Braised shortribs over polenta, side of roasted pears, blue potatoes, gooseberries and rosemary.

 This is a dish I made combining a recipe I found in The Pioneer Woman with one of my own as part of a multi-course birthday dinner in October 2011. It is easy to make with simple ingredients, the biggest hassle would be the task of slow-cooking the meat until its prime tenderness which is the specialty of shortribs. It’s hard to go wrong with shortribs because they are already tasty and tender when prepared properly. I made this dish to feed 12 people and the cooking of the beef was not a pretty sight as seen in this photo.

Either way the results were amazing. I chose to serve it on a bed of polenta with a side of roasted blue potatoes, roasted pears, gooseberries and rosemary, with a drizzle of its own sauce, a multi-layered experience of flavor and love.

Gooseberries make everything pretty.

10-15 short ribs, depending on how many diners
1/2 bottle dry red wine, or enough to submerge most of the ribs
1-2 shallots, chopped
1 beef bouillon
2 tablespoons grainy dijon mustard
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp capers
2 tablespoons minced rosemary

Season meat on all sides with salt and pepper. In a big greased pot or dutch oven over high heat, brown the meat on all sides and set aside. In the same oil, saute the shallots and add red wine, scraping browned meat from sides of the pot. Return the meat into the pot and add the rosemary, mustard and bouillon and simmer on low heat until the meat is tender, rotating the pieces occasionally for 2-3 hours. The wine should reduce to about half the amount. Add the cream to thicken the sauce and season to taste if necessary.

Serve over grain or pasta of choice. Mangia!