday night dinner. Mark Bittman had posted a recipe about braised short ribs and V upstairs had been talking about experimenting with short ribs. So I called a couple of people over for din din.

Since the short ribs were so rich, I looked for a cooling slaw of to contrast both in texture and in flavor. I chose this recipe, but skipped on the bacon. Since this was a casual dinner, I cheated. Besides, I didn't want to bother running any carrots through my mandoline because the machine freaks me out, and I was in a rush. By the way, I love that I own a mandoline. A real one. Made in France. Stainless steel, and sharp enough to take out the tip of KW's fingertip. Seriously. That happened.


Oh yes, so I bought pre-shredded carrots from Whole Foods. Forgive me lord, for I have sinned.

I also bought some wide egg noodles from Dean & Deluca, and let me just say that they do not remotely compare to the egg noodles that you can get from the egg ladies from the Greenmarket in Union Square. The saurkraut was also from a jar from Whole Foods. How many Hail Mary's do I need to say?

I also tried to roast some sweet potatoes. They did not turn out so well. They burned a bit and stuck to the pan.

Dessert was Balsamic Strawberries with Whipped Marscapone Cream. Turns out whipped marscapone cream is the easiest way to get rave reviews from guests with practically no effort whatsover.