As our country struggles to pull out of recession I have become increasingly grateful for the lessons in frugality that my parents taught me as a child. While Mr. B and I are both very lucky to have jobs right now, I have several immediate relatives who are not as fortunate, and I know that life can often change without any notice. This meal is perfect for anyone looking to stretch out the food budget without sacrificing flavor or enjoyment. In fact this pork is so delicious all you’ll need is a margarita and lively music to feel like you’re having a party (which you easily could since it feeds 12 people!).

You may have noticed that we’ve been on a bit of a braising kick lately. For the past several weekends, our cooking has consisted of numerous variations on slow cooked comfort food. I blame this on a combination of crappy weather and a bad case of Spring Fever. Symptoms include an urge to clean closets and frequent requests to “Go somewhere warm” or “Get me out of the house!” Unfortunately the only warm place I’ll be going anytime soon is under my thick comforter. When that is the case, cleaning out the freezer and cooking comfort food may be the best medicine!

Short ribs are always a treat and we had another batch in the freezer so this past weekend they made a repeat appearance. After really enjoying the Short Ribs Braised in Porter Ale with a Maple Rosemary Glaze, Mr. B requested a different approach for this batch- something involving coffee. I browsed around and found a great recipe from Mark Bittman of the New York Times for Short Ribs Braised in Coffee and Chilies. Mark’s self-appointed nickname “The Minimalist” held true in this recipe, which only relies on a few quality ingredients to make the short ribs shine. (Did you know that he was once a cab driver and a traveling salesman? Fascinating.) The smoky flavor of the chilies melded beautifully with a dark roast coffee and placed the focus of the dish straight on the deep beefy flavors of the short ribs.

The best way I can describe the difference between artisanal polenta and the other stuff is that regular polenta is similar to eating cream of wheat, with a uniformly smooth, warm and thick consistency. The Italian polenta was like eating a fine risotto, where a creamy background supports individual grains for a unique and marvelous texture. I think I’m hooked.

In my mind polenta is pretty much the perfect supporting character for a meal of short ribs. With our dinner, it backed up the beefy and spicy flavors while keeping the heat from the chilies under control. Along with a large batch of sauteed Swiss chard you will have a flavorful and comforting dinner, certain to cure even the worst case of Spring fever!

Short Ribs with Coffee and Chilies over Artisan Polenta
Recipe from The New York Times
Serves 4-8

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon Oil
4 or 8 small short ribs
Salt and Pepper
1 Large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 dried pasilla chili, stemmed, seeded and minced
1 dried chipotle chili, stemmed, seeded and minced
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup strong coffee.

Directions:
In a heavy pot that can later be covered, drizzle oil. Over medium heat, brown ribs well, adjusting heat as necessary to get a dark crust. Take your time, and season with salt and pepper as they cook. Remove them to a plate and turn heat to low.

In same pot, cook onions, garlic and chilies, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft, about 15 minutes. Add wine and coffee and reduce over high heat by about half. Return ribs to pot, cover, and cook over low heat (or in a 300-degree oven) for 2 to 3 hours. Cook until very tender — beyond when meat falls off the bone — turning every hour or so. Taste and adjust seasoning and serve.

Over the past few weeks I’ve felt illogically optimistic that we will have an early spring. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I can finally see dead grass instead of snow, or maybe because migrating birds have started to re-appear in the skies. Either way it has left me feeling like I had better cook all the dead-of-winter meals I’ve had in mind before morels and garlic scapes start to appear.

Thus a good excuse to pull short ribs out of our freezer over the past weekend and feast away while bathing suit season is still a distant possibility. When I turned to one of my favorite cookbooks, All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking, for inspiration a recipe for Short Ribs Braised in Porter Ale with a Maple-Rosemary Glaze jumped out. This cookbook has never failed me and it delivered a superb meal yet again. The maple-rosemary flavors are bright and lively, enhancing the natural sweetness of the short ribs. We partially prepared the dish a day ahead of time, and then finished it on the second day by glazing the ribs and giving them a very short turn under the broiler. Served over creamy polenta along with a simple tomato salad, these were restaurant quality short ribs. Mr. B paired the dinner with Cocodrilo, another delicious Paul Hobbs wine. This was an incredible meal which can be made at home for so much less than you would pay in a restaurant-if you can find someone to help with the dishes there really is no need to go out!

