Friday, February 25, 2011

FFwD - short ribs in red wine and port

Step One - go to your bank and arrange financing.  Short ribs are $6.59 a pound and we need 9 pounds plus a bottle of wine for the ribs, a bottle of wine for the cook, and a bottle or two for dinner, and don't forget the port!

Luckily this is so good you'll be glad you invested the money and the time.  This is very easy to make; just chopping and time in the oven.  Be sure to invite someone special to share it with!

Dorie suggests making the ribs the day before if you have time and I think its an important step.  Short ribs have lots of fat and allowing them to chill overnight makes it much easier to remove most of it.

What elevates this recipe to amazing is the gremolata.  This was new to me.....an Italian condiment consisting of citrus zest, garlic and parsley or cilantro.....and it complements the robust flavor of the meat and gives it all a wonderful freshness.

Our good friends Al and Mary shared this with us and I think we were all in agreement.....it was amazing!  Something I'm trying to figure out is how to get good pictures of the food with a house full of hungry people.  Anyone have any solutions to this?

You'll want to read the other reports of the french friday cooks.

37 comments:

  1. How funny about the financing for these ribs! They were quite pricey, so I was in luck that I had decided to make only a partial portion. Your ribs look fantastic!

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  2. The nine pounds is what gets me. That is a lot of meat, but it looks delicious!

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  3. LOL, my family thinks I'm nuts with all the food photos. Wasn't the gremolata a fabulous complement???

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  4. I love the look of the gremolata on top! I can't believe I forgot that! This was an expensive dish but delicious!

    I too struggle with staging and taking photos for food that's meant to be eaten right away.

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  5. Personally I think your photos look great. But I've found getting the diners involved in the photography. 1) it goes a lot faster 2) the creative energy is great!

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  6. Looks wonderful! I also have trouble remembering to take photos (and did actually forget with this recipe). I love Step 1! It's so true that this dish is really expensive to make.

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  7. Lola, these look really wonderful. I did have to laugh about financing the cost of the meal. It looks like your end result was well worth the money and I am sure better than anything you could have had in a restaurant. This is my first visit to your blog so I've spent some time browsing through your earlier entries to get a sense of what you are about. I really like the food and recipes you feature here and I'll definitely be back. I hope you have a great weekend. Blessings...Mary

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  8. I agree it is hard to take the time to get good photos, by the time I've finished making something, I just want to eat.

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  9. I recognize that bottle of wine :)! Not my kind of meal, but glad it was tasty! hahaha!

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  10. Your ribs look wonderful! How true - I think this is the most expensive FFwD recipe to date, but well worth the time and money spent. Great post!

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  11. Your ribs look great. I didn't care for the gremolata, but I agree that overall this dish was excellent and worth the splurge!
    People at my house are getting used to me yelling "Wait! I have to take pictures!". My husband equates blogging to recreating me as a camera monster.

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  12. Lola, thanks so much for stopping by. I use a combination of natural light with small photographers lights on the right and left sides of my photos. I'm partially sighted and need a bit more light that most people. The flash doesn't work well for me. Because we usually eat what I make, photos are taken late in the day or in the evening. I think the flash produces a green cast that doesn't flatter my food. I use a point and shoot camera, though that will soon be changing. Blessings...Mary

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  13. Mmmh... the Prisioner was a great pairing for that dish! Next time I'll definitely consider letting the ribs rest overnight in the yummy sauce.

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  14. It looks great! How nice you got to share it with friends!!

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  15. I didn't really get the gremolata, although I thought it looked pretty. Maybe I was just too busy devouring the meat and potatoes!

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  16. Lola, It was expensive at my store too but not quite as high per lb. as yours. I think mine was more like 4.99. Yours look delicious and love the photo with the gremolata!

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  17. Thanks for the information on your light setup.

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  18. Agree....this was expensive. Short ribs used to be such a good buy. Got the wine from Binnys...did you have port? Had to buy that too. So yes, financing...

    Next week should be more cost effective...

    YOur picture is beautiful!

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  19. I think I saw one poster call these the "second mortgage ribs". I totally missed the gremolata - I think I would have enjoyed the light touch against the richness of the meat.

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  20. You and I agree on that gremolata! Your 'step one' just made me laugh out loud.

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  21. Gremolata also gets my vote for "more than a garnish". Your ribs look terrific, definitely worth taking out that second mortgage on your house.

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  22. I live in the Dominican Republic and I got the ribs for around us$1 per pound. The expensive ingredient was the port, I almost didn't get it but I wanted to make this recipe as is. The gremolata is fabulous and I thought it really transformed this already delicious dish. I made half the recipe and was more than enough for my bf, sister and brother. I served it with mashed potatoes as Dorie suggest in her book :)

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  23. I agree...you need a second mortgage for this dish but it is so worth it!

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  24. Sometimes you have to hide a couple of pieces to get good photos later? :) We loved the Gremolata as well! :)

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  25. Beautiful dish. The gremolata was amazing; in fact it was all amazing. I served mine over polenta and we loved it. Great job.

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  26. I know it! Sometimes I'm the one I need to save myself from. I'll polish off most of the dish before I snap a picture. Recently I've been plating one serving then letting it cool down as we eat and then photograph it.

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  27. Financing indeed! I halved the recipe and the ribs still came to $15.00. It was worth it, though. I still have most of the bottle of port and was thinking of using the braising liquid recipe with a more reasonably priced cut of meat. Yours looks great.

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  28. I'm realising our prices in Oz are much cheaper! Really like your photo! You managed to make them look great!

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  29. I was already smiling when I saw the beautiful photo of the wine....and then I laughed when you listed your "step 1". Too too funny. Nana and I also really enjoyed this dish. She lucked out and got our beef at the local BJ's Club where she is a member. Said she spent about $30 but got over the 9 pounds. For me the joy was the braising technique. I guess I knew about it but can't recall the last time I tried it. I am now a braising convert. Great post and a great FF !

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  30. peaseporridge-what a great idea! Make a plate to set aside and photo later! Thank you!

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  31. Great post and comments. I found that 12 ribs was closer to 5 pounds than 9 which helped with the cost. Dorie makes a good point in her notes that what was once cheap (short ribs) gets pricey when they get popular. Same thing has happened with skirt steak, flank steak and fish. Bon Appétit

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  32. "Step One - go to your bank and arrange financing."

    Hee! Exactly. Next time, I'm using chuck and beef stock, instead of short ribs and wine.

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  33. Thanks for popping by my blog and welcoming me to FFwDorie! Yes, this recipe is a bit pricey but in my opinion, it was worth the splurge (especially since my husband got the job :-)). And yes, when Dorie left me a comment, I was indeed jumping up and down with glee. I was lucky enough to meet her at BlogHerFood last October and she is such a delightful person. Charming and adorable and truly warm and friendly. Can't wait to meet more of you on Fridays!

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  34. I'm having the same issues with photos. It's dark by the time the dish is done and there's no natural light. On this one, I actually set aside a plate to shoot the next day...and then got busy and didn't reshoot. Oh well...I always seem to find the time to eat it!! And in the end, that's what counts, right??

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  35. LOL Step 1 :) Your short ribs look fantastic - great picture!

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  36. Wow, nice photos even though you say you struggle to get them. Glad you could share your meal with friends...I'm sure they are very happy to have been invited!

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  37. Loved the gremolata too! Your choice of wine looks perfect and delicious for the ribs. Sharing great recipes like this with friends makes the effort feel extra special and worth it, I think.

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