The Perfect Fall Recipe: Braised Short Ribs

 I have a confession to make: I watch The Chew regularly on ABC. It's the first show I turn on when I get home from a long day at work. Aside from being super entertaining (they play so many games, and they're all so funny!), the food they make looks killer. I always save my favorite episodes so that I can go back and try my hand at the recipes later. I recently watched an episode where Michael Symon (of the famed Lola restaurant in Cleveland, OH) cooked this dish, and I knew I HAD to try my hand at it. I am a lover of short ribs, and I've never braised anything before, so the challenge just got me totally excited, plus it's perfect for fall since October is, well, today! It actually was one of the easiest meals I've ever made because it cooks in one pot!

Notes / /

I stuck to the recipe pretty much 100% but I bought less short ribs than the recipe called for because only two people would be eating it (I mean I bought only 2 pounds when the recipe called for 5! Pretty big difference, I would say), and reduced the other ingredients as well. The recipe also called for a cook time of three hours in the oven, but I took mine out after 2.5 hours, because I was worried it would burn (and it didn't - it was perfect!) I think I must have forgotten to not put as much flour in, as well, because the sauce was SUPER thick, but it was so, so delicious. I can't wait to have this for leftovers tomorrow!

On the side, I just cooked up some simple brown rice and added a little olive oil, salt + pepper.

For the full recipe and more great fall dinner ideas, visit The Chew's website and enjoy my photos below!

 

Pizza Pizza

Yesterday I posted a recipe for homemade tomato sauce, and now here I am posting a recipe for homemade pizza! Yay! This pizza is probably the best pizza I've ever made, and I think mostly it's because I made almost everything myself. The crust is a cornmeal crust (which I did not make; I bought it at a local grocery store) but you can use whatever dough or pre-made crust your heart desires. You can also customize this with whatever you want, i.e. bacon, pepperoni, other veggies, etc. I happen to love caramelized onions as well as sauteed mushrooms, so I incorporated both into my recipe. One thing that really makes this pizza extra special is that it's ALMOST vegan! If I switched up the cheese to something like Daiya, it could be. I'm definitely going to try that as I love experimenting and trying new things. I hope you enjoy this as much as I love making it!

Ingredients:

1) Half a white onion (sliced longways and thin)

2) Half cup of your favorite mushrooms (cut up into slices)

3) Olive Oil (to drizzle on top of the pizza before it cooks, and to cook the veggies in)

4) Your favorite cheese (I picked shredded mozzarella and a sprinkle of parmesan)

5) Salt + Pepper

6) Rosemary (to add on top after it's finished)

* Pre-heat Oven to 425 degrees *

Step One: Cut up the onions into long, thin slices and add to the pan. Be sure to sprinkle some salt on top to make them sweat

Step Two: Once they've caramelized (about 5 min depending), add the mushrooms and cook until both are a little browned and are soft

Step Three: Add tomato sauce to the crust

Step Four: Add the cooked veggies all over the top of the pizza. Don't miss any open spots! :)

Step Five: Cheese! Add as much cheese over the top of the veggies as you'd like. Some people put some cheese on the crust before they add the veggies, but I like to do the opposite, having the cheese get golden brown on top as it's cooking in the oven. Mmm.

Step Six: Drizzle some olive oil on top of the pizza to help it brown a little on top in the oven, and some pepper

Step Seven: Cook the pizza for 12-15 min or until cooked. The cheese will be a little browned on top and the crust will be crunchy on the edges

Step Eight: Sprinkle some sprigs of rosemary on top, let cool for a little bit, and then serve! Yum!

 

 

 

 

Another Night Of Pie-Making

Lately I’ve been obsessed with making pies. There's something so relaxing about hanging out in a warm kitchen on a cold, dark day, with the smell of vanilla and butter in the air. Last night I tried my hand at a chocolate chess pie (courtesy of a woman named Betty Thomason), which is basically the easiest pie to make in the world. Luckily the only thing I had to buy was the pie crust (shh, store bought), and the whole process took less than an hour.

*Recipe courtesy of southern pies

What you’ll need

• pastry for a 9-inch single crust pie
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 square(1 ounce) unsweetened chocolate (note: all i had was semi-sweet chocolate chips and they worked out just fine. just be sure to measure out two tablespoons, equivalent to 1 oz)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten well
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9-inch pie pan with crust and press the crust into the pan Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

Combine the butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over medium heat (note: I would suggest heating the butter and chocolate in a heat-safe bowl over a pot of simmering water.. otherwise your chocolate & butter could/will probably burn.. not fun). Cook, stirring often, until the chocolate and butter melt and they end up looking like a saucy consistency, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the sugar and stir well. (You will notice at this point the chocolate/butter will get thicker). Add the eggs, vanilla, and salt, and stir to combine everything evenly.

Pour the filling into the chilled crust and place the pie on the bottom shelf of the oven. Bake until the pie is well browned, 35 to 45 minutes.

Place the pie on a cooling rack and let it cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature (I would suggest room temp)

I can’t go without mentioning my lovely apron from my favorite store anthropologie