Creamy Goat Cheese Polenta

I always love polenta, but this is so delicious to serve with the short ribs. Another future recipe will suggest making a ragu/bolognese sauce and serving it over the polenta.

Because this polenta takes so little time, you can prepare it right before you are ready to serve your meal. With the short ribs, I prepared this while the ribs were sitting out of the oven for 20 minutes.

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients:
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp salt
2 tbs butter
4 oz goat cheese

1. Bring 4 1/2 c of water to a boil. Add cornmeal to the water in a thin stream, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.

2. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, adding salt and any extra tbs of water as needed.



3. When polenta is done, stir in goat cheese and butter. Add salt to taste. Serve immediately!

Braised Short Ribs

These ribs are a little bit complicated, and have to cook for a few hours, so they are perfect for a Sunday dinner. They are delicious when served with polenta (see the next recipe) or with mashed potatoes, and with a vegetable like fresh green beans or broccoli. This recipe, along with the next two, were part of a dinner I served that only (ha! only) took me about 4 hours to make.

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients:
8 whole beef short ribs
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c All-Purpose flour
6 pieces Pancetta, diced (or you can do what I did- go to Trader Joes and pick up a package of already diced pancetta)
2 tbs Olive Oil
1 whole medium onion, diced
3 whole carrots, diced
2 whole shallots, diced
2 cups red or white wine (I went with red)
2 cups beef or chicken broth (I went with beef)
2 sprigs thyme
2 springs rosemary

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Salt and pepper the ribs on all sides, then dredge in flour. Set aside.

2. In a large dutch oven, cook the pancetta over medium heat until completely crispy and all of the fat is rendered. Remove pancetta and set aside; do NOT discard grease.



3. Add olive oil to pan with pancetta grease, raise heat to high. Brown ribs on all sides (this should only take about 45 seconds per side, if your oil has been heated). Remove ribs and set aside, turn heat down to medium.



4. Add onions, carrots, and shallots to pan and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape bottom of pan to deglaze. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.



5. Add broth, 1 tsp kosher salt, and plenty of fresh ground pepper. Add ribs to the liquid- we want them almost completely submerged, so if needed, add more broth/wine. Add the rosemary and thyme sprigs to the liquid.



6. Put on the lid, and cook in the oven for 2 hours. Then reduce heat to 325 degrees, and cook for an additional 30-45 minutes. Ribs should be fork-tender and falling off the bone. Remove pan from oven and allow to sit for at least 20 minutes. Skim the fat off of the top (or, let refrigerate if you have time and remove solid fat from the top).



7. Serve with polenta or mashed potatoes!

Auntie Flo's Porkchops

I recieved this recipe from Pat (our neighbor from Hyde Park), who told me that she used to make this when she got home late and had 3 hungry kids. Since Alex eats about the same amount as 3 hungry kids, I figured this would be perfect! Since this takes very little time (and very little mess) to make, I kind of love it.

From Pat Nau

Ingredients:
6 thick butterfly pork chops (no bones)
2 cans apple pie filling
2 boxes stove top stuffing
Cinnamon (to taste)
2 tbs olive oil
Butter
Salt, pepper, paprika

1. Season the chops on both sides with salt, pepper, and paprika. Make the stuffing according to the directions on the box. Let the stuffing sit to the side while you prepare everything else. Spoon the pie filling into a casserole dish, add cinnamon to taste. Spread pie filling so that the entire bottom of the pan is covered.

2. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. When the oil is hot and starting to bubble, add chops. Cook until they are browned on both sides (if your oil is hot enough, this should only take a minute or two, so keep an eye on it).

3. Place chops on pie filling. Spoon the stuffing over the chops, spread to cover. Dot the top of the stuffing with pats of butter, season with paprika to taste.

4. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes; remove foil and bake for 10 minutes longer, then serve.