Cook: Zinfandel-Braised Beef Short Ribs with Rosemary-Parsnip Mashed Potatoes

We wanted to cook a hearty fall meal so we searched epicurious.com's recipe database and settled on this one.  For those of you who have been following this blog, we paired this main course with the radicchio fennel arugula salad, and finished it off with the caramel apple tart dessert.  J made the short ribs as I prepared the salad and the dessert. Don't be intimidated by the gourmet sound of this recipe, it was actually pretty simple. However, you do need to plan ahead because it needs to simmer for a few hours. 

Ingredients:

Ribs

3 tablespoons room-temperature butter, divided

Eight 3-4 inch long meaty beef short ribs (about 4 lbs)

coarse kosher salt

2 1/2 cups chopped red onions

2 cups of 1/2 in cubes peeled parsnips

6 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

1 750 ml bottle Zinfandel

2 cups low-salt beef broth

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

Potatoes 

3 tablespoons room temperature butter, divided

3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 pound large parsnips, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch cuptes

1 cup whole milk

6 tables (3/4 stick butter)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary.  

Directions:
For the ribs:
Preheat the oven to 325F. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy large oven-proof pot over medium high heat (we used our le creuset oval dutch oven).  Sprinkle ribs with coarse salt and pepper. Add to pot in a a single layer and saute until brown on all sides (approx 10 min).  Transfer ribs to a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon butter to the pot. Add onions; sauté until brown, about 6 minutes. Add parsnips; sauté until beginning to color, about 6 minutes. Mix in garlic, then rosemary. Add wine and broth; bring to boil, scraping up browned bits.  Return ribs and any accumulated juices to pot, arranging in single layer. Bring to simmer; cover and place in oven. Braise until ribs are very tender, about 2 1/2 hours.

Using tongs, transfer ribs to clean bowl. Spoon fat from pan juices. Boil juices until just beginning to thicken, about 10 minutes. Mix 1 tablespoon butter and flour in small bowl to smooth paste. Whisk into juices in pot; simmer until thickened enough to coat spoon, about 5 minutes longer. Season gravy with coarse salt and pepper. Return ribs to pot; spoon gravy over. 

*DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm over low heat before serving.

For potatoes:
Cook potatoes and parsnips in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring milk, butter, and rosemary to simmer in small saucepan.  Drain potato mixture and return to pot. Stir briefly over medium heat to evaporate excess moisture. Add milk mixture and mash well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer short ribs and gravy to large shallow serving bowl. Serve short ribs with mashed potatoes.