The text finally came through: you want to hang sometime next week?
I knew exactly what I was getting into before inviting him over for dinner. I’d heard the stories: he ate only hamburgers throughout college, didn’t touch anything with chlorophyll, showed no mercy towards unfamiliar foods. But I was so relieved to hear from him that I didn’t care if we ate Wonder Bread and bologna sandwiches.
Yes!!! Please come over for dinner on Sunday so I can feeeeeed you!
R. had come down with a case of the blues, and I’m 100% positive that eating take-out every single night wasn’t promoting feelings of mental ease. I’m a firm believer in the power of a good home-cooked meal as a healing balm for life’s troubles.
I texted him back: shoot me a list of things you won’t eat. How about beef? Do you eat beef? I decided on braised short ribs with cheesy polenta, salad that I’d probably end up making just for me, and apple strudel for dessert. Familiar, flavorful, and heartwarming. I was busy chopping radicchio and endive when R. arrived. I grilled him like a drill sargeant as soon as he’d taken off his shoes: do you like short ribs? Yes. How about carrots? Yes. And polenta? What’s that? Corn. Yeah, I like corn. How about salad? Pause…yes. Onions? No onions. And apples? I’m making a strudel. First time ever, so please don’t say no. Oh, I like apples. Huge sigh of relief. I walked around my butcher block to give him a hug. I had spent a couple days sweating this meal and it all worked out. I’d never been more delighted by the sight of a clean plate.
Braised Short Ribs for Picky Eaters
3 lbs boneless short ribs
2 large onions, sliced into thin rings
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1″ pieces
1 head of garlic, cloves peeled
2 c. bold red wine
1 c. beef broth
6 springs thyme
3 bay leaves
1 T. tomato paste
salt and freshly ground pepper
olive oil
Heat the oven to 300 degrees.
Heat 1 T. oil in large dutch oven or ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Season the meat with 2 t. salt and 1 t. pepper. Add 1/2 the short ribs and brown for about 5 minutes until a nice crust forms. Turn meat over and brown the other side for another five minutes. Put the browned meat in a bowl and do the same for the remaining ribs.
After browning all the meat, add the onions and cook until soft and tender, about 10 minutes. You want to caramelize the onions without burning them. Add a splash water if they start to burn. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Then add the tomato paste and stir into the onions and garlic until they’re coated. Add wine, give a good stir, scrape up the browned bits, and simmer over medium heat until about 1/2 the liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes.
Add the thyme, bay leaves, carrots, beef broth and finally the meat. Bring the short ribs and sauce to a simmer. Cover with the lid and transfer to oven. Bake the short ribs for 2-2:15 hours until the meat pulls apart with a gentle tug of a fork. You can cool the ribs and skim off the fat, but my ribs were extremely lean and didn’t require the usual defatting.
Serve with rice or mashed potatoes or polenta or a hunk of crusty bread.
