Friday Foodday

It's Friday y'all!!! I'm so excited.  Mostly because I zero plans and sometimes that's just what you need for a fabulous weekend.


Enjoy the recipes- and remember if you want to be featured, shoot me an email with your delicious creation!


Pralines
c/o Jet Setting Divas

Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 cups of pecans
2 tbsp of butter


Directions
Mix sugar and milk in a heavy 2-quart saucepan
Bring to boil over medium heat (stirring occasionally)until mixture forms a thick syrup.
Add pecans and butter and continue to cook & stir
let cool for 10 minutes.
Use a tablespoon to quickly drop rounded balls onto sheet wax paper
Allow to cool

Should make about 20 pralines! Courtesy of my mother's cookbook!


Braised Short Ribs
c/o Annie

Ingredients

• 5 pounds beef short ribs, bone on 
• Kosher salt 
• Freshly ground black pepper (I like a coarse grind) 
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
• 1 large onion chopped 
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped 
• 1 celery rib, chopped 
• 2 garlic cloves, skin left on 
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar 
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate (comes in a jar; slightly thicker than ketchup) or paste (comes in a block)
• 2 fresh (or dry) bay leaves 
• 1/2 cup Madeira 
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 to 3 cups chicken broth
• 
  
• Directions
• Heat the oven to 225 degrees. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat a large heavy Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the oil, then the short ribs (add them in batches, if necessary) and brown on all sides. Transfer the ribs to a plate as they finish browning. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat.
  2. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic to the pot, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the vegetables are soft and all the browned bits in the base of the pot have been loosened. Put the short ribs (and any juices that have collected on the plate) back in the pot.
  3. Add the light brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, tamarind paste, and bay leaves. Pour in the Madeira and red wine. Add enough chicken broth to just cover the ribs. Bring the liquid to a boil, then cover the pot and transfer to the oven.
  4. Braise the shortribs until they are very tender when pierced with a fork, about 4 hours (longer if the short ribs are big). Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shortribs to a plate. Let the cooking liquid settle; spoon off as much fat as possible (ideally, you'd do this over the course of two days and would, at this point, put the liquid in the fridge overnight and peel off the layer of fat in the morning). Set the pot on the stove over medium high heat. Bring the cooking liquid to a boil and reduce to a syrupy consistency.
  5. Lay a short rib or two in each of 4 wide shallow bowls. Spoon over a little sauce. Serve proudly.
  Meatballs and Noodles in a Cream Sauce
  c/o M&SJ+C
  
  Ingredients
  1 pound ground beef (85% or so)
  1 package garlic and herb Boursin cheese
  Salt and pepper
  Vegetable oil
  1 onion, chopped fine
  2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  3 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
  8 ounces egg noodles
  1/4 cup white wine
  1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives
  Directions
  Combine beef, 5 tablespoons Boursin cheese, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl and knead gently until combined. Form mixture into 1 inch meatballs. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook meatballs until well browned all over, about 5 minutes. Transfer meatballs to plate and pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pan.
  
  Cook onion in reserved fat until browned, about 6-8 minutes. Stir in flour and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Add broth, noodles, and wine and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to med-low, and cook, stirring often, until pasta begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add meatballs and simmer, covered, until meatballs are cooked through and noodles are al dente, about 4 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in remaining Boursin cheese and chives. Season with salt and pepper.
  Cake Batter Cookies
  c/o Stephanie Cooks
  
  Ingredients
  1 (18.25 oz.) box cake mix
  1 tsp. baking powder
  2 eggs
  1/2 cup vegetable oil
  1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  Directions
  1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2-In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix and baking powder. Add eggs and oil, then mix until well blended. (It was a bit crumbly for me so I used my hands to really mix it well- it's not as smooth as typical dough.)
   3-Stir in chocolate chips, or your choice of additions. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheets.
  4- Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven.  Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
  
  
  Be fabulous today!