Short Ribs Braised in Porter Ale with Maple-Rosemary Glaze
Adapted from All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking
Serves 4

Ingredients:
The Braise
4 lbs meaty bone-in short ribs (Flanken or English style)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 large yellow onions, sliced in 1/2″ thick rings
1 carrot, chopped into 1/2″ pieces
2 cups porter ale, or more if needed
3/4 cup beef, chicken, or veal stock
1 rosemary sprig (3-4″ long)
1 large bay leaf (or 2 small)

The Glaze
3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 rosemary sprigs (3-4″)
1 Tablespoon prepared horseradish

Directions:
Sparingly trim any excess fat from ribs, but be careful not to take off any bits of fat that hold the ribs together, and maintain a thick fat cap along one side of the ribs.

You can optionally salt the ribs one or two days before braising – just sprinkle 1-2 teaspoons of salt onto the meat, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge. This will promote browning of the meat but is not a critical step.

The day you are making the ribs, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Pat ribs dry, being careful to not remove the salt if they were previously salted. Season ribs with pepper (and salt if not previously salted).

Pour the olive oil into a shallow dutch oven or wide oven-proof skillet with lid (4-6 quart capacity). Heat over medium heat. Brown short ribs in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the meat. Cook for 4-5 minutes per side until nicely browned. Transfer seared ribs to a platter and keep aside until all ribs are browned.

Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan. Return the pan to medium heat and add in onions and carrots. Season with salt and pepper and cook until just softened and beginning to caramelize – approximately 5 minutes.

Add the ale into the pot and bring to a full boil. Cook for two minutes. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pot to dislodge any remaining fond. Pour in the stock and bring liquid to a boil again. Reduce heat to a simmer and place ribs in the pot in a single layer. Pour any juices released from the ribs into the pot as well. Tuck the rosemary sprig and bay leaves in between the ribs. Check the liquid level of the pot to make sure the ribs are all partially submerged in the liquid. If necessary add more ale.

Cover pan with a piece of parchment paper which extends past the sides and tightly fit lid in place. Place pot in the oven and cook maintaining a gentle simmer for about 2 1/2 hours (until ribs are fork tender). While braising, gently turn the ribs with tongs, as not to tear up the meat, every 45 minutes until done. Check after the first 10 minutes to make sure the liquid is not simmering to strongly, if necessary turn down the oven by 10-15 degrees to maintain a gentle simmer.

While the ribs are braising, make the glaze. Combine maple syrup and the rosemary sprigs in a small saucepan. Bring mixture to a gentle boil, turn off heat, cover with a lid, and set aside for an hour to infuse the flavors. (You can do this a few days ahead of time and store glaze in the fridge.)

When the ribs have finished braising, carefully transfer the meat using tongs and a slotted spoon to a flameproof shallow baking dish big enough to fit the ribs in a single layer. Do your best to keep the bones and ribs intact, but if a few slip out don’t worry – just discard them. Scoop out the vegetables with the slotted spoon and place around the ribs. Cover the dish with foil and keep warm.

Tilt braising pot to gather juices in one end and skim off as much surface fat as possible with a big spoon. If you have a gravy separator, it would work well here. Pour the remaining liquid into a medium saucepan and reduce (if necessary) to 1/2 cup of liquid by simmering strongly for 10-15 minutes. Reduced sauce should be syrupy. Taste sauce and season with salt and pepper if necessary.

