Braised Ribs and Risotto

Just when I said to a coworker,
"I'm just not inspired to cook anymore."
Then I come across a recipe by Winepairings.
And I thought hey, my short person of 16 years
who is now taller than I might actually like this.
It involves no vegetables.

Well ...
the short person declined most of the plate.
Of course these days he opts for tv dinners if that's any consolation.
I on the other hand thought it was fantastic.
I modified Winepairings recipe a bit.
You'll see the recipe here as I cooked it.

Seth,
this one is for you
when you're feeling well enough to eat.
xo++

Braised Pork Ribs

Ingredients:

* 2 pounds country style pork ribs
* 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
* 5 cloves garlic
* approx. 32 ounces of dark ale
* 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon molasses
* 1 tbs bbq sauce (Jack Daniels)
* 1 apple, cut into wedges
ground pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Crush a clove of garlic, rub the meat and then sprinkle each rib liberally with salt.
Turn the pan up to medium. Add Ribs, halfway through add the crushed garlic.
I added it after the sear because I didn't want the garlic to burn.

When you're done searing the ribs,
use about 1/2 cup of the ale to deglaze the skillet.
Once you've deglazed, add enough ale to cover the ribs,
and then add the vinegar, molasses and sugar. Stir together well.
Bring the it up to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and let it cook for an hour.

As the ribs finish simmering, preheat the oven to 350.
When the ribs have cooked for an hour, add the bbq sauce and apple chunks.
Put ribs and liquid into the pot and the pot into the oven to heat for another 30 minutes.
I actually finished it off in the oven verses bringing it back to the skillet
(as suggested in the original recipe), and reducing the liquid there.
I had no problem with too much liquid, it reduced just fine in the oven for me.

I have no clue if the ale I used was dark. I think it was pale.

I went to the liquor store and laughed when I saw this six pack.

Saffron Risotto

Ingredients:

1 cup sushi rice
28 ounces chicken stock
1 stick butter
1 cup white wine
1 small onion
1 large pinch saffron
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano




Bring stock to a low simmer in a medium pot.
Heat olive oil and a couple tablespoons of butter
in a medium saucepan over medium heat for 1 minute.
Cook onion until translucent, about 3 minutes.
Add rice and a pinch of salt. Sauté until rice is translucent.
Add wine; bring to a simmer, stirring,
until rice has absorbed most of wine.
Add 2 ladles of stock to rice; simmer, stirring,
until rice has absorbed most of stock.
Take a couple ladles of chicken stock and add the saffron.
Make sure it well dissolves. Add this next to your rice.
Continue adding stock, allowing rice to absorb it before adding the next ladle.
Cook until rice is al dente and mixture is a little loose.
Stir in the rest of the butter. Turn off heat. Stir in grated cheese.
Cover and let sit 2 minutes.

Oh hey,
have a beer.
You deserve one
after making a meal like this.

: )

.