Red Wine Braised Shortribs and Orange-Sage Roasted Sweet Potatoes

After reading a recipe in Bon Apetit on red-wine braised short ribs, I decided to make my own personal touches and pair them with some delicious roasted sweet potatoes.  The result was a very hearty meal that was full of robust savory flavors.  Mmmmm...


Red-Wine braised Short Ribs
Makes 6 -7 servings
Ingredients:
4 pounds bone-in beef shortribs, seasoned with salt and pepper
3 stalks of celery diced
2 carrots diced
2 medium yellow onions diced
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 Tablespoons All-purpose flour
1 (730 mL) bottle of red wine (I used a burgundy)
1 head of garlic cut crosswise
7-8 sprigs fresh thyme
3-4 sprigs fresh oregano
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 dried bay leaves
1 quart beef stock
salt and pepper

Instructions:
1) Preheat the oven to 350 F.   Meanwhile over medium heat on the stovetop:  add a little bit of oil (1-2 Tablespoons) to a Dutch Oven, or a large, heavy bottomed saucepan that has a lid.  In two batches, brown the shortribs on all sides and remove to a plate.  Pour off all but about 3 Tablespoons worth of the liquid in the pan
2) Add the celery, carrots, and onions to the pot and stir.  When the onions turn translucent (2-3 minutes), add the tomato paste and flour, stir, and cook for 1-2 minutes.
3) Glug the whole bottle of wine into the pot and stir, then add the ribs and all the juices from the plate they were on.  Bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half.  This should take about 1/2 hour.
4) Put all of the herbs, garlic, and stock into the pot, bring to a boil , cover with the lid and put into the oven for 2 1/2 hours.
5) Remove from the oven when the meet literally falls off the bone.
6)  Skin the fat off of the top and then add some of the cooking liquid to a small saucepan and reduce even more.  Once reduced, finish with a little bit of butter.  Serve by putting the shortribs onto a plate and topping with some of the sauce.  It also goes well with the following recipe....

Orange-Sage roasted Sweet Potatoes
6-7 servings

Ingredients:
3 large sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
the zest of a large orange
About 10 sage leaves
olive oil (just enough to coat the potatoes lightly)
salt and pepper

Instructions:
1) Put all of the ingredients into a large oven dish and bake in the oven at 350 F for about 40 minutes or until golden brown.  Stir after 20 minutes.  I timed it so I put it in the oven with the short ribs when they were 40 minutes from being finished.  That way everything was done at the same time.  Enjoy!