WHAT YOU’RE MAKING

Red Wine Braised
Short Ribs

Creamy Garlic
Mashed Potatoes

Roasted
Carrots

THE DRINKS

Bourbon Sidecar

PER DRINK
2 oz bourbon
¾ oz Cointreau
¾ oz fresh lemon juice
Ice
Orange twist — optional

Add the bourbon, Cointreau and fresh lemon juice to a shaker with ice. Shake until cold, then strain into a coupe. Finish with an orange twist if you’ve got one.

Learning Point — The Sour Formula A sour-style cocktail is built around three things: spirit + citrus + something sweet. Bourbon brings the backbone, lemon brings the acid and Cointreau brings sweetness plus orange flavor.

Dinner Wine: Cabernet Sauvignon — or the same dry red wine you used in the braise.

WHAT YOU NEED

Red Wine Braised Short Ribs

1½–2 lb beef short ribs
Kosher salt and black pepper
1½ Tbsp neutral oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1½ Tbsp tomato paste
1½ cups dry red wine
1½ cups beef stock
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf — optional
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp cold unsalted butter

Secret Weapon — Time
You don't make short ribs tender by attacking them with heat. You give them low heat, moisture and enough time for the tough connective tissue to surrender. If they're still tough, they're not done.

Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes
3 garlic cloves, peeled
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
⅓ cup heavy cream, warmed
½ tsp kosher salt, plus more for the cooking water and to taste
Black pepper

Roasted Carrots

¾ lb carrots, peeled and cut into long pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp black pepper
½ tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp honey — optional
1 tsp red wine vinegar — optional

Gear

Dutch oven or heavy oven-safe pot with lid
Medium saucepan
Large pot for potatoes
Sheet pan
Potato masher
Fine-mesh strainer
Cocktail shaker
Measuring cups and spoons
Chef’s knife
Cutting board
Tongs
Whisk
Wine opener
Two cocktail glasses
Two wine glasses

BEFORE SHE GETS THERE

Season the short ribs. Season 1½–2 lb beef short ribs with 1½ tsp kosher salt and ¾ tsp black pepper. A few hours ahead is great. Overnight uncovered in the refrigerator is even better.
Prep the mirepoix. Dice 1 small yellow onion, 2 medium carrots and 2 celery stalks. Smash 4 garlic cloves. Measure 1½ Tbsp tomato paste, 1½ cups dry red wine, 1½ cups beef stock and 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce. Have 2 thyme sprigs, 1 rosemary sprig and the optional 1 bay leaf ready.
Get the potatoes ready. Prep 1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, cut them into even chunks and keep them covered in cold water. Peel 3 garlic cloves.
Prep the roasting carrots. Peel and cut ¾ lb carrots. Refrigerate until you're ready to roast.
Set up the drinks. Bourbon, Cointreau and fresh lemon ready. Cabernet opened if you want it to breathe. Cocktail glasses and wine glasses out.
Clean the evidence. Cutting board away. Sink empty. Counters wiped. Dutch oven is allowed to be there—it makes you look like you know what you're doing.
Clean yourself up. Shower. Clean shirt. Brush your teeth. You have three hours of braising time. There is absolutely no excuse.
Set the room. Music on. Lights down. Table ready. Couch straightened.
Hit the bathroom. Quick wipe-down. Fresh hand towel. And yes, check the toilet paper.

Short ribs braising.
Place ready.
You’re ready. It’s game time.

PLAY BY PLAY

GET THE OVEN GOING
Heat the oven to 325°F. Take the seasoned 1½–2 lb beef short ribs out of the refrigerator while the oven heats. Pat the surface dry if needed. Dry beef browns. Wet beef steams.
SEAR THE SHORT RIBS
Heat 1½ Tbsp neutral oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the short ribs without crowding them and sear about 3–4 minutes per major side until deeply browned. Take them out and set them aside. Yes, they look good already. No, you cannot eat them yet unless chewing is your cardio.
YO DUDE!
We're looking for deep brown, not gray beef with a little color around the edges. If the meat sticks when you try to turn it, give it another 30 seconds. A proper crust usually releases when it's ready.
BUILD THE MIREPOIX
Lower the heat to medium. Add 1 diced small yellow onion, 2 diced medium carrots and 2 diced celery stalks. Cook 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to pick up some color. Add 4 smashed garlic cloves and cook another 30 seconds. Your kitchen should be starting to smell like you have your shit together.

