Today is Father’s Day!

I’m so thankful to have such great men in my life and show me how God loves me here on earth.

So to honor my Dad and my husband today, I made Braised short ribs, that are marinated for at least 1 to 2 days in a whole bottle of red wine! So worth it! see below for recipe

With the Braised Short Ribs I roasted Asparagus, A Cilantro Caesar Dressing served with Pepitas for a different twist on the Caesar Salad, Mashed Potatoes, Rosemary Rustic Rolls (from my one of my favorite bakeries “La Brea Bakery”), and for dessert this awesome chocolate pie recipe that I found in my mound of recipes and blessed that a friend Holly made for my husband’s office. It came from our local newspaper, which I immediately got out the Wednesday newspaper out and clipped it for a later use! It’s A very simple recipe 1950’s Fudge Pie but so decadent and definitely at first bite sends you to chocolate heaven!

I like to change recipes sometimes..the only change I made in this was instead of baking it in a 9 inch pie pan, I made it into 4 tart pans, baked for 12-15 minutes in my convection oven.(And always a must! don’t substitute the BUTTER! Yes, I’m like Julia Child , love the butter !) I put a dollop of whip cream with a strawberry on top! I think making it this way made it so much more special for my special men today!

And hopefully I can figure this blogger stuff out and post a picture in the future!

Needless to say, my Dad and husband were delighted by the presentation and the results in the awesome brownie like dessert! They are my biggest fans and have encouraged me throughout my life! Thanks Dad and Richard! The loves of my life! Yes…to my “Favorite” daughters ( who fight over who’s the “favorite daughter”! too funny! we must of done something right for them to think they each are the favorite!) I miss you both dearly! you are reading this!?) You two are the girls in my life that I love so much and treasure your love and friendship!

I love to share recipes with my family and friends!

So when I can…I will post here what I make in the future and hopefully when I am rescuing recipes from my cherished cookbooks!

So here’s my first recipe I am posting for you!

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! 🙂

Oh..and I think this is such a “God thing” that I’m starting this post with this first recipe by the name, since I’m RESCUING RECIPES from my cookbooks! So check it out!

Enjoy! 🙂

Braised Short Ribs

recipe by Tom Colicchio who is a master with meat, and his tender succulent braised short ribs are much in demand at his three restaurants. He marinates the short ribs along with vegetables in wine, then discards those vegetables and braises the ribs with fresh vegetables.

Easy Way Use the same vegetables in the marinade and the braise.

MAKE-AHEAD !!

ACTIVE :1 hour TOTAL TIME : 3 HRS PLUS OVERNIGHT MARINATING SERVINGS :6

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tablespoons canola oil

6 flanken-style short ribs with bones, cut 2 inches thick (about 4 pounds)

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, sliced

3 celery ribs, sliced

3 garlic cloves, thickly sliced

One 750-milliliter bottle dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvigon

4 thyme sprigs

3 cups chicken stock

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil. Season the ribs with salt and pepper. Add them to the

skillet and cook over moderate heat, turning once, until browned and crusty. about 18 minutes. Transfer the ribs to a shallow baking dish in a single layer.

2. Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic to the skillet and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until very soft and lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Add the wine and thyme sprigs and bring to a boil over high heat. Pour the hot marinade over the ribs and let cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight, turning the ribs once.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Transfer the ribs and marinade to a large, enameled cast-iron casserole. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover and cook in the lower third of the oven for 1 1/2 hours, until the meat is tender but not falling apart. Uncover and braise for 45 minutes longer, turning the ribs once or twice, until the sauce is very tender.

4. Transfer the meat to a clean shallow baking dish, discarding the the bones as the fall off. Strain the sauce into a heatproof measuring cup and skim off as much fat as possible. Pour the sauce over the meat; there should be about 2 cups.

5. Preheat the broiler. Broil the meat turning once or twice, until glazed and sizzling, about 10 minutes. Transfer the meat to plates, spoon the sauce on top and serve.

MAKE AHEAD

The braised short ribs can be prepare through step 4 and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

SERVE WITH

Mashed potatoes, buttered noodles or crusty bread

Posted From McClatchy-Tribune news service

by Aleta Watson

Easy Fudge Pie will make ’em sigh

We all need at least one dead-simple dessert recipe in our repertoire, one that turns out perfect every time and sends guests into raptures at first bite. If chocolate is involved, all the better.

Fudge pie is a golden oldie from the 1950’s that I ran across in TV newswoman Linda Ellerbee’s engaging memoir, “Take Big Bites”. Ellerbee calls this recipe “rescued” fudge pie, because she thought it had been lost until a friend revealed that she had a copy of the original.

