Christmas Eve Dinner

On Christmas Eve Pat and I refuse all invitations to family events and do our own thing (hey, Christmas Day we went to 3 Christmases so you have to say no sometime). I like to make something special for the two of us. This year I decided to do the braised beef short ribs from Sunday Suppers at Lucques.

I seasoned the short ribs with black pepper and thyme and let them sit in the fridge all day.

seasoned short ribs

I heated olive oil and walnut oil (I didn’t have enough olive oil) in my enamel cast iron pan and began searing the short ribs.

searing short ribs

I took the short ribs out after they were seared and carmelized chopped onions, carrots, and celery.

seared short ribs

After the vegetables were caramelized, I added balsamic vinegar, red wine, chicken stock, and a bay leaf. That cooked down by half and them I placed the short ribs back into the pan and covered it with the lid and put the whole thing in the oven to braise for 3 hours.

I made the mashed potatoes in the meantime. Now in the book they are pureed potatoes but mine were more rustic so I am going with mashed. I used both Yukon Gold and Russet potatoes and actually heated the milk and butter before mixing. Fussy, but they were the best mashed potatoes that I’ve made. (So good there wasn’t time for a photo.)

I also made the Swiss Chard by heating the oil in skillet and cooking down the chard. This was alright but next time I would braise the chard in a little chicken stock.

After I removed the pot from the oven I took out the short ribs and placed them on a baking sheet and they went back into the oven. I cooked down the braising liquid to make the sauce.

They came out of the oven after 10 minutes and I served the shorts ribs over the chard with a little sauce. I forgot the horseradish cream but ended making it when I used the leftovers for pierogi filling.

Braised Short Ribs with Swiss Chard

Delicious and it felt special for our holiday meal.

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