A Gift to my Meat & Potatoes Man

“You Can’t Change a Man”

Women have been told that their entire lives.  You can fix a guy, you can’t change a guy.  You marry the man you see in front of you, not an idealistic view of what he could be.

I say these women just didn’t try hard enough.

Pansies.

Ok, really I am half-joking.  You shouldn’t marry a guy thinking that his over-zealousness for politics will shift to a passion for reality TV.  Or that his sports obsession will disappear, only to be replaced with an undying love for musical theater.

I may know this from personal experience.

BUT…you can train, er, mold a man into a better version of himself.  And by better, I of course mean better for us women.

Of course this takes time.  A lot of time that you may not want or have to invest.

It’s really all about Return of Investment – ROI (oooh, I feel like a cool hedge fund manager with the fancy financial acronym)

Is it worth 5 years of your time to punish and humiliate gently guide your man to put the toilet seat down?

Heck, no…it’s worth no more than 6 months to put something back the way it’s supposed to be!

Nope, not bitter over here.

Anyway, one thing that has been worth the time, energy, and frustration is turning my Irish Catholic, Meat & Potatoes Man into an part-time vegan/vegetarian.

Yes you read that correctly.

A guy, that 12 years ago refused to believe something was a “real meal” without meat included now partakes, hell, even ENJOYS meat-free meals.

I am ignoring that collective gasp from the crowd and moving on to the fact that I just proved my point.

A guy can change.  I’m right, I win! (insert crazy touchdown dance here)

So There.

An immaturity aside, I knew that after many many years of convincing, it would be worth his while.  Going meat-free once in a while is really, really good for you.  He even admits that he feels better when eating meat free.

Admits this to me freely, people.  No water boarding in this house (well, not anymore).

But secretly, I’m a just a horribly selfish woman who wants to keep my hubby around as long as possible.  What can I say?  I am kinda fond of the guy, even if he does forget to put the toilet seat down once in a while.

And to thank him, from time to time I offer him a very special gift.

The gift of meat.  But not just any old cut.  It must be over-the-top hedonistic so that he can tap into that inner caveman.  Two Words.

Short Ribs

Not just any short ribs, but ones that have cooked down long and slow in a fantastic broth flavored with soy and cranberry.  Then generously lacquered with a deliciously sticky and sweet cranberry teriyaki glaze.  And finally served upon a luscious fluffy mound of browned butter potatoes.

Heaven, Beef Heaven.

Asian Braised Short Ribs w. Cranberry-Teriyaki Glaze                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Yields enough for 4-5 Servings                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Recipe adapted from Ming Tsai via Epicurious.  If you have never been to Ming Tsai’s Blue Ginger, get a babysitter and GO!

Ingredients:

• 5 pounds beef short ribs, cut into 4 to 5 inch pieces
• Salt and Pepper to season the ribs
• 1 Tbsp Canola Oil
• 2 Large Onions, roughly chopped
• 3 Carrots, roughly chopped
• 4 Stalks Celery, roughly chopped
• 2 Stalks Lemongrass, root ends trimmed, outer leaves discarded and finely chopped
• 3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp ginger, minced (I used pre-minced ginger in a tube)
• 1  Cup Rice Wine or Sake (I used Prosecco)
• 1 Cup Dark Soy Sauce
• 1 Cup Cranberry Juice (100% juice, not cocktail)
• 6 Sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 Dried Bay leaves
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• 1 Cup Cranberry-Teriyaki Glaze, Recipe Follows

Directions:

Sprinkle short ribs with 3 teaspoons salt and 2 teaspoons pepper.

In large heavy stockpot over high heat, heat oil until hot but not smoking.

Working in batches, sear ribs, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides, about 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer as browned to plate, reserving rendered fat in pan.

Add onions, carrots, celery,  lemongrass, garlic, and ginger and sauté, stirring frequently, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add rice wine, cranberry juice, soy sauce, thyme, and bay leaves.  Add a few pinches of salt and pepper to taste.

Return short ribs to pot and add water to cover. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 3 1/2 – 4  hours, or until meat is very tender and falling off the bones.

While the ribs are cooking, prepare the Cranberry-Teriyaki Glaze.

Transfer ribs to serving dish, brush with glaze and plate on top of mashed potatoes of your choice.  Strain the broth and drizzle the super-delicious stock over the short rib and potatoes.  Then save the remaining broth and make some fantastic soup!

Cranberry-Teriyaki Glaze

Ambah’s Notes:

1. Don’t let the long list of ingredients fool you.  This is not a hard recipe, and does not take up a lot of your attention, but does takes a while to cook.  Give yourself plenty of time to make this dish as it takes about 4 hours total.  This is a perfect “Sunday Supper” type of dish.

2.  If you can’t find fresh lemongrass (a tricky find indeed), which look like this, they sell a fantastic product that is lemongrass in a tube.  You can also buy ginger this way, which I really prefer to the skin off my finger on a microplane (true story).