Short Ribs in Red Wine Sauce

Of Sauce and Sorrow
About a week or so ago I made my favorite pasta sauce. The weather has actually been cooler than normal thanks, sadly, to all of the smoke and ash in the air. The drop in temp put me in to full-on fall cooking mode. So, I got out my slow cooker and went to work.

I was excited to make this sauce because I don’t make it very often—and it is truly one of my most favorite dinners. The main component is short ribs, which I love but can’t eat all that often. (If I would like to live long and prosper.) That being said, the recipe makes a lot, even for my family of five. So, we eat the short ribs with the sauce for Sunday dinner. And, then I freeze the rest of the leftover sauce to be used, over rigatoni or whatever boxed pasta I have in the pantry, for a mid-week meal somewhere on down the road. It’s a win-win. Until it’s not…

I woke up that Sunday morning looking forward to a great meal that had my mouth watering all day long. My daughter made some beautiful fresh pappardelle pasta and left it out to dry while the short ribs bubbled away in the crock pot. When everything was done we feasted on a rich and meaty short rib pasta dinner that was everything I had anticipated and hoped for. After dinner, we did the dishes that could be done and left the others to be loaded in the dishwasher the next morning. Just like normal.

The next morning when my alarm went off, I had this sense that something wasn’t right. Like I had forgotten something, but I couldn’t figure it out. I went ahead with my morning routine getting ready to go to work and when I emerged from my bedroom into the kitchen I realized what the problem was. In the chaos of cleaning the kitchen, we had set the slow cooker off to the side so the sauce could cool before I put it in containers and threw it in the freezer. You know the phrase out of sight out of mind? Turns out I left the sauce out uncovered overnight. I was distraught. My husband thought someone died—though he was equally despondent when he realized we were going to have to throw out all the leftovers.

Here’s the thing. I am fairly militant about food temps and storage. I tend to be overly conservative when it comes to the potential for food poisoning. I err on the side of caution. Sometimes to a fault. Though I do invoke the 5-second rule on occasion, there was no way I was going to be okay with keeping a meat-based pasta sauce that had been left out uncovered for 12 hours. It killed me to toss it. I am still emotional about it…which probably says more about my mental health during these wacky times than anything else. I mean it is only pasta sauce. But it was a spot of happy excitement during a time when bad news was the norm. And, then that got 2020-ed as well. Sigh.

Here is the recipe for the sauce. It is one that I have posted before because, as I said, it’s a favorite and I highly recommend you give it a try. Just don’t forget to put it away…

Short Ribs in Red Wine Sauce
Adapted from Slow Cooker Revolution by America’s Test Kitchen
Makes 12 cups Read more…

Spicy Sweet Sheet Pan Chicken

Fall Into a New Year
I did not grow up in a Jewish household, but I have always been fascinated by the connection of food to the traditions and ceremonies of the Jewish faith. The fact that I am drawn to the same foods that are typically found in Jewish kitchens is why I found myself thumbing through recently posted Rosh Hashanah recipes looking for something new.

I consider Rosh Hashanah to be one of the first signs of Fall, at least here in California where we don’t get the temperature drop or the obvious changing of the leaves as in other places. The food for the Jewish New Year is filled with all things fall. Apples, pomegranates, and pumpkins abound for the Rosh Hashanah feast. The only problem, for me at least, is that the tie to traditional ingredients can make it difficult to find a dish that is new and interesting.

Serving a whole fish is as traditional as it gets and I found plenty of recipes for that. But, I also found myself most intrigued by the chicken recipes, probably because I don’t think of chicken as a celebratory ingredient. Chicken is a mid-week work horse for me not the centerpiece of a feast. The chicken I made over the weekend might change my mind even though it’s as easy to throw together as any Wednesday night dinner. Even better, it actually qualifies as a sheet pan recipe so clean up is a breeze.

The original recipe called for dates, but I swapped them out for prunes—mainly because I find dates to be too sweet—and I love any opportunity to throw prunes into a recipe. Feel free to try it either way. I served this with garlic mashed potatoes, but it would be equally tasty with some fluffy, fresh couscous.

