I blame the fab chefs at Bourbon Blue and Amada who started this obsession with short ribs.  Now if I see them on any menu, they are a “must try”.  After having a delish short rib sandwich shortly after moving here, I thought I hit nirvana and had to learn how to replicate it.  However, making short ribs means crazy left overs.  The pug and I would be eating short ribs for days and braising short ribs for a sandwich just seemed like so much effort.  Then, like the Tivo was reading my mind, Giada de Laurentiis made a recipe of Penne with Braised Short Ribs and I had an *aha* moment.  I would reserve some of the short ribs for the Round Two recipe of my Short Rib Nirvana Sandwich…As I was out of Penne here, I figured Rotini would be a good substitute.

I highly suggest making extra because it gets better the next day around.

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PENNE [Rotini] WITH BRAISED SHORT RIBS

Recipe courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis and FoodNetwork.com

Ingredients

• 4 pounds beef short ribs
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 5 Roma tomatoes, cut into eighths (or a small can of tomatoes)
• 1 cup red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon (I substituted a cup of beef broth because I knew the dog would have some and no wine for him…)
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
• 1 pound penne (or Rotini) pasta
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes (my addition)

Directions

Place an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Season the ribs with salt and pepper. In a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or ovenproof stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. In batches, add the ribs and brown on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the ribs and set aside. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine and mustard. Bring the mixture to a boil and scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Return the ribs to the pan. Add the beef broth, cover the pan and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours until the meat is fork-tender and falls easily from the bone.

Remove the ribs from the cooking liquid. Using a large spoon, remove any excess fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Using a ladle, transfer the cooking liquid in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Remove the meat from the bones. Discard the bones. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into small pieces. Stir the shredded meat into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and place in a large serving bowl. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat from the sauce and add to the pasta. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the pasta. Toss well and thin out the pasta with more sauce, if needed. Sprinkle the pasta with Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley before serving.

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Take Two Recipe:

NIRVANA SHORT RIB SANDWICH WITH ARUGULA AND CHEDDAR….

Reserve some short ribs and pureed sauce from dinner prior before the penne was mixed in.

Lightly warm both the left over short rib meat and sauce and shred the warm short rib.

Toast your roll of choice, spread the bottom of the roll with some of the reserved sauce.

Place some slices of aged cheddar and quickly melt in the microwave for 10/15 seconds or so, until melted.

Place the short rib on top of the cheddar and add some arugula and enjoy!