restaurant quality short ribs

This is so good I can't do it justice writing about it. Make sure you spend the time to brown the ribs: it's totally worth it.

Ingredients:

2.5 pounds boneless beef short ribs
1 large pinch of sea salt
5-10 “twists” of fresh ground pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 sweet onion
1 portobello mushroom
1 pkg of crimini mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup beef broth
1/2 can of tomato paste
2 tablespoons on Tamari
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 large spoonfuls of fresh/local unfiltered honey
5 sprigs fresh thyme

For gravy:
2 tbsp cornstarch/potato starch

Directions:

Sprinkle salt and pepper over ribs. In large pan over medium-high heat, melt butter and brown ribs on all sides. (About 3 minutes per side.) Remove from pan and set aside.

Sauté crimini mushrooms in the same pan until they begin to release their liquid. Pour mushrooms and liquid into the bottom of the crockpot. Sauté onion in same pan until translucent. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more.

Place ribs on top of mushrooms in crockpot, cover with onion/garlic mixture.

In bowl, whisk broth, tomato paste, Tamari, Worcestershire sauce, and honey. Pour on top of meat in crockpot.

Add fresh thyme sprigs on top of meat.

Cook on low for 7-8 hours.

For the gravy: once cooked, remove the meat to a plate, and strain the liquid in the crockpot into a sauce pan. Set aside the mushroom and onion mixture. Add a small amount of the liquid to the cornstarch/potato starch to remove lumps and then add the cornstarch/potato starch mixture to the remaining liquid and whisk to make a gravy.

Serve over mashed potatoes.

Adapted from The Sparkle Queen's recipe

easier pumpkin something

I had fancy plans for dessert this Thanksgiving, but didn't actually get around to making the more complicated than I wanted to deal with pumpkin flan recipe below. So in my search for something easier I found this pudding recipe that was super simple. And it's a great base for so many other puddings I can't wait to try out. You can stop before you add the pumpkin and spices and end up with a great caramel pudding.

Ingredients:

1 cup 1% milk
1 cup half and half
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 large eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice

Directions:

Whisk milk, sugar, and cornstarch in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Boil 3 minutes, whisking constantly.

Beat eggs with a whisk in a large bowl.

Gradually add half the hot milk mixture to the beaten eggs.

Return milk-egg mixture to pan. Cook over medium heat 3 minutes, or until thick, whisking constantly.

Remove from heat; stir in pumpkin, salt, and pumpkin-pie spice.

Spoon evenly into 6 (6-ounce) custard cups. Let cool, and chill for about 30 minutes, or until pudding is set.

Recipe courtesy of Health.com