We're getting fancy

23 Jul 2012

We’re getting fancy

I don’t know why, but anytime I hear the word braised, I think fancy. I know its not, or at least doesn’t have to be, but it makes me think fancy. Maybe it’s because we didn’t really have anything braised while I was growing up or because I feel like it’s just a giant pain to braise something. In reality, braising is just about as easy as making a soup and putting it in the oven. Seriously, it’s that easy. The catch for me is – I have cooking pots for the stove and I have cooking pans that go into the oven. So, to me, braising is a pain. Sear meat, remove from pan, saute veggies, add liquid, remove everything to another pot that DOES go in the oven, cook for a few hours, take it out and pour the liquid into another pot that goes on the stove, reduce, serve over braised meat, wash the 5 million dishes you made dirty while preparing braised meat.

I forgot that I have cast iron, which can be used in the oven and the stove top. I used to use cast iron for very specific things (bacon, corn bread), but I didn’t really use it for every day cooking. The more and more I cook, the more I tend to use it for everything. Recently, I pulled out the back up cast iron for every day use, so now I have two

Back to the fancy meal for tonight. I bought some short ribs that I am finally going to braise. Here we go…

Short Ribs
1 Carrot
2 Celery Ribs
1/2 Onion
Garlic
Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup red wine
1 or 2 cups of water or stock

Preheat the oven to 350. Season and sear the short ribs in a little bit of olive oil and remove them from the pan. Add the veggies, season and saute for a few minutes, then add some wine and water or stock. Bring the liquid up to a simmer and add the ribs back in, cover and put it in the oven for a few hours until the meat is cooked through an tender. AND, if you don’t have a lid for your cast iron… No worries!