The Weather Rollercoaster

Growing up in New England, it was common to hear people say, "If you don't like the weather, just wait a minute." Although we get seasonal changes in Atlanta, they aren't typically as crazy as they have been this season. From record cold temperatures with snow that stayed on the ground for a week, we went to 60 degree days when we could work in t-shirts. Yesterday was blustery and cold, and today it's raining and getting steadily warmer...go figure.

This is the time of year when I'm chomping at the bit to get things into the ground. It's made even worse by the fact that the seeds have arrived for lots of new things, and they're just sitting there waiting for a few weeks before we can start sowing them indoors. I've ordered lots of cool things for spring...mignonette, wallfowers, heliotrope, etc....all of which will fry by the middle of the summer here, but will hopefully be pretty glorious for April and May. The galanthus is up and blooming at the big house, which only makes my cabin fever worse!
In the stepchild garden, we're building and fluffing on those rare days when it isn't raining...hard to believe we're still in recovery mode from two years of record drought! Most of the actual construction on the "non-potting shed" is almost done, and now it's time to do the fun stuff (the tin roof, the door, window, little architectural details, etc. ) I'm still a little bit undecided about the door and trim color, but so far this blue is winning. At the time of year, everything in the wooded area looks pretty sad, but the blue chairs are as happy as can be!

Winter Dinners - Braised Short Ribs, etc.

This abnormally cold weather has pushed me indoors this week, though I find myself endlessly making lists of what I need to do once it's warm enough to work outside again (hopefully later this week). I've just placed two seed orders, and will go through the definitive order for spring annuals with the growers next week. Each time I walk by the windows, I add another thing to the list.

In the meantime, I have gotten sucked into the Barefoot Contessa marathons on The Food Network, and spent Thursday evening watching "Julie and Julia" on Demand. Between the two, it became clear that this weather demands a good hearty dinner.

I made Ina Garten's Short Ribs last night for dinner, with very minimal tweaking. (She is one of the few Food Network people who demonstrate recipes that actually work as presented.)

This is Ina's recipe for "Scott's Short Ribs", as presented, with my very minor changes noted. She says one rib per person in print, but served three per person on her show. I did two per person. As a result, for seven adults, I did 15 ribs.

6 (15) beef short ribs, trimmed of fat
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion (2 onions)
4 cups large-diced celery (6 large stalks)
2 (1 lb) carrots, peeled and large-diced
1 small fennel, fronds, stems, and core removed, large-diced
1(3) leek, cleaned and large-diced, white part only (you can't usually buy just one leek)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 (750-ml) bottle burgundy or other dry red wine (I used two)
Fresh rosemary sprigs
Fresh thyme sprigs
6 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the short ribs on a sheet pan, sprinkle (heavily) with salt and pepper, and roast for 15 (25) minutes. Remove from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven and add the onion, celery, carrots, fennel, and leek and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. (This step took longer for me...it's important to caramelize the veggies in this step for flavor).Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Pour the wine over the vegetables, bring to a boil, and cook over high heat until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Tie the rosemary and thyme together with kitchen twine and add to the pot.
Place the roasted ribs on top of the vegetables in the Dutch oven and add the beef stock and brown sugar. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Cover the Dutch oven and bake for 2 (or 3) hours or until the meat is very tender.
Carefully remove the short ribs from the pot and set aside. Discard the herbs and skim the excess fat. (If you put the pot in the refrigerator for an hour, this process is much easier.) (Take pot out of the refrigerator, then.......)Cook the vegetables and sauce over medium heat for 20 minutes, until reduced. Put the ribs back into the pot and heat through. Serve with the vegetables and sauce. (This is an awesome dish to make the day before and reheat for guests). Lastly, since short ribs can be pricey, this works beautifully for a Chuck Roast or Brisket.

This is the perfect recipe to serve with a couple of bottles of wine (use the same wine you cooked with, if possible), and great bread. I also did "Rafael's Mother's Brussels Sprouts," which is like a heart attack on a plate, but I think a perfect accompaniment for this. I also like the fact that it is a real comfort food for Rafael, since his mom passed away many years ago.

3 lbs. Brussels Sprouts (they should be fresh)

1 lb. bacon, cut into 1/2" slices

6 oz. crumbled blue cheese

Trim and blanch the brussels sprouts in boiling salted water until tender. Drain. Separately, cook the bacon until crisp in a saute pan, and drain the bulk of the fat (leave about 2 t.) Toss the sprouts, the bacon and the blue cheese together, and pop into the oven for 10 minutes or so while you're heating the bread.

Ami brought the makings for hot fudge sundaes to dinner last night, which was the perfect end to a winter evening as we collapsed onto the sofa.

.....now, if only my dining room looked a little more like this one......

Cold Weather Comfort

There are certain foods that I think each of us associates with cold weather. Chili, hot bowls of soup, the list goes on and on. One of mine, rather embarassingly, is Marshmallow Fluff.

Fluff is one of America's most versatile foods in my mind (remember that I am a degreed chef.....), and instantly brings me comfort in this ridiculously cold weather. How many foods can be eaten directly out the container while standing in the pantry, made into things like Whoopie Pies, used to top hot chocolate, or (only in winter) used in bowls of breakfast oatmeal? And don't forget the famous Fluffernutter sandwich, or the fact that it's really pretty amazing with ice cream and hot fudge! (New Englanders will stand in line at an ice cream stand in a blizzard).

"The Barefoot Contessa" (Ina Garten) is often mocked for repeatedly making reference to "good foods." (good bread, good olive oil, good spices, etc., etc.) Well, Fluff is one of those things that one should never accept substitutes for. I might not be able to detect differences in various brands of peanut butter, but don't even TRY to give me one of the knockoff brands of Fluff!

It's much too cold to garden today in most of the country, so get yourself to a supermarket and buy some Fluff! And don't foget that it's a fat-free and cholesterol-free food!......what could be bad?