Perfect Saturday Homemade Dinner ~ Braised Short ribs and classic mashed potatoes

Falling off the bone short ribs meat, rich red wine sauce, fluffy creamy mashed potatoes, and chocolate cupcakes. What can beat that for a perfect Saturday nite dinner with my lovely hubby? It was melting in your mouth meal that satisfy all your senses... I tell ya... The key to your man's heart is thru the belly!

I got this recipe from foodtv.com, in particularly from Chef Anne Burrell. This is the second time I made the short ribs and this recipe proves to have perfect result everytime. It takes a WHILE to get the outcome but it's not that difficult really... The LONG part is only the oven part, which you don't really have to do anything while it's in there.

Here's the ingredients that you'll need:

• 6 bone-in short ribs (about 5 lbs)
• 1 large onion, cut into 1/2 in. pieces
• 2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2 in. pieces
• 2 carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2 in. pieces
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 1/2 cups tomato paste
• 2-3 cups hearty red wine (I use Bordeaux, it's kinda sipcy but it's perfect for this... Trader Joe's has French Bordeaux wine for only 6 bucks!)
• Water
• 1 bunch fresh thyme, tied with kitchen string
• 2 bay leaves
• S+P (I always use kosher salt)

The steps:

1. Season short ribs with salt (A LOT).

2. Coat a pot large enough to fit all meat and vegetables. Get the pan hot and sear EVERY side of the ribs. Do not overcrowd the pan.

3. While the meat is searing, put the garlic, carrot, celery, onion into food processor and puree until they become coarse paste.

Preheat oven 375F

4. When the ribs browned, set them aside and drain the fat from the pan. Coat the same pan with new oil and add pureed vegetables. Season the vegetables with salt (A LOT) and brown them about 5-7 min.

5. Add the tomato paste and brown for 4-5 min at med heat, otherwise it's gonna burn.

6. Add the redwine and let it reduce by half.

7. Add the ribs back in the pot, add thyme and bay leaves, and add the water until it just covers the meat.

8. Put it in the oven for 3 hours. Check periodically during cooking process and turn the ribs oven halfway through cooking time. The last 30 min. take the lid off to let the liquid reduce and becomes a yummy sauce.

The outcome should be falling out of the bone short ribs and I bet the perfect match of this ribs is mashed potatoes! It's very simple recipe..

What you'll need:

• 2 large russet potatoes
• 3/4 cups of heavy cream
• 1/2 stick of butter
• parmesan cheese, optional
• S+P to taste

The steps:

1. 30 min. before the ribs done. Peel and cut the potatoes and boil them until tender.

2. Meanwhile, put the butter and heavy cream in a pot and heat it just until boils.

3. When the potatoes are done, drain them, and put it back on the same pot. Mashed them away and pour the heavy cream mixture as you're mashing. Spinkle parmesan cheese and season S+P to taste.

In fine-dining restaurants, this braised short-ribs will cost you some money! But it's not that hard to make them actually... And it will taste a lot better, I promise! If your spouse's birthday is coming, this is the perfect birthday treat for him/her! U'll get compliment all day long!