Braised Short Ribs... and Beef Ragu

Every time I receive the new Bon Appetit, I spend at least an hour perusing through it, making myself hungry, and trying to decide when would be a good time to try out the tastiest recipes in there.  I received the October issue last week, and decided I would start with the Braised Short Ribs recipe.

So Monday morning I threw everything together in the slow cooker.  I made a few changes: I used just under 4 lbs. of short ribs, rather than the 4 1/2 lbs. called for (all the packages were just under 2 lbs., and I didn't want to have to go across the street to Stater Bros. because their lines are always atrocious), and I used 8 oz. of mushrooms instead of 6 oz. (again, that was the size of the package, and you know how I am about mushrooms).  I used a Sangiovese for the red wine.

I had stayed home Monday, because I had a morning chiro appointment and was sore from the accident Saturday, and had so many other errands to run that I wouldn't have gotten much work done anyway.  So by midday when I made some awesome roast beef sandwiches (I love my new toaster oven!), the smell coming out of the slow cooker was just lovely.  As delicious as my sandwich was, I couldn't wait until dinnertime.

I made the Roasted Parsnips with Parsley that Bon Appetit paired with the short ribs.  Really simple, just roasted in olive oil, butter, parsley, salt and pepper.  I only made a half recipe of that, because the grocery store only had one 1 lb. package of parsnips, but it worked out perfectly.

The verdict - Very tasty.  I undersalted the meat before starting it all, but the meat was very tender.  I will definitely make it again.  Especially perfect for weeknights, since the work is ultra minimal.

The recipe fed the three of us, and left just enough to make the Beef Ragu with Pappardelle that Bon Appetit suggested making with the leftovers (again, feeding three).  Couldn't have been simpler - 1 cup of the leftover rib meat, 1 cup of the leftover Parsnips, 1 can of tomato sauce.  (I actually put that together when I was cleaning up after dinner on Monday, so I just had to put it in the pan.)  Mix it together and simmer while making the noodles.  I got a 4-serving package of the pappardelle from Trader Joe's.  When the pasta is done, season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.  Takes as long as it does to cook noodles.  If I had more than 1 cup of meat, I would probably throw that in too.

The ragu was even better than the ribs!  But then, that could be because I undersalted the ribs.  I will have to make them both again so I can decide for sure.  I do love pappardelle...

But next, I want to make the Cornbread-Stuffed Cornish Game Hens with Corn Maque Choux.