Last Sunday the fall weather inspired Jeff to roll up his sleeves for a full day of braising short ribs.
Jeff's Braised Short Ribs, Celery Duo, & Sauteed Mushrooms
We went up to Fairway on 125th to shop for all the ingredients – the cold room definitely had plenty of meat for us to chose from.
Jeff spent the next 5-6 hours in our small NY kitchen prepping, boiling, browning, reducing, braising, blending, and sauteing (I probably left something out).
Tons of hard work that definitely paid off – Jeff’s short ribs rivaled any I’ve had in a fancy restaurant.
From Daniel Boulud’s Cafe Boulud Cookbook:
Shorts Ribs Braised in Red Wine
“Ribs [with] a traditional base of aromatics – garlic, shallots, carrots, celery, and leeks – toss in fresh herbs, and braise them slowly in a mixture of stock and red wine.”
Celery Duo
“A double dish of braised quarters of stalk celery and pureed celery root and potato.”
From Jeff’s Kitchen:
Sauteed Mushrooms
Jeff’s own recipe that he has fine-tuned over the years.
Cold Room at Fairway Market in Harlem
Red Wine Sauce (from braise) and Celery Duo
Braised Short Ribs
Jeff's Sauteed Mushrooms
201 West 79th St., New York, NY
We saw the “5 Napkin Burger” on New York Magazine’s The Burger Register: New York’s 82 Most Notable Burgers, and, since we were craving a burger, decided to head over to Nice Matin to try it out. (Nice Matin also owns the restaurant called “5 Napkin Burger” in the theatre district). We’d been to Nice Matin for brunch and thought it was pretty good.
5 Napkin Burger at Nice Matin
5 Napkin Burger
10 ounce hand-packed 100 percent Angus chuck burger with Comté cheese, caramelized onions and rosemary aioli on a soft white roll from Pane D’Oro bakery in Yonkers
Overall, we were pretty disappointed with the 5 Napkin Burger. The burger itself was way too thick. I wound up cutting it in half horizontally so that I could actually manage to eat my burger. The flavors were just ok. I suppose it was juicy, but I think the bottom bun absorbed all the juice leaving the larger top bun tasting rather dry. Jeff got bacon on his burger, but the bacon was more like slabs of fat than bacon.
Daube of Beef Short Ribs
Daube of Beef Short Ribs
peas, carrots, and leaks in beurre fondue with semolina gnocchetti and red wine sauce
After some debate, our sister-in-law decided to forgo the burger in favor of short ribs – she definitely made a good choice. The short ribs were very tender, and the beurre fondue and red wine sauce added some pleasing flavors.