A Slow Braise for a Lazy Day {Wine Braised Short Ribs}

Braised Short Ribs a la Tom

Planning ahead?  Then this is a great recipe... but you need to be planning.  I made this for dinner last Sunday, I spend probably an hour on Saturday PRE-marinade and then another hour on Sunday.... and that was just active time.  Was it worth it? I'd say yes.  BUT everyone [including me] thought MINE were better but these were good and I would make them again as an alternate to my beer braised short ribs... OH and did I mention these are my guy TOM's ribs? Well they are.... king of braised meat.... my hero :)


find his recipe here, but I changed very little

How to Make a House Smell Like A Home {Slow Braised Chicken & Vegetables}

I know I've talked about my man Tom before, Tom Colicchio that is ***fade to Angels singing*** well, this recipe was inspired by Think Like A Chef and any time I have a couple hours before dinner time to start cooking I love to make this. I've made a few changes to it to make the dark meat chicken WITH SKIN as healthy as it gets and it's still FAB. U. LOUS. It's an easy recipe too, about 20 minutes active prep before it goes in the oven and then you can hang out with your kids and watch some TV, go for a walk or yes.... write your blog while it makes itself grand in your oven.

Slow Braised Chicken With Vegetables

Think Like A Chef, Seriously, THINK like a chef!

These are A Few of My Favorite Things

My all time favorite cook book is without a doubt Tom Colicchio's Think Like a Chef.   For me the book caused an epiphany that changed everything about the way I cook.  I know you're thinking draaaaahhhhma... but seriously, it's an amazing read if you are a cook.  


The Preface is a great short autobiography of how Tom went from 'rags to riches' so-to-speak.  Started cooking at 12 years old at home, then was a grill cook down the Jersey shore and after going off to train with some great chefs he now owns lord knows how many hugely successful restaurants all over the country.  It's truly a great self made man story but I'm a little old for that dream.  I just love to cook.  


And his Introduction is where it all went crazy for me.... it's about "thinking" and it affirmed what I always knew but in a way that I could put it into action.  It suddenly clicked.... don't pass a recipe up because it has peas and you don't have any or like them, think of what would work instead of the peas.... know how to cook a piece of meat or vegetable and modify the technique to match your time frame, audience, season or mood.  Recipes as IDEAS not rule books.  Ingredients as inspiration not requirements.


Learn the basic techniques:  roasting, braising, blanching, sweating {I don't think he was referring to my pre-menopausal hot flashes here}, stock making and sauce making.  He touches on them all to get you started, the perfection of course comes in the practice; but he gave me just enough cockiness to really COOK with abandon.  And from that comes great things.


I've already shared my first true love from him.... my Risotto that has evolved from his Lobster Risotto with Peas to My Risotto every which way.... and the most beloved Braised Short Rib Risotto.


There's a lot of Tom in all of my recipes and I'm sure I'll blog a bunch more of "his" recipes as the years go by but in the meanwhile, check it out yourself if you haven't already and then go COOK.