Braised Short Ribs

Yesterday we spent all day downtown looking for baby stuff and buying my friend a gift for her baby shower. Well of course that means we get to go to the fancy restaurants that I rarely get to go to because of traffic and it being such a pain to navigate and find parking. Oh you live in Houston? No I live in the bumfuck outside area that has only chain restaurants, horrible grocery stores, and crappy shopping....blah! Anyway, being downtown we went to a nice restaurant called Masaraffs for lunch, I was way underdressed but I'm pregnant so I dare them to say something haha. I had foie gras for my appetizer and it was seriously the best one I've ever had, even in Vegas! 

My mother had a crab salad that was equally as delicious. 

I then had a fish dish that was the chefs specialty Grouper with Shrimp infused potatoes and an avocado cream sauce. 

The best part of my meal was the desert, it was a butter Pear Roasted Creme Brûlée that was so awesome because it was served in the Pear, meaning it was the perfect amount. Normally they are way too big and I was so full after eating the appetizer and most of my meal, hey I'm eating for 2 here right? 

Being downtown I was able to go to my all time favorite grocery store, Whole Foods. It's so not fair that we do not have one close to where I live. It makes me very sad but every time we go downtown I have to stop in! They have such a great meat counter so I decided to get a few things for the week including short ribs, Black Forest bacon, and a piece of pork belly to delight my husband with :) 

Tonight I decided to braise the short ribs. I salt and peppered them, dredged them in flour, then browned them in a dutch oven after I cooked 2 slices of bacon cut into lardons and removed them leaving their delicious golden fat. I added a tiny bit of olive oil to keep them from burning. 

After that, I removed them to a plate and finished the other three ribs, Chopped up 4 carrots and 1 whole onion.

Added those to the drippings, sautéed for 3 mins then added 2 cups of red wine and scraped the wonderful brown bits from the bottom. I brought it to a boil and then added 2 cups of beef stock. Salt, pepper, garlic and herb seasoning, and Meyer lemon seasoning. I put the ribs back into the liquid, covered the top and put it in the oven at 350° for 2 hours, then 325° for 30 mins. I put in a handful of fingerlings potatoes on a foil lined pan with lemon olive oil, garlic herb seasoning, and fresh lemon juice for the last 30 mins. In my convention oven I put in a handful of sliced cherry tomatoes in with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic seasoning. Baked at 400° for 20 mins till they popped and browned. Then dressed an herb salad with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and the roasted cherry tomatoes. 

Rich, decadent, and so delicious!