Braised Beef Ribs with Wine à la awesome

I think I just outdid myself.  Tonight’s meal was a reward for a difficult week.  The butcher twisted my rubber arm into buying some gorgeous beef ribs.  They were cut Flaken-style and were the size of my head so it was pretty hard to resist.

After browning the ribs I sweated off some traditional aromatics (celery, carrots, onion and garlic).  The braising liquid was composed of some beef stock, red wine and a can of diced tomatoes.  I added some paprika, thyme, oregano and bay leaves as well.

After a couple of hours the meat was falling apart so out it came.  I strained out the solids and thickened up the liquid with a splash of balsamic vinegar.  Absolutely incredible.  Unfortunately, in my food lust I neglected to take a picture.  I’m not going to lie, I’ll be thinking about this meal for a long time.

To top it all off, I decided to open up arguably the best bottle of wine I’ve had in years – Dry Creek Vineyards 2000 cabernet sauvignon.  Apparently holding on to a wine for 10 years leads to awesomeness.

Anyhow, another great meal in the bag.  I really do love seasonal cooking.

Wild-Caught Perch in Parmesan Breadcrumbs

Wild Caught Perch in Parmesan Breadcrumbs
Originally uploaded by The Cooking Coder

This was a super easy appetizer that I put together to get our engines going on a nice Friday evening meal. I got the Lake Erie perch from the Healthy Butcher and put it in a breadcrumb mix with grated parmesan and fresh oregano from the garden.

It's then fried up in a little bit of butter and olive oil to keep it simple. It's garnished with a stripe of sriracha Thai hot sauce and fresh chives. Simply fantastic! :)

Possibly the Best Pea Soup

I haven't actually had the chance to try this recipe as yet but it certainly sounds good. I'll update when I do (hopefully this weekend!).

Heat

I just finished reading "Heat" by Bill Buford. It's a must-read for anyone who's interested in the mysteries of a professional kitchen or the rhythm of preparing food traditionally.

When I started, I hadn't wanted restaurant. What I wanted was the know-how of people who ran restaurants. I didn't want to be a chef: just a cook. And my experiences in Italy had taught me why. For millennia, people have known how to make their food. They have understood animals and what to do with them, have cooked with the seasons and had a farmer's knowledge of the way the planet works. They have preserved traditions of preparing food, handed down through generations, and have come to know them as expressions of their families. People don't have this kind of knowledge today, even though it seems as fundamental as the earth, and, it's true, those who do have it tend to be professionals - like chefs. But I didn't want this knowledge in order to be a professional; just to be more human.

Personally, I can't think of a more perfect life journey.