If you are preparing the ribs a day ahead of time, pour reduced sauce over the ribs. If you are not preparing the dish ahead of time, proceed to the next paragraph. Allow the dish to cool, cover tightly with foil, and place in fridge. The next day place covered ribs in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes until warmed through. Then proceed with glaze.

Heat the broiler on high. If glaze is coming out of the fridge, warm it slightly so it is pourable. Remove rosemary sprigs from glaze, squeezing them with your fingers to save as much glaze as possible. Pour reduced sauce around ribs (if making the same day). Then brush the glaze on top of the short ribs. Place the dish under the broiler and watch closely. The glaze will turn the surface of the ribs shiny and you will hear them sizzle. Remove after about 4 minutes once the ribs start to sizzle – this is a step to be watched closely or you risk burning the ribs.

Transfer the ribs to serving plates and spoon the liquid around the ribs (not on top or you’ll wash off the glaze!). Serve immediately.

I find lamb shanks exciting. Perfectly portioned for individual plates, characterized by a melt-in-your-mouth tenderness and deep flavor, they are right up there with short-ribs as one of my all time favorite braised meats. Both short-ribs and lamb shanks are hard to come by in our town. Typically, I buy them when I travel a few hours away to civilization and then hoard them in the freezer for a special occasion.

Celebrating Valentine’s Day seemed like enough of an event to break out lamb shanks, plus I was itching to use my red tagine again. Mr. B requested a savory preparation to complement the Gigondas he picked up recently so I browsed around to see what I could find. This recipe for braised lamb shanks with coriander, fennel, and star anise came up on Epicurious and surprisingly had over 30 five star reviews. (Usually there are at least one or two embarassingly bad reviews which say, “I made this recipe and it was only okay because I don’t really like lamb” or “I used chicken thighs and thought the flavors were terrible”.) I took the high rating as a good sign- and boy was it ever!

The ingredient line up

Preparing the Braise

If you want a “lollypop” appearance with the meat bunched up at one end and a nice bone showing, you will need to cut down to the bone in a circle all the way around the narrow end of the lamb shank. This will cut through the connective sinew that holds the meat in place, and let it ball up during the braise. Usually I do this when the meat is raw, but I forgot so I made the cut just after browning the meat instead.

Braised Lamb Shanks with Corriander, Fennel, and Star Anise
Bon Appétit, March 2006
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
4 large lamb shanks (about 5 pounds)

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large white onion, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
10 garlic cloves, peeled
3 celery stalks, cut crosswise into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled, cut crosswise into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 small leek
3 cups ruby Port
4 cups low-salt chicken broth
4 cups beef broth

6 whole cloves
2 whole star anise*
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Directions:
Mix coriander, fennel, and peppercorns in heavy small skillet. Toast on medium-high heat until aromatic and slightly darker, about 2 minutes. Transfer to spice grinder; process until finely ground. Rub each shank with 1 rounded teaspoon spice blend. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large wide pot over medium-high heat (I used a tagine, but any large dutch oven would work). Add shanks to pot. Cook until brown on all sides, about 20 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to same pot. Add onion and next 4 ingredients; sauté over medium heat until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add remaining spice blend and stir 1 minute. Add Port and simmer until liquid is reduced to 2/3 cup, about 15 minutes. Add both broths; boil until liquid is reduced to 3 1/2 cups, about 30 minutes. (This took forever, and I didn’t have enough space in the tagine so I reduced the liquids separately in pots and then added them in. Next time I will reduce the liquids while I am browning the shanks to save time.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Return shanks to pot. Add cloves, star anise, bay leaves, and crushed red pepper. Cover pot with foil, then lid. Place pot in oven and braise lamb until tender, about 2 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Uncover and cool slightly. Place in refrigerator until cool, then cover and keep refrigerated. Rewarm in 350°F oven for 20 minutes before serving.)

Place 1 lamb shank on each of 4 plates. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce and vegetables over lamb and serve.

*Brown, star-shaped seed pods; available in the spice section of some supermarkets, at Asian markets, and at specialty foods stores.