Diary of a Secret Housewife: Maple Soy Roast Chicken

Let's say one had an overenthusiastic husband who bought a GALLON of maple syrup in Vermont.  And said gallon of maple syrup sat on one's kitchen counter for a long time, leering and jeering as one went about one's usual kitchen activities.  What would one do?

Well, if one were me, then the answer is obvious: make chicken.  My mom makes a scrumptious Chinese-style roast chicken with a soy and sugar glaze that is just to die for.  I decided that I'd make my own iteration with maple syrup.  This ode-to-Vermont version has the same sticky, savory, sweet flavor combination that makes mom's chicken so good, but it also has an unexpected hint of smokiness from the maple syrup.  I made it on a summer night, but I can imagine it being especially fantastic when the weather is cold and maple flavors seem more in season.

Directions:

1. Begin by making the glaze.  Mix 1/4 cup dark soy sauce (use a Chinese or Vietnamese brand if available; the Japanese will not be as intense) with 1/2 cup maple syrup (you can substitute in honey if you don't have the syrup).  Grade B maple syrup, which is more intensely flavored, is better for this recipe (and cooking in general) than Grade A, so use the cheap stuff.
2. About half an hour before you start roasting the chicken, brush the glaze over the bird.  Don't worry if not all of the glaze "sticks" -- it'll be a lot easier to glaze once the chicken has started roasting.  In the meantime, preheat the oven to 475 degrees (if you have a convection oven, use it for the first 30 minutes of cooking).
3. Heat a saute pan just large enough to hold the chicken.  When the pan is hot, place the chicken breast-side up into the vessel.  You should hear a sizzling sound.  This step will help prevent your chicken from sticking to the pan.
4. Roast chicken for 30 minutes, basting the top of it with the remaining soy-maple glaze every 15 minutes.  If the tips of the wings or drumsticks are burning from the sugar and heat, wrap a tiny bit of foil around them.  I actually quite like the smokiness of a slightly burnt glaze, but if you don't you can also postpone the basting until after you flip the chicken (next step).
5. After the 30 minutes are up, flip the chicken over, baste it again, and roast for 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Turn the chicken breast side up again, baste it again, and then return it to the oven for 10 minutes to recrisp the skin.
7. Once the chicken is done, remove from oven, set the chicken on a cutting board, and allow it to rest for 15-20 minutes.
8. Taste the pan drippings.  It should be very savory and sweet, though you can add 1/4 cup of water to it if it's too flavorful.  Pour out as much of the fat as you can from the pan, then boil the pan juices until they reduce to a syrupy consistency.
9. Cut the chicken into pieces, place over rice or cous cous, then spoon the gorgeous soy-maple reduction over it.  The rice or cous cous will absorb all of the chicken, soy, and maple flavors and become super delicious. 

Enjoy!  If you love this (seriously, you will), you can thank my mom for the inspiration.

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Diary of a Secret Housewife: Easy, Elegant Strawberries

Here in Boston it's a dreary, rainy day . . . with nothing but dreary, rainy days ahead this week.  The weather reminds me that summer is just about -- if not already -- over, and that I'd better enjoy its bounty before the fall sweeps in and there's nothing fresh, ripe, and delicious to be found.  To that end, I present to you my new favorite breakfast: strawberries with brown sugar and sour cream.  When you swirl the brown sugar into the sour cream, the mixture takes on a luscious caramel texture and taste that's unbelievably good with strawberries.

I learned this recipe from the innkeepers at Inn Victoria, where we stayed during our recent trip to Vermont.  They, in turn, learned the recipe from Paul Bremer -- yes, that Paul Bremer, who took a break from Iraq to become an artist in Chester, Vt.  Random, no?

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Diary of a Secret Housewife: Bubbe Jennie's Taiglach

My husband's 91-year-old grandmother, our Bubbe Jennie, is an extraordinary baker.  On the farm (in a small Jewish farming community of Edenbridge, Saskatchewan) where she raised her two boys, she would bake almost everyday out of necessity.  Once they moved to more urban environs -- first Sasketoon, then Montreal -- she would still bake for her husband, who looked forward to her desserts after every dinner, and her kids and grandkids, who raved about her chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon buns.  Amongst all of her excellent recipes, though, the one that sends the whole family into fits of nostalgia- and hunger-fueled ecstasy is her taiglach.

