Freeze! This is a ribbery!

Our new spices have inspired us to try out new recipes and even get creative and come up with some of our own. We made one of the most delicious chili's I have ever had with a bottle of beer (GF) and a ton of smoked paprika. Dustin mixed up a spice rub (chili, cumin, red pepper, paprika, lots of other good stuff) and cooked up some fall-apart-tender baby back ribs. I took on the challenge of braising up short ribs for the first time for Valentine's Day and came up with my own recipe by pulling together ideas from various foodie websites. And damn, they were rich and delicious. See the recipe below.

Frenchie's Tall Order Short Ribs
serves 2 people

1 lb short ribs (bone-in)

2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 onion, minced
2 carrots, minced
1 celery stalk, minced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 bay leaves
2 tbsp tomato paste
few shakes Worcestershire sauce
2 cups chicken broth (preferably home made)
1/2 bottle good red wine

1. Dry off meat well with paper towel, salt and pepper. Brown meat very well on all sides in medium-large dutch oven on medium-high heat. I used a little canola oil here but you don't need much. This step is imperative as you need to render off much of the fat so your ribs are gristly and fatty at the end. Really brown the heck out of them. Remove meat to the side. Pour off much of the fat, leaving about 2 tbsp.

2. Turn down heat to medium. Add aromatic veggies (carrots, onion, celery, garlic). Saute in leftover oil, make sure garlic does not brown. Add spices (garlic, paprika, bay leaf).

3. Return meat to pan when veggies have softened. Add tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, wine and broth. **You may need to modify your liquid amount here depending on how many ribs you have and how big your pot is. The liquid should reach up to about 1/2 up the side of the meat. Put cover on dutch oven.

4. Put dutch oven in COLD oven turned to 200 degrees for 2 hours.

5. After 2 hours, increase the heat to 300 and cook for another 2 hours. Check periodically to see if the braising liquid is too low, if needed, at some extra stock or wine. (I didn't have to do this).

6. Meat should be pull apart-fork tender when done cooking. This is a low and slow recipe so don't even attempt to speed this one up! You will just end up with some gross, rubbery meat.

7. Remove from oven. Check and season sauce with salt and pepper accordingly. You can choose to reduce the sauce a little bit if it is too loose for your liking. (Make sure to spoon some sauce over the meat.) Serve over soft polenta, mashed potatoes or this white bean and garlic puree (which I did and was delicious!).