We just got back from an awesome trip to Telluride, Colorado where we enjoyed inches of snow, days of skiing, great friends, and fantastic food. We arrived back in Atlanta to 70 degrees and high hopes for the arrival of spring. “Not so fast,” said Mother Nature. The temperature dropped back to the 30s today with no promise of spring for the next several days.
As long as winter stays with us, I continue to crave comfort food. It’s funny that I always assume comfort food has to be heavy. YC Media recently sent me a copy of the new Southern Living cookbook, Comfort Food Made Easy, to review. As I perused the book, I saw recipes for every season and I realized that comfort food can also be light and healthy.
This cookbook covers the gamut of comfort food. Recipes for everything from Basil-Peach Chicken with Quinoa and Salmon Salad to Country Fried Steak and Sweet Tea-Brined Fried Chicken grace the pages of this paper-bound cookbook. Often times, comfort food can be pretty involved to prepare and I was happy to see that most recipes in this book comprise relatively short lists of ingredients and simple preparation steps.
The book begins with 10 tips for quick comfort food and suggestions for fresh and frozen products that allow you to quickly and easily prepare a comforting weeknight supper. The chapters in this book are divided into categories of recipes, including one-dish dinners, 30-minute meals, slow-cooker dishes, no-cook recipes, quick side dishes, and easy desserts. The recipes range from heavier fare to light and refreshing meals.
For this post, I chose the recipe from the book for Braised Short Ribs. Beef short ribs lend themselves well to braising, resulting in fall-off-the-bone tenderness. The secret to successful short ribs is a flavorful braising liquid. This recipe calls for beef stock, red wine, and tomatoes, flavored with carrots, onion, and thyme. When served atop grits, these ribs are the ultimate comfort meal.
Ana Bowens at YC Media in New York was kind enough to send me a copy of Comfort Food Made Easy and has generously offered to send a copy to a lucky reader. Leave a comment on this post by 11:59 P.M. on March 6 and I’ll randomly choose a winner. Thanks to Ana for hosting this giveaway!
Ingredients
8 beef short ribs
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (14 ounce) can fat-free beef broth
1 (14 ½ ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup dry red wine
4 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 medium sweet onion, cut into 8 wedges
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Fresh thyme leaves, for garnish
Instructions
1. Rinse short ribs and pat dry. Remove and discard silver skin, if necessary. Sprinkle ribs with salt and pepper.
2. Cook short ribs in hot oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat 10 minutes on each side or until browned. Transfer ribs to a 6-quart slow cooker.
3. Add broth and next 5 ingredients to slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 6 hours or until meat is tender. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve over grits or mashed potatoes.
https://southernboydishes.com/2014/03/04/braised-short-ribs-a-giveaway/You may also like:
- Roasted Cauliflower and Fennel Soup - November 8, 2015
- Smoky and Sweet Turkey Chili{+ a Cookbook Giveaway} - October 27, 2015
- Black-Eyed Pea and Collard Stew with Turkey Sausage - October 16, 2015
I can’t wait to try this recipe. It looks delicious.
This recipe looks delicious. Can’t wait to try it.
You should have the words “comfort food” in your blog title! You make the most delicious looking comfort food on the internet. I can just look at these short ribs and tell that if you breathe on them too hard, they’ll fall apart. Great dish Bill!
I don’t think in all my years of cooking I have ever made short ribs. I am definitely going to look for some and make this.
Yum! This looks so delicious! I love Southern Living’s cookbooks & how well they update calssics for the modern cook.
The short ribs look wonderful and the cookbooks sounds real good as well. Thank you for the giveaway!!!
Braised short ribs are one of the best comfort food. Yours look super tasty! I usually serve mine with rice, but your grits look so creamy. I may have to do that next time.
I agree. They are one of THE best comfort foods. Thanks for dropping by!
As always, this recipe is a must try! I have saved so many of your recipes and they’re always superb! Sometimes I think I’d be lost without you! I’ve been searching for a good short rib recipe, and this one fits the Bill =)
Thank you so much, Elizabeth! I really appreciate that compliment!! 🙂
Grits?!! Is that polenta without Parmesan cheese? (said tongue in cheek). Funny, but I have short ribs in our fridge. I’m going to **ahem** pressure cook them! Love short ribs over polenta…er, grits. 🙂
Polenta… grits…I’ve always said that polenta is just a fancy name for grits! Parmesan would be great in grits too! Thanks, Debby!
Gonna have to try this one, they look yummy…….
I’ve been seeing recipes for sweet-tea brined fried chicken all over the place lately! Sounds like an interesting idea, and there a quite good restaurant close by this does this as a dinner special once a month — I need to check it out. Anyway, great short ribs. I think this cut may have the best flavor of any beef cut, and it’s perfect for braising — one of my favorite ways to cook. And they look so great on that bed of grits! Good stuff — thanks.
Since I tried one of your other recipes and it was easy and delicious I cannot wait to try this one.
Oh wow… looks so good!
One of the things I used to love to do when I went “home” is to look through my mom’s back issues of Southern Living. I wonder if my dad held onto them after she passed away. I haven’t thought about that in years. GREG
Looking forward to trying the recipe.
Can you send me an email address so I’ll know who to contact in case you win the giveaway?
These short ribs are absolutely amazing! Seriously I will have dreams about these short ribs.
I just made slow cooker Korean short ribs this past weekend and they were wonderful! Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Looks like a good one. Can’t wait to try them