Taiglach (or teiglach) is a Jewish dessert that consists of small dough balls (mandlen or teigel) held together by a honey syrup.  Rolled with shredded coconut, the mandlen form a gooey, chewy concoction that is something between a candy and a cookie bar.  Taiglach is in some ways similar to the Cantonese dessert sachima, Indian gulab jamun, or American rice krispie treats.  It's a popular dessert for Purim and Rosh Hashanah, but (as we managed to convince Bubbe) it's just as good for a random Thursday when your grandson and granddaughter-in-law come to visit.

Perhaps because it's so time-consuming, taiglach recipes are hard to find these days.  It was thus particularly meaningful and important that Bubbe Jennie taught us her recipe last week.

To make taiglach, you begin by taking your bubbe shopping.  If she's like our bubbe, she already knows the location and price of every item in the store.  If you are making this recipe sans bubbe, then you'll have to procure the following items for yourself:

For the dough balls:

• 4 eggs
• 4 tablespoons Mazola oil (plus 1/4 cup or so for the baking sheets)
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• a pinch of salt
• enough flour to make a soft dough (about 3 cups)

For the honey syrup:

• 1 1/3 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• a pinch of cinnamon (if desired)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon oil

For the final product:

• shredded coconut

Begin by making the soft dough.  Beat four eggs.  Mix in four tablespoons oil, 4 teaspoons sugar, and a pinch of salt.

Mix -- either by hand or in a mixer -- the egg mixture with the flour until you get a soft dough.  To ensure that the mixture doesn't get too tough, start first with one and a half cup of flour.  Then add the remaining flour, a half cup at a time, until you achieve the right consistency.

Once the dough is manageable, you can turn it out onto a floured surface and knead it gently, integrating more flour as needed to get the dough into a soft, but not sticky, consistency.

You'll know the dough is ready when it can hold its shape.  To test the dough, you can cut a small strip of it, roll it into a tubular shape, and see if it retains its shape.  If not, add a little bit more flour.

Now you're ready to make the dough into mandlen.  Cut the dough into small strips.  Roll each strip into a small tube, then cut the strip into little pieces, about 1/2 in. by 1/2 in. in size.  Try to make the mandlen regular in size if possible.  (Check out Bubbe Jennie's knife skills, by the way.  She's got the shakiest hands, but she still managed to cut all the mandlen.)

Put about 1/4 cup of oil into a rimmed baking sheet.  The oil should reach about 1/8 in. up the side of the baking sheet.  Put the mandlen on the sheet.

Bake the mandlen for 5-8 mins. in a 350 degree oven.  The oil will get foamy, and the mandlen will brown.  You should check on the mandlen often, making sure to flip (or stir) half-way through baking.  You can remove the mandlen when both sides are lightly browned.

Set the mandlen aside to cool.

Then make the honey syrup.  Put 1 1/3 cups of honey, 2 tablespoons sugar, and cinnamon into a large pot and bring to a boil.  The mixture should become syrupy.  You'll know it's ready when a drop of the mixture in cold water forms a soft ball.  At this point, remove the mixture from heat, and add in a teaspoon of vanilla and a tablespoon of oil.

In the meantime, lay a piece of parchment or waxed paper on a flat surface.  Sprinkle a layer of the shredded coconut onto the parchment.  Place the mandlen into the syrup, mixing well until all of the mandlen are coated with the honey mixture.  Next, pour the syrup-covered mandlen onto the coconut, spreading it out to about an inch in thickness.

Sprinkle a bit more shredded coconut onto the emerging taiglach.  Then allow the mixture to cool.Once the taiglach is cooled, slice it into small diamond shapes using a wet knife.  (We ended up having to make two batches because we didn't boil the syrup long enough on the first batch, and the mandlen wouldn't hold together.  I assure you though that if you are more patient than we were, the mandlen will in fact hold together and make very pretty diamonds.)

You can store the taiglach in a sealed container for a few days, though it's doubtful you'll have much left over.  This stuff is like crack, if crack were caramelly and insanely delicious.

Many thanks to Bubbe for sharing with us this recipe.  We kept this 91-year-old woman on her feet for hours in the kitchen while we documented every step of this long process.  Not only did she entertain us the whole time with stories from the farm, she was also good-natured and patient with our fumbles; in fact, when we fudged up the first batch, she just laughed and said, "it wouldn't be as fun if it turned out perfect!"