Spicy Sweet Sheet Pan Chicken
Adapted from NY Times Cooking
Yields 4 to 6 servings Read more…

Chicken Thigh Pasta

Distracted Living
I’m looking forward to Thursday night. I am looking forward to Thursday night because I need a distraction from our current daily experience and it has offered up the perfect opportunity. Thursday night at 5:20 PM the NFL returns.

I am usually not one of those people who waits with bated breath for the NFL season to start every year—though I do enjoy watching the games. This year, for so many reasons, I really am looking forward to a few hours of not worrying about fires, viruses, or politics. I anticipate being more concerned about first downs and yards per carry. And, of course, I am looking forward to football food.

Now, since the game takes place in Texas and involves teams both from Texas and Kansas City you would think that BBQ would be on the menu. You would be wrong. I am steering clear of all things involving smoke and fire. So, because this first game is happening mid-week, I am not going to do the usual football spread and will go in a totally different direction.

I am going to go with a family comfort food favorite, Chicken Thigh Pasta, which I am shocked I haven’t written about before. This is my go-to recipe when I don’t know what the heck I wanna make for dinner. I could do it in my sleep at this point—and everyone in the family devours it. Also, I almost always have the ingredients on hand because, for me, they are pantry staples. The bonus is that it isn’t too bad for you health-wise. It’s easy, and tasty, and perfect for a no-hassle football meal.

Thursday night will be a short return to normal, whatever that means at this point. But, it won’t be “normal” for everyone. For those of you packing up your homes and preparing to evacuate, stay safe and know that you are in our thoughts. For our firefighters on the front lines, there aren’t enough words to express our gratitude for your herculean efforts. For the rest of us Californians as well as our friends to the north in Oregon and Washington, we can and will get through this.

Chicken Thigh Pasta
Adapted from Ree Drummond and the Food Network
Yields 6 to 8 servings Read more…

Kevin Weaver Retires

Kevin Weaver Retires One of the unique things about Piedmont Grocery is that we tend to have employees who stay with us for a while. It’s a good thing, and we are the company that we are because of it. There are customers that we have watched grow up—and vice versa. This Friday, after almost 40 years of service, one of our long time and most well known employees is retiring and it’s going to be so strange without him.

Change is never easy. I had just turned 8 years old when we hired Kevin Weaver. There has never been a time in my memory of the store when Kevin wasn’t there. And, Kevin is definitely memorable. The dude is like 6 foot 5 and has rocked a mullet for most of his life. (And don’t get me started on his love of Disco…) But it is his smile and ability to not take himself too seriously that has endeared him to his fellow employees as well as countless vendors and sales reps.

Since I came on board officially seventeen years ago, I have had the opportunity to attend numerous food shows with Kevin. We would walk the aisles together looking for the latest and greatest. My job was to explain how to use some of the trendy products we saw to Mr. Meat and Potatoes and his job was to tease me about my trendy foodiness and to introduce me to people he had been doing business with for decades. It didn’t take long for me to see that Kevin was a bit of a rock star among those who did business with him. His reputation preceded him as we made our way from booth to booth. And, it was amazing to see, though it made for a much longer day.

Customers had the same reaction. Whether he was in the aisles talking basketball, Oklahoma football or running in the Piedmont Turkey Trot, it has always been apparent that Kevin just has a way with people.

We will all miss having him around. For me personally, I will miss his role as a teacher. Kevin has taught me a lot during the time we have been working together. I may have a good understanding of current food trends and the habits of the younger generation, but I am certainly smart enough to know I don’t know everything. Kevin has been there and done that—and has shown commendable patience while I got up to speed. And, I mean, it can’t be easy to be told what to do by someone with pigtails and skinned knees who used to pester you when she was twelve.

Kevin, thank you for everything you have done and given to Piedmont Grocery, to your coworkers, and to our community. You will definitely be missed, but we wish you well on your new adventure. And, we are confident that we are better people for having had the opportunity to know you during these past forty years. Congratulations! And, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

This Friday, because we can’t throw a big party like we usually do due to the pandemic, we will be shutting the store down from 11 AM to 1 PM so that we can give Kevin, perhaps not the send off he really deserves, but the knowledge that we appreciate him, will miss him, and love him like family.