Even with all of the coordination, planning and prep work...life still throws us curves. Mid way through the cooking at Nana's house, her kitchen sink clogged up. I will spare the details but it kept us juggling and was not fixed until the following day. Running kids around in between the various prep and cook times also got busier than expected, but overall the chaos of daily life only made us more appreciative of a wonderful meal. And enjoying it with family. (who didn't mind that the coffee was prepared with bath water.....)
Per Nana ~
This was quite time consuming to prepare, but the end result was fantastic !
I did not find the star anise, but substituted anise seed instead and the flavor was wonderful. It seemed to work out, but I will definitely search the Asian and Mexican sections of the markets - my thanks to all who made those suggestions. And Tricia is already planning a trip to Penzey's Spices.
The meat braised very well, and after three hours it came off the bone very easily.
We glazed the ribs with the strained liquid before broiling again and they turned out beautiful.
Per Tricia ~
The prep time and labor was a little scary to anticipate - but it turned out to be manageable, and the results were more than worth it. The flavor of the ribs was infused with the ingredients but was not at all overwhelming. My sons in particular are big fans of ribs, but are used to the BBQ ones that are slathered in sauces. They commented that the ribs had a "cool" flavor, considering there "wasn't any sauce". I also was very impressed by subtle but rich taste. Hubby is roughing it in Brazil (it was 84 degrees there while we got 4 inches of snow.....) for business, so he missed out on a good one.
And the texture - unbelieveable. I can not recall the last time I had such a well cooked serving of tender and moist meat.
It was another case of tasting and making "mmmm....this is SO good" comments.
And that is what it is all about.
Your ribs look so delicious! And, I wouldn't mind a slice of that tart right now!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful job, ladies! French Sundays with Dorie are definitely easier to pull off as a team. I hope you were able to navigate through the curves... meals like this one make it all worthwhile!
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are awesome! I can see the crustiness on the ribs. I'm envious that you have each other to cook with.
ReplyDeleteVery nice! Another great round for the Nana/Tricia team. I served the cauliflower/ bacon gratin with the ribs as well. Great minds, I tell you. The Dude has already told me that the gratin needs to make a regular appearance at the dinner table.
ReplyDeleteI love love love that you and your Nana are cooking together and both commenting. What a lovely thing...I am jealous.
ReplyDeleteYour ribs look perfect! Glad they came out so good even with the sink issue!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos! I love that you and your mom spent a Sunday cooking this dish together. You are a lucky pair! It really makes me miss my own mother.
ReplyDeleteI adore Penzey's! I was just at the one in Minneapolis last week for some Vietnamese Cinnamon. This would be a good snowy day meal. (We had about 14 or so inches of snow here on Sunday.) That tart looks great too!
ReplyDeleteI just love that you cook together! Some of my best times are with my daughters in the kitchen...great memories! And your ribs look terrific...and great photos.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a wonderful feast! I've done French Fridays marathons at my parents' house occasionally and it's so much fun. They are very appreciative taste testers.
ReplyDeleteLovely dinner! How nice to have someone to cook with! I like your step-by-step photos.
ReplyDeleteGreat job ladies!! Such nice family time! Your Ribs look excellent and so does your tart! I remember a few years ago doing a Mothers Day Brunch for my family and we had a power failure and we just cooked everything on the grill! Sometimes life throws you a curve and you just have to roll with it!!
ReplyDeleteGreat job! This is the type of recipe that once upon a time would have intimidated me but I thought it was easy prep just involved lots of cooking time. I can't wait to make the cauliflower gratin.
ReplyDeleteThe dynamic duo did it again!!! What a fabulous meal...with all our Dorie favorites. Everything looks delicious~
ReplyDeleteSounds like a wonderful meal and you are both so lucky to be able to do it together. Your ribs look wonderful and so does the tart!
ReplyDeleteThat entire meal must have been an amazing experience! You should send me your address and I'll mail you some of the star anise I bought. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to go through the entire jar before it starts to lose its potency!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the wonderful comments! I agree, this dish has it all - texture, flavor, color, and aroma. It sounds like you cooked a feast fit for a king! Great photos!
ReplyDeleteOH, gosh, these photos are amazing. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. We did, too.
ReplyDeleteAppears "hubby" really missed out! Your ribs look beautifully browned and succulent. I was afraid the broiling wouldn't work as well as searing, but you have definitely proved me wrong.
ReplyDeleteHi ladies...ribs look terrific! Sunday sounds like a fun day...except for the stopped up sink...yuck! Looks like you got the better end of the deal...ribs over Brazil! Serves him right for leaving you in the cold!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful job this week. I could have used a couple of extra hands once or twice during the process, I love that you two cook together.
ReplyDeleteI think I need to make the cauliflower gratin soon.
wow - your meat is so wonderfully browned! So sad the husband missed out on this one. Your photos are great. Seems like I was the only one who left out parnsips...I'll have to try them next time.
ReplyDeleteWow your pictures are amazing! I love the upclose shots! It looks like they went over well at your house!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful job! I skipped these, even though I love short ribs, because of the work factor...but oh, they look so delicious! Funny you should need some star anise - I ordered the smallest package from Penzey's and it's huge - I have more than a few to spare! Definitely check out the Philly store - it's so much fun.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing better than sharing the kitchen with your family (well, Husband excluded, he likes to experiment too much, which doesn't always work!)
ReplyDeleteI agree, this was a time-consuming dish, but well worth it.
Great job!
Your ribs look great! My kids were the same, they were excited to hear we were having ribs and while they prefer a BBQ sauce on them, they were happy to eat these!
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