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Diary of a Secret Househusband: Homemade Lox

I know that from the contents of this blog, it must seem like I'm the cook of the household.  And I suppose that this is true: I do the day-to-day cooking.  But the CHEF of the household is my husband. He's the darling who spent days mastering the art of truffle-making to make me artisan chocolates for Valentine's Day, the loon who invited a billion of his friends over for a make-your-own pasta party (there was pasta hanging out to dry over his entire apartment), and the guy who, this weekend, made lox.

For quite a long time, he's been complaining about the poor quality of the lox and smoked salmon we've been getting lately.  Finally, he got fed up and decided to make his own.  Technically, he made gravlax, as the salmon is merely cured, not smoked.  All it took was some good quality salmon from Whole Foods (still cheaper than good lox); a sugar, salt, and water brine; and a little patience (the salmon has to cure for about 2 days).

Let me just admit that I am not a huge fan of lox.  It's my least Jewish characteristic.  (Though I don't like pickles either, so I'm totally goying myself out here.)  But even I thought this lox was really good: fresh, delicate, not at all fishy.  Don't tell him, but I was kind of impressed.

If you're intrigued about the process of curing your own gravlax, my husband used the recipe available here.  Have you ever made your own lox?  Are you a lox and sesame bagel fan?  Or a super goyish chocolate chip bagel with butter fan like me?

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Diary of a Secret Housewife: Savory Shortbread "Cookies"

Once upon a time, I used to bake.  A lot.  But then this thing called work got in the way.  Luckily enough, I've got a cocktail party at work tomorrow that I have to bring something in for, so I get to bake on a work night!

I decided to switch things up a bit and make some savory, cheesy, herby, spicy shortbread cookies.  I'm imagining that they'd go great with martinis.

This shortbread recipe, which I adapted from Martha, is as easy as its results are tasty.  Plus you can make a ton of the dough ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for whenever the occasion requires a fancy snack.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon herbs du provence
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
• 2 cups grated cheese (cheddar or parmesan works well, though feel free to experiment)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar or Worcestershire sauce
• Pepper

Directions:

• In a large bowl, mix flour, cayenne pepper, herbs du provence, and salt. 
• Add butter.  Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  
• With your hands, gently toss the cheese into the crumb mixture until integrated.
• Add in milk and vinegar or Worcestershire sauce.  Integrate the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients until the mixture comes together as a dough. 
• Form mixture into two or three 1-inch-diameter logs, wrap in parchment, and refrigerate until firm -- at least one hour or until the occasion requires.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Remove logs from refrigerator, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds.  Place the rounds on the baking sheet.
• Bake shortbread until golden, about 14 minutes (mine didn't look all that browned, until I flipped them over and realized they were nice and caramelized on the flipside).  Refrain from touching the hot shortbread, as they will still be soft to the touch.  Cool on a wire rack.  The cookies are ready to eat when they feel firm to the touch.

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Diary of a Secret Housewife: Raspberry Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Hello!  Remember me?  I used to blog here.  But then I started a new job, got super swamped, and started neglecting my blogging duties.

Sigh.  Sorry.

As an apology/peace offering, let me offer you some cupcakes.

These cupcakes are loaded with tart, juicy raspberries, and covered with a quick and easy buttercream frosting.  My husband insists that they are muffins, but my feeling is that any little cake with frosting can and should be called a cupcake.  What ever you call them, though, they are super easy to make and quite delicious.

Ingredients (for 18 cupcakes):

For cake:

1 1/3 AP flour

1/4 cup cake flour

1 1/2 teapoons baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup whole milk

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup frozen raspberries (fresh raspberries tend to sink and turn to mush while baking)

For buttercream frosting:

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

A few drops of red food coloring (optional)

Make cake.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin pans with liners.  Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl.  In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Reduce speed to low.  Add dry ingredients to the creamed butter in 3 batches, alternating with the milk.  Add vanilla.  Gently fold the frozen raspberries into the batter.  Portion the batter into the muffin cups.

Bake cupcakes for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.  Cool cupcakes on a rack.

In the meantime, prepare the frosting.  Beat butter and one cup of sugar at medium speed until fluffy and creamy.  Then add the milk and vanilla -- don't worry if the mixture looks broken or curdled initially, as it will come together during beating.  Add the remaining sugar, a little at a time, until it is sweet enough for your taste and thick enough for piping.  Add the food coloring, if desired.

Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.  Enjoy!

