Some things are just better after a night in the 'fridge. Day before
yesterday I made a braise of beef short ribs, onion, garlic, celery,
carrot, a lot of thyme, a couple of splashes of red wine and enough
chicken broth to bring the liquid almost half way up the beef and
veggies. I was out of beef broth -- oughta get some of that beef base
to keep in the 'fridge. Browned the beef to very dark, then sauteed
the veggies, then deglazed with the wine. Cooked it at the barest
almost-burbling simmer for hours. Let it cool on the counter, then
refrigerated it. Yesterday evening I removed all the congealed beef
fat, added a little more broth because it looked like it needed it, and
reheated it on the stove. Ate it with wide egg noodles (not homemade
this time) and a side of stirfried Chinese cabbage. Dividing the
labor/time between two days made it easy, and the taste must have
improved overnight because it was terrific.
Tonight I'm going to grill bratwurst slowly, then slice them and make a
stirfry with more of that winter Chinese cabbage. It's growing faster
than we can eat it. -aem