Braised Short Ribs

The Amateur Gourmet made these and posted the recipe with tons of photos (he attributes it to the Babbo Cookbook). I followed his lead and used a Chianti but made the full recipe that calls for 4 ribs. The only issue for me was the cooking time. After 2 hours in the oven the ribs were done, but they were not all falling off the bone. This may have been because the ribs were not all the same size - 2 were bigger and 2 were smaller. The first night I served the ribs with tomato gnocchi from Ohio City Pasta. The second night I skimmed off a lot of fat and used the leftovers (meat pulled off of the bones and added to pot) as a pasta sauce served over whole wheat bow ties.

flattered?

This past week I got emails from both of my blittle brothers, A & K, telling me they're going to be at the Beachland Ballroom tonight to see Uncle Scratch's Gospel Revival. K just called me to ask if we were going to be at the show. I found the communication very odd...my brothers don't really talk to me unless we happen to be at my parents' house at the same time. I sometimes think A took a vow of silence and K just has more interesting things to do than hang out with his weird sister...or so I thought!

I was not planning on going tonight but was interested to find out why they were extending the invitation.

h: Who else is going?
K: Me, A, a few other friends. A girl I'm supposedly seeing.
h: What!?! You have a new girlfriend?
K: Yeah, I guess. I'm sure you'll get along real well. You two are cut from the same cloth.
h: What the heck is that supposed to mean? That you're madley in love with her!!! lol

Retro Recipes

Laura Rebecca has her own blog full of recipes and in addition she hosts a Retro Recipe Challenge every month. This is the month for me to take on the challenge!

I like you, I love Crab Cakes and I can't stop staring at my new dutch oven!

My husband took our friends and I out to a fabulous dinner at Lolita for a birthday last Saturday night (my real b-day was the 22nd). We had oysters with "love" sauce and boards of seafood, cheese and meat for appetizers. A warm spinach salad with a fried egg on top also arrived. Honestly, I had a very difficult time choosing my entree because they all looked so delicious. I happily ended up ordering short ribs with roasted red peppers and polenta. My friend's gnocchi was outstanding....pasta covered in a pulled pork and veal sauce. Creme brulee and a candle ended the feast. I can not rave enough about Lolita's food, staff and service. It's really fantastic.

I was also treated to dinner, cake and ice cream Sunday night at my in-law's house. My mother-in-law made a very interesting salad out of mushrooms, spinach, quinoa and feta. That will be on my list of things to make soon but first I must make use of my birthday presents - a few cook book and this beauty....

it's january?

I see it's been almost a month since I posted anything. The time just flew by. My vacation became an enjoyable break away from computers and work. I still managed to read some blogs over the past few weeks, but there are still many unread posts left on my blog roll.
I was afraid it would be difficult to start posting again. Should I try to do a recap of the last month? Post some pictures from Christmas? Nah, that sounds boring. So what I would like to write is that I spent most of the time going places, lunching, shopping, reading (books!), visiting with friends and family, watching t.v and I even made it to the movies yesterday! It was a blast! But today (sadly) I am at work and and trying to get back into the routine of things. For a while at least.