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Diary of a Secret Housewife: Lemon Whoopie Pies

After a week of 80+ degree weather, we're back to dreary and rainy days here in Boston.  But you know the saying: when life gives you lemons, make lemonade . . . or, better yet, lemon whoopie pies.

As you know (from here and here), I adore whoopie pies, but I find many whoopie pies too sweet.  So when I happened upon this lemon whoopie pie recipe from the fabulous Joy the Baker, I knew I had to make it: the tartness of the lemons make this a grown-up whoopie pie (if that's not an oxymoron).  To amplify the contrast between the tartness of the lemons and the sweetness of the cake and frosting, I added lime zest and subtracted some sugar from the frosting.  These whoopies taste like my favorite childhood candy, Lemonheads.

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

Lemon Cream Cheese Filling

• 6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (I like the texture of whipped cream cheese the best for frostings)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 cups powdered sugar (more to taste, if you like)

Position a rack in the middle of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.  In a stand mixer, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest until smooth.  Add the egg, lemon juice and vanilla.  On low speed, add half of the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it.  Add the buttermilk.  Mix in the remaining flour mixture just until it is incorporated and the batter looks smooth.

Using a ice cream scooper or a spherical measuring spoon, drop about 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of dough onto the baking sheets.  You should get about 24 medium-sized cookies (enough for 12 whoopie pies).  Refrigerate the dough balls for 15 minutes or so before baking; this will help the whoopies hold their domed shape.  (I made my first batch without refrigerating the dough, and as you can see from the photos, many of the whoopie pies turned out flat.)  Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops feel firm, about 12 minutes.  Joy says that with the exception of the edges, the tops of the cookies should not brown.  Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then use a wide spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the frosting.  At low speed, beat the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, lemon zest, lime zest, and lemon juice until thoroughly blended and smooth, about 1 minute.  Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.  Chill frosting in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Assemble the whoopie pies by sandwiching about 1.5 tablespoons of filling between two cookies. Wrap each cookie in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Serve cold.  Joy says that the wrapped cookies can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but I doubt you'd have any leftover after day 1!

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Diary of a Secret Housewife: Strawberry Crumble Cake

The markets around here are brimming with gorgeous strawberries. Unable to resist their juicy goodness, I without fail come home with way too many berries for a two-person household. When this madness happened again this weekend, I decided that I had to find a delicious way to use up multiple pints of berries.

Food & Wine came to the rescue with a recipe that combines berries with what I love most in desserts: moist, buttery cake and a sweet, crispy crumble.  Eaten warm, this strawberry crumble cake is like a hug in the sun.

Ingredients:

For the filling:

• 3 pounds strawberries, hulled and halved (8 cups) -- I used about 6 cups fresh berries and 2 cups thawed frozen berries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 1/2 tablespoons of water
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

For the crumb toppping:

• 1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
• (I also added a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg.)

For the cake:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

To begin, make the fruit filling: Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large bowl, toss the strawberries with the sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch slurry and vanilla seeds and let stand until the berries release some of their juices, about 30 minutes. Pour the fruit filling into a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish set on a sturdy baking sheet.

Then make the crumble topping.  In a medium bowl, mix all of the crumble ingredients with your fingers (or a pastry cutter) until a coarse meal forms; press into small clumps.  (I prefer using the pastry cutter because I find that this keeps the butter cold.  For the same reason, I keep the prepared crumble in the fridge until I'm ready to bake.)

Then make the cake.  In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between additions. Beat in the vanilla extract and scrape down the bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the batter in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk.

Spoon the batter over the fruit filling, spreading it to the edge. Sprinkle with the crumb topping. Bake in the center of the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling, the crumb topping is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Transfer to a rack to cool slightly. Serve the crumb cake warm or at room temperature.

Food & Wine says you can make this dessert ahead of time and refrigerate overnight.  I put it in the fridge for two nights, let it come to temperature a few hours before serving, and warmed it up in a 225 degree oven.  The textures of the cake were still perfect: crispy crumble on top, soft cake layer in the middle, and a syrupy berry base.

Consume with vanilla ice cream or a glass of ice cold milk.  Smile at the thought that summer is upon us.

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Diary of a Secret Housewife: Banana Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Sing it with me: "This cake is bananas.  B-A-N-A-N-A-S.  This cake is bananas.  B-A-N-A-N-A-S."  

