Mountain Retreat Recipe: Braised Short Ribs

By Pace Webb/Marilyn Friedman

Picture this: you've escaped to a wintery paradise to detox from your busy life and explore the gorgeous mountain town of Idyllwild. You are relaxing in a hot tub, enjoying a breathtaking landscape and the company of fellow writers. 

After warming up by a cozy fire with some decadent braised short ribs and a steaming mug of glug, inspiration hits.You spend the rest of the weekend completing your bestseller!  Writing Pad's Mountain Retreat can help make this dream come true.  Our all day writing workshops and one-on-one consultations with successful authors will help you coax your words onto the page and hone your craft.

Don’t wait to set your writing goals higher. Sign up by calling 323-333-2954 or email marilyn@writingpad.com to sign up before it is full. The deadline to sign up is Tuesday, Feb. 7th and there are only 2 spots left!

To tide you over until March, our Retreat Executive Chef, Pace Webb of Taste of Pace, has been gracious enough to share her short ribs recipe so you can get a taste of the retreat in your own kitchen.  Pace says, "Braising is definitely my favorite way to cook meat, but it’s by no means the most difficult.  I love braising meats so much not only because of the tender juicy texture it produces, but because it transforms a tough cut of meat into a super star."

Braised Short Ribs (serves 6)
Ingredients:
3 lbs. short ribs
1 (750 mL) bottle red wine
2 onions, large dice
3 carrots, large dice
6 ribs celery, large dice
5 sprigs thyme
5 sprigs parsley
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Liberally season the meat with salt and pepper.  Heat a skillet on high.  When pan is hot enough add the vegetable oil and brown meat on all sides.  Transfer to a casserole dish and set aside.  Saute mire poix (the French word for the classic combination of 50% onions, 30% celery, 20% carrots) in the remaining fat until lightly browned.  Deglaze pan with some of red wine (just enough to remove the fat bits from the pan) and add the mixture to the meat in the casserole dish.  Cover the dish with a tight lid or aluminum foil.  Braise in oven for about 6 hours or until fork tender, but still attached to the bone.  Discard all aromatics and vegetables.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.  Braised meats love to be served over purees.  

If that didn't make your mouth water, then check out Pace's sumptuous sample dinner menu for the retreat:

Sample Dinner Menu for Mountain Retreat
Autumn Salad of Persimmon, Asian Pear with Truffle Sherry Vinaigrette
Braised Short Ribs 
Red Wine Rosemary Mushroom Risotto (Vegetarian Option) 
Sauteed Baby Chard 
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Cardamom Banana Pudding with Slow Whipped Honey Cream and Pistachio Powder

And here's a little bit about our fabulous chef, Pace:
Pace Webb is a chef who runs a monthly supper club, teaches cooking classes, and caters through her company, Taste of Pace.  She has catered parties for celebrities such as Beyonce, Rob Lowe, Jamie Pressly, Charlie Sheen, Martin Sheen, Eric Bana, Topher Grace, Alfonso Ribiero, Matt Bomer, and Lee Pace.  She took the winning prize at SEE-LA’s Lean Times, Green Times Chef-Off Competition at the National Autry Center. She appeared on HGTVs Fantasy Wedding in a Week as the chef in charge of the big day, Food Stylist and Guest Chef on Fox's Fran Drescher Tawk Show, and a contestant on the new Food Network series Extreme Chef and ABC's Time Machine Chef.   AOL named Chef Pace their Kitchen Expert for the Walmart Daily Solutions Series that airs every Tuesday and had a long standing weekly webisode series with The Green Girls TV cooking up environmentally friendly quick and tasty dishes. 

We can't wait to see you at the Retreat!