Ode to Braising

After the exquisite indulgence of the holiday season (this year seemed to be filled with even more meat, wine, champagne, and sweets than usual), I decided to go on a brief hiatus from some of the more gluttonous offenders of my December diet. I never really "diet," per say, but a couple of weeks with no meat, a little less cheese, and limited processed sugars can do a body good. So, except for a particularly tasty mac and cheese with bacon that a friend made for me, I'd been pretty good for the last couple of weeks. But this weekend, gosh darnit, I was hungry and craving some protein. Enter: the braise.

Oh sweet braising, how simple and delicious you are. Essentially, you just pick something to cook, brown it, add some liquid and herbs for flare, and let that baby cook over low heat for a few hours. By the time you're done, the flavors should be well-balanced and well-incorporated, and the meat tender as all get. Braising is the basis for many a crock pot recipe (including my personal favorite of corned beef and cabbage), pot roasts, and commonly-known French dishes like coq au vin and beef bourguignon. Apparently it's also the technique for Moroccan tajines and a variety of Asian dishes. Everyone loves a good slow-cooked meat, it seems.

Now, a good braise will take at least 2 to 3 hrs, depending on what you're cooking and how much prep you're putting into it. Some recipes call for individually browning every little thing that goes into the pot. Some say you should season the meat the night before. I'm sure I've done that before, and I've had dishes from friends (such as Roomie's coq au vin) that were so delightful they have made me reconsider actually learning the science behind these methods. But, more often than not, I settle on a braise as an easy, leisurely Sunday meal that I just don't want to think that hard about. So, you should look up recipes and try lots of methods and find your own braising voice, so to speak.

When I braise, I use my big cast iron dutch oven. I always use about half an onion, loosely chopped; 4-5 large garlic cloves, chopped; and equal parts wine and stock (usually about two cups each - enough to cover all the meat). Carrots and celery are good, too, especially with beef, I just don't usually have them on hand. For beef and mushrooms, I use a red wine, a couple teaspoons thyme, and about two tablespoons tomato paste. For chicken: white wine, thyme, tarragon and/or rosemary, and about half lemon, cut into fourths. The method's the same - in a heavy pot or dutch oven get some oil piping hot and sear up the beef/mushrooms/chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side (until browned), remove the meat, lower the heat to medium and brown the onions and garlic for a few minutes.

Browned Short Ribs

Then return the meat to the pot, add the stock, wine, herbs, etc, and cook over low heat until the meat is super tender. Chicken - about an hour and half. Beef - 2 to 3 hrs. Turn meat over once or twice in the meantime, and taste to see if more salt/acid/flavors are needed. Add a little butter to the braising liquid to give it a little more decadence. If you want to thicken the sauce at the end, add all-purpose flour or corn starch - about a tablespoon that's been dissolved in water - and boil for a few minutes. Add more if necessary, but be careful of adding more than a couple of tablespoons - it can affect the flavor.

Short Ribs after the braise - and yes that is about a quarter inch of fat on the top

What to do with your braised goodies? Serve 'em up with some roasted potatoes and veggies. Shred 'em and add them to a baked pasta (how I've been using my chicken, with the braising liquid instead of a pasta sauce) or serve it over a risotto (especially good with short ribs and a blue cheese-mushroom risotto). Use it as the base for a bunch of paninis (melted cheese, tender meat, crusty bread, and braising liquid as a dipping sauce? Yes, please). Add a little more stock and some crushed tomatoes for a hearty stew. Add some canned tomatoes and toss with some fettuccine (usually what I do for a mushroom braise).

Homemade fettuccine with a braised mushroom sauce and parsley

Braised short ribs sandwich with caramelized onions, arugula, and Monterey Jack

Cooking Failures, 2011

Now that I have gotten lectured (twice) to get back to writing on this blog, I guess it's time.  The fun part of having a public forum to write about food and family and eating and all those things that I love is that it is a great distraction and occasional escape.  It is entertaining to think of recipes, play with my camera, reminisce about childhood food-related topics...

...The bad thing about having a public forum to write about food and family and eating and all those things that I love is that when I'm not cooking anything good or getting excited about what I'm eating, what the heck do I write?  And as a person who is prone to writer's block, was it really very wise to start doing something that requires a regular commitment to putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard)?  Sigh.  So, writer's block and poor recipe experiments and the holiday hustle and bustle have left me with nothing to say.  Sad indeed.

My best friend asked me, before the new year, what I was most excited about for 2011.  What a great, optimistic question. One of my first responses was how excited I was to try new things in the kitchen, to try to explore different techniques and flavors and push myself out of my comfort zone.  Everyone likes a good challenge, yes?  But, so far, my experiments have been flops.  Not so bad that they are inedible, but just not exciting.  Here are a few things I've tried:

- Guatemalan-inspired Pepian Lentil Stew, which wasn't awful but needs some serious tweaks
- Coconut milk soba noodles with crispy five-spice tofu and shredded veggies (bland!  And the five-spice tofu did not maintain any of the five spice flavor.)
- Homemade chickpea and semolina fettuccine with roasted butternut squash-ricotta puree, and fried mushrooms (the fried mushrooms were spectacular, the squash-ricotta puree was one-note, and the pasta was not quite right)
- Roasted tomato and spinach orzo (bland!)

Sigh.  I still enjoy my time in the kitchen, but it's not nearly as much fun as when things turn out just right.

So, instead, for you all, I'm going to think of some of my relatively recent food memories I like to remember fondly...

 - Stumbling on a food and dance and potato competition in Pisac, Peru (I ate guinea pig for a third time and drank some strawberry-corn beer.  Inka Cola is better.)

-Having a bacon brownie bake off with my brother on his visit home from Peace Corps (I went for a bacon-jalapeno-lime mix, while he added in some Golden Grahams for a breakfast theme.  He won.)

 -Eating a pound of fresh shrimp on the most desolate beach in Guatemala, heads and all

-Learning how to make Thai curry, which may or may not have involved an endangered species

-Italian food night, with good wine, good pasta, good cheese, great friends, and a little Catch Phrase to wrap it all up (Pictured is montegrappa cheese from Penn Mac.  Incredible.)

-Finding the best tacos al pastor in Mexico City (on Arquimedes and Masaryk, in Polanco).  These aren't those tacos, but they were still damned tasty. Just look at that grease!

-Plus the memories without the pictures.  The Christmas dinner where we went through 9 bottles of wine and welcomed in two new women to the family.  Hearing the phrase "I'm hungry.  Should we find some street food?" The mac and cheese at Kelly's, with a dark beer and some juicy gossip.  The 12-course meal in Lima where my travelmate and I were both sick, but we were not going to miss out on any sweet morsel.  The cheese and bread and wine with roomie when neither of us wants to cook.

So, my experiments have failed thus far, but I'm still hopeful that good things will come...and at least I have some pretty sweet memories...