It's also chocolate.  And cream cheese.  And caramel.  But mainly it's bananas.  And it's delicious. 

I had a bunch of ripe bananas hanging out in the fridge the other day, and I decided that they needed to be made into a cake.  I found a well-rated banana cake recipe on Epicurious, and decided to amp it up with the addition of chocolate chips and a chocolate cream cheese frosting that is still a bit tangy, not too sweet.  And I added some caramel on top too, just because I could.  The result is a decadent, flavorful cake that puts banana bread to shame.

Ingredients for the cake:


2 1/4 cups cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon plus pinch of salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large or 3 small/medium)
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup chocolate chips
+ 2 more large bananas, sliced (for filling)

Directions for the cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides; dust pans with flour.. Combine cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Mix mashed bananas, buttermilk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in another medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat 1/2 cup butter and the sugar in large bowl until blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend after each addition. Add dry ingredients alternately with banana mixture in 3 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients and beating just until blended after each addition.  Mix in the chocolate chips.  Divide batter equally among prepared pans.

Bake cakes until tops are just beginning to color and tester inserted into center comes out with a few crumbs attached, about 20 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes. Using small knife, cut around cakes to loosen; turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely.

While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting.

Ingredients for frosting:

12 oz. cream cheese (about 1.5 sticks), at room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 cup unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder

Directions for chocolate cream cheese frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.  Beat in 1 tablespoon vanilla and a pinch of salt.  Add in the chocolate powder.  Gradually beat in the confectioner's sugar.  (The frosting should still be tangy and cream-cheesy, but with a slightly sweet edge.  If you like the frosting sweeter, you can add up to 3 cups of confectioner's sugar.)  Put in fridge for 15-20 mins. until frosting is firm enough to spread.

Now fill the cake: Spread a thin layer of frosting on the top of one layer of the cake.  Place the sliced bananas  in an even layer over the frosting.  Then spread a thin layer of frosting on the bottom of the other layer of cake.  Put this layer over the first layer, so that the two cake layers are sandwiching the frosting/banana filling.

Next, frost the rest of the cake.  Add, if desired, a thin layer of homemade or store-bought caramel (I used Trader Joe's salted caramel spread).  Cover and chill.  Let stand at room temperature for one hour before serving.

Consume cake for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert.  Be very, very happy.

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Diary of a Secret Housewife: Honey Braised Short Ribs

I love doing shabbat dinners on Friday night, especially with friends.  But I get home from work so late that I often feel overwhelmed with the idea of cooking a whole dinner from scratch Friday night.  

But then I discovered braised short ribs.

They are legen . . . wait for it . . .

DARY.  Seriously, these ribs are so succulent, tender, and delicious.  And best of all, you can -- indeed, you should -- make them a day or two ahead of when you are going to serve them.  So when company arrives, all you have to do is heat up the ribs, make some sort of starch, toss a salad, and accept the compliments.

Honey Braised Short Ribs (adapted from Tyler Florence's recipe)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 pounds short ribs (boneless, imo, tastes better, though boned-in allows for a prettier presentation)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup chopped celery

3 carrots, chopped + 1 cup extra carrots, chopped

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

3 sprigs fresh rosemary

1/2 cup honey

1 cup dry red wine

2 cups beef stock

For the short ribs: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large casserole heat the oil over medium-high heat. Season the meat with salt and pepper and brown on all sides. Remove the short ribs and set aside. 

Add the onion, celery, the 3 carrots, paprika, caraway, and rosemary to the pan and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Pour in the honey, red wine, and stock and bring it to a boil. Return the meat to the pan; the liquid should just about cover the meat. Add more broth or wine if necessary.

Place the pot in the oven and put on the lid loosely to allow the steam to escape and the sauce to thicken. Cook until the meat is very tender, about 3 hours. 

Remove the meat to a separate plate.  Strain the braising liquid, removing and disposing of all solids (though you can keep the carrots if you don't mind picking them out).  Add the final cup of chopped carrots.  Cook the liquid (with carrots) over high heat until it is thick and syrupy.  (This should give you carrots that are cooked but not mushy.)

Return meat to pot.  Refrigerate overnight (or until 1 hour before serving).  About an hour before service, take pot out of the refrigerator. Skim the fat -- this should be easy, as the fat will have solidified.  Heat the goodness, covered, over low heat.  Serve with mashed potatoes.  And miso-glazed brussel sprouts.

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