Essentially a dark, moist brownie, this crustless pie was a staple of Ellerbee’s Houston childhood. Unlike many recipes from that era, it doesn’t call for processed ingredients. Chocolate, butter, sugar,eggs–what’s not to like?

The first pie I made and brought into the office disappeared in no time. It was good, but I felt it could be better.

I had followed the recipe to the letter, including mixing all the ingredients in the Pyrex pie pan in which it was cooked, and the top crust bubbled strangely in spots, perhaps because the butter hadn’t been mixed in well enough. In addition, the edges were almost black and a bit too crusty after 25 minutes in a 400-degree oven.

I have revised the instructions to call for mixing the ingredients in a separate bowl and reduced the baking temperature.

Chocolate connoisseurs should feel free to substitute 2 ounces for high-cocoa-content bittersweet or the unsweetened chocolate in the recipe.

Mama’s Rescued Fudge Pie

Mama's Rescued Fudge Pie

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate,( I used Nestle’, that’s what I had on hand)

1 Stick of Butter

1 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Flour

2 Eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chocolate and butter in a 4-cup Pyrex measure or microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high heat for 30 seconds more.Let sit for a minute or so and stir until chocolate dissolves completely. Add sugar, flour, eggs , vanilla and salt. Pour into lightly oiled 9-inch pie pan.

Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool for as long as you can wait. If you can’t wait, vanilla ice cream helps cool a slice of pie on your plate.

(Adapted from “Take Big Bites” by Linda Ellerbee, Berkeley.)

Rescuing Our Family Recipes

Every family has a different method for storing treasured recipes. My Grandmother had a cabinet stuffed with an array of cookbooks, as well as a box full of handwritten recipes passed from generation to generation. As a kid I would spend hours thumbing through the recipes and daydreaming about food. Well, I still do. It’s my way to relax and some of my family and friends know that when I have sleepless nights, I’m either reading a cookbook or on the internet researching for recipes!

Yes…you may think I’m crazy but my family and friends I think is thankful that I am always researching for recipes.

There’s something special about a handwritten recipe card that creates a personal connection to the cook who wrote it. The frayed edges, stain splatters, and notes written the margins all but exclaim, “This is a tried and true recipe!”. When I look at my 2 Grandmother’s handwritten recipes it brings me back to the time I would be baking with them..possibly making Grandma Lucky’s yummy chocolate cupcakes! or my Grandma Ruth’s famous rolls! Aww, I can smell them baking already!♥

It surprises me when I come across full recipe boxes at garage sales . As one generation ends, the next decides not to carry on the tradition. I recently discovered many recipe boxes each filled with a lifetime of vintage, handwritten recipes are also for sale on eBay.

After looking through the eBay listings, Some people felt compelled to purchase two of the recipe boxes. I was thinking if I purchased these & received the boxes and opened them, to me it would be as though I had stepped into another person’s kitchen. I could see the cook’s likes and dislikes from the recipes she chose to keep.

I wondered how many birthdays, anniversaries, and holiday dinners these recipes had been used, as well as whom they had fed.

The digital age encourages me to downsize and reduce paper clutter around our home. But, maybe with a little thought, I can save a few more recipe boxes thrown into the garbage. I was able to rescue my Great Aunt Peggy’s recipes & old clippings just tossed in 2 big boxes. I still have to go through and this is a challenge for me.

The first step in rescuing recipes is as simple as making your wishes known. If you have a personal collection of recipe cards, let your children, nieces, nephews, or friends know how much the recipes mean to you in the hope they will work to preserve them when the time comes.

In my case, I’ve let my Mother & my dear Mother-in-law know that I want the family recipes, some of which are written by my or my husband’s great-grandmother & great Aunt. I figured it’s best to let my mother know how important the recipes are to me, just in case she gets any ideas about throwing them out because she thinks no one wants them!

I hope someday, my daughters will also come to cherish these vintage recipes from long ago that are so worth saving.This is my challenge..this year, I hope to organize the many cookbooks & recipes in an organized manner..I’ve been meaning to do this,so I’m putting it writing !!! I want to accomplish this goal a year from now! Yes, The movie” Julia & Julie” inspired me to do this in a year! But I believe in TOTAL GRACE!So it might take me a little longer than I plan…And hopefully it keeps me accountable to do it! It’s a big task to take on for me! For some of you know (yes, my daughters & hubby really know the truth!) I have a lot to go through.. Who knows maybe at the end I’ll have a special cookbook of Burkey’s favorites to pass on:) Thanks for letting me put this down in notes I’m not much a journal writer but a wanna be! And most of all for letting me go on & ON!:)