I spent hours scouring the web, food magazines, and cookbooks for Valentine’s Day dinner ideas. Lamb? Ravioli? Cornish hens? The possibilities were endless. I had only one requirement for this meal – it had to be something I’ve never made before. I found a recipe for braised short ribs on epicurious.com and glanced at the recipe. I decided to pass when I saw that I needed veal stock. No thanks, that’s a little too much work for me. I Googled “braised short ribs” and The Pioneer Woman’s recipe popped up. That woman knows how to cook and I could find all the ingredients at the grocery store. Perfect!

I followed her recipe exactly with a few minor alterations. I added 3 stalks of celery, diced, and used bacon instead of pancetta.

I finally decided to break out a wedding present I’ve been waiting to use… this monster of a cutting board by Catskill.

I love this cutting board! My only warning: be careful when opening! I stupidly managed to slice my finger on one of the oddly sharp finger slots on the board when I was tearing off the plastic. It was worth it, though. Look at how pretty food looks on it!

Braised Short Ribs
from The Pioneer Woman

8 whole beef short ribs
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 pieces bacon, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 shallots, minced
2 cups red winte
2 cups beef broth
2 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary

1. Salt and pepper ribs, then dredge in flour. Set aside.
2. In a large dutch oven, cook pancetta or bacon over medium heat until complete crispy and all fat is rendered. Remove pancetta and set aside. Do not discard grease.
3. Add olive oil to pan with the pancetta grease, and raise heat to high. Brown ribs on all sides, about 45 seconds per side. Remove ribs and set aside. Turn heat to medium.

   Look how tasty they look at this point! And don’t worry, it gets better.
   

4. Add onions, carrots, and shallots to pan and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape bottom of pan to release all the flavorful bits of glory. Bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes.
5. Add broth, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Taste and add more salt if needed. Add ribs to the liquid; they should be almost completely submerged. Add thyme and rosemary sprigs (whole) to the liquid.
   
6. Put on the lid and place into the oven. Cook at 350 for 2 hours, then reduce heat to 325 and cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes. Ribs should be fork-tender and falling off the bone. Remove pan from oven and allow to sit for at least 20 minutes, lid on, before serving. At the last minute, skim fat off the top of the liquid. (Can also refrigerate mixture, then remove solid fat from the top.)
7. Serve 2 ribs on bed of creamy polenta, spooning a little juice over the top.