Cooking With Wine

Short ribs are a delicious cut of meat but they tend to be tough so they have to be cooked in liquid for a long period of time, otherwise known as braising. Braising breaks down the tough fibers of the meat resulting in a succulent tender rib.

Recipe:

12 beef short ribs, bone-in

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup grapeseed oil or olive oil

1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 750-ml bottle good dry red wine such as a zinfandel

6 cups veal stock or beef stock

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Season ribs to taste with the salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed ovenproof pan over high heat. Add ribs and brown on all sides. Work in batches if you need to so that the ribs don’t get crowded (this will help with browning).

2. Transfer ribs to a plate. Pour off excess fat. Add the onions, celery, and carrots to the pan and sauté, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the pan, set aside. Then add the wine to the pan, deglazing the pan, scraping off any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the wine by three-quarters until thick and slightly syrupy, about 15 minutes.

3. Return the ribs to the pan, add the veal stock and enough water to cover the ribs. Bring to a boil, cover with foil, and place in the oven. Braise, cooking in the oven, until the meat is fork-tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. During the last 1/2 hour of cooking, add back in the vegetables. Allow the ribs to cool in the liquid, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

4. The next day, remove the excess fat that has solidified at the top from the overnight chilling. Place the pan with the ribs and cooking liquid over medium heat, uncovered. Cook until the liquid has reduced by three-quarters, about 1 hour. Continue to cook, spooning the sauce over the ribs, until the sauce is thick and ribs are glazed. Take care not to burn the glaze; move the ribs around in the pan to keep them from burning.

Serve over mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or rice. Serves 6.

(Recipe & Photo from Simply Recipes)

Spring may be on its way but Mother Nature has her way of letting us know that Winter is still upon us. And while BBQ season is so very close, we have a little time left to sneak in that last minute cool weather Sunday Pot Roast.

A perfectly cooked roast is classic comfort food but it just may be the side dishes that accompany the meal that really do the trick. Mashed Potatoes, Yorkshire Pudding and Gravy are all delicious but for a real crowd pleaser, you may want to consider Red Wine and Thyme Mushrooms. The earthiness of the mushrooms cooked with butter and wine make for a fantastically rich and wonderful side dish that truly compliments the roast amazingly well.

Recipe:

2 lbs white button mushrooms, brushed clean but kept whole

4 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped

1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups red wine

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil and butter over low-medium heat in a large saucepan or dutch oven.

2. Add the garlic to the pan and saute about 5 minutes making sure the garlic doesn’t brown. Add the mushrooms to the pan and saute another 3-4 minutes.

3. Add the thyme, wine and worcestershire sauce to the pan, bring to a high simmer, reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and simmer the mushrooms until the wine has reduced by half and the mushrooms are tender, about 30 minutes. Uncover the pan and simmer another 10-15 minutes to slightly reduce the sauce further.

4. Season to your taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Serves 6.

Flank steak is an excellent choice when looking to cook beef for a couple of reasons; It’s very economical and extremely flavourful. The only thing to note when cooking flank steak is that it can be a tough cut of meat but that’s where marinating comes into play. Marinating is used to break down some of the fibers of the meat and in order to achieve this, some sort of acidic base is required such as citrus juice, vinegar or wine. Marinating with wine imparts exceptional flavour and ensures a tender succulent outcome to this wonderful cut of meat.

Recipe:

1 flank steak, about 1 1/2 lbs

1 cup red wine

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 sprig rosemary, finely chopped

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

1. Whisk all of the marinade ingredients together. Score the flank steak in a crisscross pattern on both sides.

2. Place the steak in the marinade, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

3. Remove the steak from the marinade, pat dry and season with salt and pepper.

4. Preheat grill to high heat. Alternately, you can use an indoor grill pan or cast iron skillet. Lightly oil your grill. Place the steak onto the hot grill and cook for 4-5 minutes. Flip the steak and cook another 2-3 minutes.

5. Remove from the grill, cover the steak loosely with foil and allow to rest for about 6-8 minutes.

6. Cut the steak against the grain of the meat. Meaning that you’ll see the grains of the meat running horizontally across the meat. Cut in the opposite direction of those grains. 

Serves 4.

The first of this season’s squash are here and it’s time to take advantage of all the gorgeous varieties available. This creamy, rich, velvety risotto is a wonderful platform for the beautiful flavours of sweet, nutty butternut squash.

Recipe:

1 butternut squash (about 2 lbs)

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 cups chicken stock

6 tablespoons butter

1 minced shallots

2 ounces pancetta

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Rub the inside of the squash with olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Place the squash flesh side up on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the flesh of the squash is fork tender. Remove from the oven and allow to cool enough to be able to handle the squash. Once cooled, use a spoon and scoop out the flesh from the skin and set aside. 

2. Pour the chicken stock into a small saucepan and cover it will a lid. Bring the stock to a simmer, then reduce heat to low to keep it simmering.

3. In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the pancetta and shallots on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until the shallots are translucent but not browned. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with the butter. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add 2 cups of the simmering stock to the rice. Stir constantly and simmer until the stock is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Continue to add the stock, 2 cups at a time, continuously stirring, again until the stock has been absorbed by the rice and then add more stock until the rice is cooked through but still as a bite to it or al dente, about 20 minutes. Season the risotto with salt and pepper to taste, add the nutmeg, remove from heat and gently stir in the squash and parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6.

Directions:

1. To make the basting liquid: Bring chicken stock, butter, and wine to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Add the rosemary and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the honey, remove from heat, set liquid aside, and keep warm.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Season the turkey with salt and pepper. Stuff the turkey with the lemon and garlic cloves. Using kitchen twine, truss the turkey. Place the turkey, breast side up, in a roasting pan fitted with a wire rack. Baste turkey with liquid and roast, basting again every 30 minutes, until a thermometer inserted into the thigh meat reads 175 degrees F, about 3 hours. Remove the turkey from the pan, cover loosely with foil and let the turkey rest for 30 minutes before carving.

Serve this simple and delicious red wine gravy along with a succulent beef roast, tender rack of lamb or juicy roasted pork.  

Recipe:

4 cups beef stock

2 cups red wine

1 sprig rosemary

1 tablespoon flour mixed with 1 tablespoon water

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Add the beef stock, red wine and rosemary to a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a medium simmer and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Whisk in the flour/water mixture and continuously whisk until the gravy returns to a simmer. Cook the gravy at a medium simmer, whisking often for about 10 minutes or until the gravy has reduced by half and is nice and thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if needed. Strain the gravy through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. Serve immediately.