Cane-squeeze

Forrest and I had a very special Valentine's Night dinner on Saturday. We stayed in and prepared three courses from famous New Orleans' Chefs. We got the recipes from a box of recipe cards that feature 86 dishes from renowned restaurants in the Big Easy. The cards were a gift from my sister and they are really cool. I will be featuring the three courses we made this past weekend over the next few posts. This was the main course and it was very tasty. We cooked together and had a great time listening to music, preparing the meal, eating and drinking. With my next post I will post a picture of my Valentine's Day table setting.

Cane-Braised Beef Short Ribs w/ Dijon-Horseradish Sour Cream
Recipe Courtesy Chef Donald Link/Herbsaint

Short Ribs Ingredients:

5 lb beef short ribs
Salt and pepper
1 cup flour
2 Tbsp. Canola oil
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1/4 cup flour
1 cup red wine
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cups canned chopped tomatoes (I used 1 can of diced tomatoes)
4 cups chicken stock
3 Tbsp cane vinegar (could substitute rice wine vinegar)
2 Tbsp cane syrup (could substitute dark corn syrup)
3 cloves garlic
2 sprigs thyme
1 sprig rosemary

Horseradish Sour Cream:
1 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp prepared horseradish
1 tsp lemon joice
Hot sauce to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste

Potato Cake:

2 large Yukon Gold potato
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
2 Tbsp flour
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

Short Ribs:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Trim short ribs of excess fat and silver skin.

heavily season meat, and dredge in 1 cup flour.

2. In a large skillet or rondeau, heat oil over medium high heat. Add short ribs, being careful not to crowd the pan.
Sear each side until crispy and golden brown. Remove, and place in one layer in a casserole dish or hotel pan.

3. Add celery, onions, and carrots to the skillet, and saute over medium heat until lightly caramelized. Dust with 1/4 cup flour and stir to incorporate.

4. Deglaze the pan with red wine,

then add tomato paste and chopped tomatoes.

Mixture should come up and begin to thicken. Add chicken stock, cane vinegar, cane syrup,

garlic, thyme and rosemary.

5. Bring up to a simmer, and season with salt and pepper. Pour mixture over short ribs in casserole dish. Mixture should come 3/4 of the way up the short ribs, but not cover.

6. Cover dish with aluminum foil, and place in 300 degree oven for 4 hours, or until fork tender,. Remove short ribs from oven, discard any bones, and cool in refrigerator.

Sauce:

1. Skim any accumulated fat from the top of the short rib braise.

2. Place in a heavy-bottomed saucepot, bring to a low simmer, and reduce until braise is of sauce consistency (so it coats the back of a spoon). Mount with butter and season.

Horseradish Sour Cream:

1. Combine sour cream, Dijon mustard, horseradish, lemon juice, and Louisiana hot sauce in a metal bowl.
2. Whisk to incorporate, then season with salt and pepper

Potato Cakes:

1. Grate 2 large Yukon Gold potatoes using a large box grater,

and squeeze out any excess water using a kitchen towel.

Add chopped thyme, flour, egg, salt and pepper.

2. Shape into 3-inch discs, and cook in oil or clarified butter over medium heat until golden brown and crispy.
Assembly:

1. Dredge the cold short ribs in flour and saute in clarified butter or canola oil until crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Season, then place three pieces on top Potato Cake.

2. Ladle sauce around, and dollop one spoonful of Horseradish Sour Cream on top.