LEARNING POINT — MIREPOIX Onion, carrots and celery are the flavor foundation underneath this whole braise. The classic French term is mirepoix. Cook them slowly and let them pick up a little color before moving on. You're building flavor before the short ribs ever go back into the pot.

S&S Move: Three boring-looking vegetables. One hell of a foundation.

COOK THE TOMATO PASTE
Add 1½ Tbsp tomato paste. Stir and cook it for about 2 minutes until it darkens to a brick-red color and starts sticking slightly to the bottom. Don't just dump it in and immediately add liquid.
RED WINE GOES IN
Pour in 1½ cups dry red wine. Scrape the bottom of the Dutch oven and release all those browned bits. Let the wine simmer until reduced by roughly half. And use wine you'd actually drink. “Cooking wine” is how perfectly good beef ends up in therapy.

LEARNING POINT — DEGLAZING Those dark browned bits stuck to the bottom are called fond. They're concentrated flavor. Adding wine loosens them from the pan and pulls all that flavor into your sauce.

S&S Move: Brown shit stuck to the pan isn't automatically a mistake. Sometimes it's exactly what you were trying to make.

BUILD THE BRAISE
Add 1½ cups beef stock, 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 sprig fresh rosemary and 1 bay leaf — optional. Return the short ribs and any juices on the plate to the Dutch oven. The liquid should reach roughly halfway to two-thirds up the meat. The ribs should not be completely submerged. We're braising them, Dude. We're not teaching them to swim. Cover the pot and put it into the 325°F oven.
NOW LEAVE THE DAMN THING ALONE
Braise for about 2½ hours, then start checking. Push a fork into the thickest short rib. Congratulations. Your next cooking technique is doing absolutely nothing. Try not to screw it up.
YO DUDE!
The clock does not decide when short ribs are done. Your fork does. It should slide into the beef with very little resistance. If you have to fight it, the meat needs more time.

LEARNING POINT — WHY BRAISING WORKS Short ribs contain lots of connective tissue and collagen. Low heat + moisture + time gradually converts that collagen into gelatin. That's what turns tough beef into rich, fork-tender beef and gives the braising liquid body. You aren't trying to cook short ribs fast. You're giving them enough time to become something better.

S&S SAVE
Ribs still tough after 2½–3 hours? Nothing is ruined. Cover the pot, put it back in the oven and check again in 30 minutes. Tough short ribs usually need more time, not higher heat.

START THE POTATOES
When the ribs are getting close, put 1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes and 3 peeled garlic cloves into a large pot. Cover with cold water and salt the water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook about 15–20 minutes, until the potatoes are completely tender. Don't drop potatoes into violently boiling water like you're loading a cannon.
ROAST THE CARROTS
Once the short ribs come out, raise the oven to 425°F. Toss ¾ lb carrots with 1 Tbsp olive oil, ½ tsp kosher salt, ¼ tsp black pepper and ½ tsp fresh thyme leaves. Spread them on a sheet pan and roast about 20–25 minutes, until tender with browned edges. Optional finish: toss the hot carrots with 1 tsp honey and 1 tsp red wine vinegar.
MAKE THE MASH
Drain the cooked potatoes and garlic well. Return them to the hot pot for about a minute so excess moisture can steam away. Mash them. Work in 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, then gradually add ⅓ cup warmed heavy cream. Season with ½ tsp kosher salt and black pepper, then taste. Add more salt if they need it. Then put the masher down. There is no trophy for Most Aggressively Mashed Potato.

LEARNING POINT — DON'T MAKE POTATO GLUE Mash potatoes need some restraint. A masher breaks them down without beating the starch to death. A blender or food processor can turn beautiful Yukon Golds into something suitable for hanging wallpaper.

Mash. Butter. Cream. Stop.

TURN THE BRAISING LIQUID INTO SAUCE
Move the fork-tender short ribs to a plate and loosely cover them. Strain the braising liquid into a saucepan. Press lightly on the vegetables, then discard the solids. Skim off excess fat. Bring the liquid to a lively simmer and reduce for roughly 10–20 minutes, until concentrated and able to lightly coat the back of a spoon. Whisk in 1 tsp Dijon mustard. Turn the heat off. Whisk in 1 Tbsp cold unsalted butter. Taste and adjust seasoning only now. This is where brown liquid turns into “holy shit, you made this?” sauce.

LEARNING POINT — WHY COLD BUTTER GOES IN LAST Cold butter whisked into a hot sauce off the heat helps the butter emulsify instead of simply separating into grease. That's how you get a smoother, glossier sauce.

S&S Move: Heat off. Cold butter in. Whisk. Look like you knew exactly what you were doing.