Braised Short Ribs, Horseradish Mashed Potatoes, and Roasted Carrots & Parsnips

Over dinner a couple months ago, my friend Lisa and I were discussing cooking, her foodie family trying to outdo each other in the trying weird menu items department, our shared love of not using an exact recipe, & our "go to" dishes.  As soon as she told me what hers was, I begged for the recipe.  This was truly THE quintessential cold weather meal.  Absolutely delish, if a little time {but not labor} intensive.  It could be done on a weekday, but it's probably something I would save for a leisurely Saturday or Sunday evening meal simply because Dave and I had fun cooking together. 

Since the timing of making this coincided with our technology free day, we pulled out our ancient copy of The Joy of Cooking and found a great illustration of what cut of beef a short rib actually is!  And neither of us had ever had parsnips before, they taste much like a carrot only a bit sweeter and a little more mild.  YUM!  Also, I was a little worried that it would taste strongly of wine since I used an entire bottle, but it didn't at all, it had a fantastic flavor.

Here are Lisa's notes {my modifications & notes are in brackets}

Braised Short Ribs:

I use a Le Creuset pot that can go from stove top to oven.  {I second the Le Creuset recommendation!} 

I usually get two short ribs per person from the butcher get good ones, it's important even though they are cooking a long time.  I like to let any meat I cook rest on the counter for awhile before I cook it so it's not going from very cold to very hot and so it can accept the seasoning. Salt and pepper lightly. {I also added a bit of French Spicy Spice.}
Put olive oil in the pan on the stove top and put the ribs in pot on a med heat to braise the outside turning so all sides can get a nice brown braise. Add shallots and garlic as you go, use your judgment but I like a lot of shallot. {I used about 3-4 largish size shallots & 2 TB of minced garlic.} The shallots should be like about one small table spoon per rib in the end, you will spoon the wine and shallot sauce over the meat when you serve. Oh cut the shallots small but not quite minced. Maybe just a pinch of Herbes De Province.
When the meat is brown and the shallots have become limp add cabernet, enough to cover the meat {I made 11 and used an entire bottle of cab} it will thicken a bit to like a thin gravy/au jus. Put the whole pot in the oven at 350 degrees for ever...no like 2-3 hrs.  {I cooked mine about 350-375 degrees for 2.5 hours covered.} They should fall off the bone, make sure the wine doesn't dry out too much as you are cooking.  {I didn't have any problems with them drying out, but it did reduce by about half so keep an eye on it.  And when we removed them from the pan, the bone did come right off with zero effort!}

Horseradish Mashed Potatoes:
I just boil red, {I used a small bag of red & left the skins on.} white or a mix of potatoes with plenty of sea salt in the water.
Drain, smash or mill, I never whip. {I mashed with a masher.} I like them to be good and stiff to hold up to the hearty ribs. I add Lurpak Danish butter, it is not as greasy or salty as regular butter but any butter is fine.  {I used a full stick of regular butter.} I then add heavy cream, not too much. {I used about 1/4 cup.}
During prep shred fresh horseradish root (it's cheap and last a long time in the fridge) maybe a 1/4 cup per serving? {I used about 2/3 cup for a small bag of baby reds, next time I would add a heaping cup for that much.}  Add in the the horseradish by hand with a fork so that it doesn't get too over processed, you want it to stand out a bit in the potatoes. It should give a little texture and zing not be a puree whip. {I put on top and mashed it in with the potatoes when they were almost mashed.}
These are so yummy!! If you don't use fresh it won't be the same!

Roasted Carrots & Parsnips:
In a lg mixing bowl add washed and sliced carrots and parsnips. I take the outside off with a peeler then slice so that they are circles. {I did the same with the parsnip, bought baby carrots and just sliced in half lengthwise.}
Toss with olive oil (enough just to coat), add salt, pepper and herbs de province or fresh rosemary and thyme finely chopped. {I used Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt blend in place of the salt & pepper.}
Spread out on a cookies sheet and cook at 350 till soft enough to eat, maybe 30 min {I cooked at 400 for 25 minutes, then checked doneness with a fork, I like them to still have a little body and not be totally soft.}
They should taste sweet and savory.

Sauce:
When the meat is all done put it aside and cover. Take the pan with the cabernet and shallot sauce and put back on the burner and turn up the flame. If the sauce is too limp add a small amount of flour, I only use very very fine flour. Wondra for sauces, it's in a blue shaker. This will blend into the fine sauce with out lumping better then regular flour. {I made a slurry of cornstarch and water to thicken.}

Sorry about the lack of quality pics of everything done, we ate {and enjoyed immensely} immediately and all thought for the camera was gone!  Add this to your must try list, I promise you it is well worth it!

And thank you Lisa for sharing your recipes with me {& the whole internet.}