Sunday, February 22, 2009

A Love Affair Dinner- Beef & Barley


















Hubby's 'big' short rib...


I had already decided that it was 'beef' time for Sunday supper, and sent the hubby off to Whole Foods while I ran a double whammy Open Mic with my poetry and other artists Saturday night. I told him to get two pounds of short ribs, because I have not made them since my days of high end professional kitchen stint in Dallas, and it would go well with the barley I had purchased a few weeks ago.

Many of us know that husbands do not like to go the market if they can avoid it, and mine just does not know how to go with his 'list', and walks out with many more bags than was required. I never know what he will bring home. Well, this time he was better than usual, and the reason... because he had knocked blueberries all over the store floor and was embarrassed, so he split with my minimal list of items as quickly as he could. Poor guy, I am making this meal really special for him...
















I was over at The Alchemist Chef reading about her Spicy Shredded Beef using a bottom roast and slow cooking it, and thought "I have all those ingredients"...and 'Short Ribs' are perfect for slow cooking!

Following her recipe closely... the short ribs cooked slowly, and they were placed on my stove top grill to finish off with a little browning. Taking the pan sauce I cooked it with a splash of white burgundy to make some gravy to add with a paste I made of sun dried tomatoes, onion, garlic, and olive oil and then poured it into the barley. Cooking the barley per instructions for 40 minutes slow simmer with added vegetable stock to create a tender and tasty side dish to its beloved beef com padre...oh, and I chopped up some collard greens and added them when there was about 15 minutes left, turned off heat and let meld for about 20 minutes till we were ready to eat.















This is my portion, meat shredded, a glass of red wine and movie are waiting...

I made Dee's Smokin Brownies for our dessert...