Prime coziness within!!
Even though it hasn't even rained, much less snowed, in the Bay Area, I've been feeling the need for prime cozy time lately. It's December, after all! Nothing made me happier than getting home from a holiday party on Sunday night, putting on one of my best gifts to myself in recent years, and snuggling down to watch THE CROWN. What was that gift, do you ask? An Ugg robe! Yes, it was a total indulgence, but if you're looking for the coziest wearable item possible to give a loved one or yourself, an Ugg robe is where it's at. I swear that I even saved (a little) money on my heating bills after getting it, because it's so warm I turn my heater on less. This is the one I have, but there's also this shorter and cheaper style, and they have them in men's styles too, this one has less size flexibility and is more expensive but also has a hood. I promise you, you will not regret buying this for yourself, and anyone who you get it for will smile every time they put it on and think of you.
And speaking of THE CROWN! Last year, after I watched the first season of the show in one three day period, I went on a non-fiction reading binge about the royal family in the first half of the twentieth century, and I read some great books that I bet Crown watchers will be totally into. Especially since some of them give a lot more details about those Nazis, David and Wallis, and also tell you a bunch about Elizabeth's grandmother, Queen Mary, who was fascinating and also loved clothes and jewels. My top recommendation is Princes at War, which is about Elizabeth's father, George VI and his three brothers, especially his older brother, the abdicating Nazi, Edward/David, during the time during, between, and after, WWI and WWII. It's an absorbing read, and there's a lot about so many changes going on with monarchies across Europe around the same time. And you get a lot of dirt about Edward and Wallis's collaboration with the Nazis, and the letters that were in that one episode of this season of THE CROWN. I also highly recommend Matriarch, which is all about Queen Mary, the mother of those four princes (and another prince, who was sick and they kept him alone at a house in the country, and a princess). She was not all that great of a mom, but she seemed like an excellent queen, and her very queenly shade when Edward/David abdicates is a highlight of the book. (I feel compelled to say that I also read 17 Carnations, which is all about Edward/David and Wallis, and tells some parts of the story differently, and it's enjoyable for the most part but both more trashy and more boring than the other two books).
This week, I wrote a holiday piece for the delightful book blog Pop Goes the Reader, and included not one, but two beloved cookie recipes, so please click over there and check them out. Both of these cookies would be fantastic to snack on while sitting on the couch in your robe, reading a fat and juicy non-fiction book about royalty while watching The Crown. You know what would make this even cozier? If you had something delicious smelling braising in the oven while you were relaxing on the couch. I have the perfect recipe for you for that! It's a recipe from Suzanne Goin's Sunday Suppers at Lucques, one of the best cookbooks I own (seriously, everything I've ever made out of it is incredible), and you should buy the cookbook for yourself or someone else who likes detailed but very delicious recipes. Like all recipes from the book, it's a bit fiddly and complicated and has at least one step that I always skip, but even skipping steps it turns out fantastic, so I can't imagine how great it would be if I didn't.
Braised Beef Short Ribs
6 beef short ribs
1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 dozen small pearl onions (sometimes I skip this , BUT frozen pearl onions are super useful here)
8 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced carrots
1/3 cup diced celery
4 whole sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups port
2 1/2 cups hearty red wine
6 cups beef stock
4 springs flat-leaf parsley
2 bunches chard, cleaned, center ribs removed, and chopped into large pieces
Season the short ribs with 1 tablespoon thyme leaves and 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper and coat well. Cover, and refrigerate overnight. (I also frequently skip this step).
Remove ribs from the refrigerator an hour before cooking and season generously with salt on all sides (if I skip the overnight step, I do the thyme and black pepper along with the salt here while I'm prepping everything else).
Preheat oven to 425 F. Toss the pearl onions with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the remaining 1 teaspoon of thyme, and salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet, place in the oven, and roast for 15 minutes or until tender. Remove from the oven, slip off the skins with your fingers, and reserve.
Reduce oven temp to 325 F. Heat a large saute pan (preferably a high sided one, because you'll be adding a bunch of liquid to this, but it's not what you braise the ribs in, I told you she was fiddly) over high heat, add 3 tablespoons of oil, and wait until it's very hot. Add the short ribs in batches and sear until browned on all sides (this step takes at least 15 minutes, so be patient). Transfer the ribs to a Dutch oven or other large braising pan.
Turn the heat down on the saute pan to medium, and add the diced onion, carrot, celery, thyme, and bay leaves. Cook for about 6-8 minutes or until vegetables start to brown. Add the balsamic, port, and red wine, turn the heat up to high and reduce the liquid by half. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Very carefully pour this liquid over the short ribs (already in the Dutch oven). Tuck the parsley sprigs in and around the meet. Cover with aluminum foil and a tight fitting lid, and transfer to the oven for about 3 hours. Let rest for 10 minutes, then put the ribs onto a baking sheet, turn the oven up to 400, and put the ribs in for 10-15 minutes to brown.
(I often skip this step too) Strain the broth into a saucepan, and if it seems thin, reduce it over medium high heat to thicken it slightly.
Heat (another) large saute pan over high heat. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, and stir in the pearl onions. Add the Swiss chard and a splash of water if necessary, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the greens are tender.
To serve: put the chard and pearl onions in a bowl (or on a platter, if you're fancy), and put a short rib on top. Spoon lots of the braising juices over the ribs. Enjoy!
Have a great weekend!
Jasmine
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