So, I was reminded earlier by Jason Goldman that Monday* is Pi Day. And I mentioned that my favorite kind of pie is shepherd's pie. Added to the fact that Dr. G gave me his copies of Modernist Cuisine, I'm going to be distracted. The next part of Blurring The Lines will be delayed. So yeah. It's recipe time. By the way, these books are nearly 21kg total. People on BART were not happy with me when I brought them back.

Braised Short Ribs

• 6-8 trimmed short ribs
• Salt (kosher)
• Cracked pepper
• 60mL olive oil
• 2 medium onions chopped coarse
• 1 whole celery (about 6 stalks), diced large
• 2 carrots, get the biggest you can, diced large (same size as the celery)
• 1 fennel bulb (remove the fronds and stalks), diced large (same as above)
• 1 large leek (white only), diced large (same as above)
• 5 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 1 bottle of Burgundy (or Pinot Noir)
• Fresh rosemary, thyme and 1 bay leaf
• 6 cups beef stock, preferably homemade (can also use water)

Directions

1. Set your oven to 300F and pat your short ribs dry with paper towels. You want to remove as much moisture as possible from the surface of the meat. Remember water is a byproduct of the Maillard reaction. You don't want water present when you're browning meat. Salt your short ribs.
2. 
   Browned (boneless) short ribs Credit: JCW
   Put a large dutch oven on your stove at medium-high heat and let it heat up. Add the oil to the pan, once it's shimmering lay the ribs down in the pan. Don't crowd them, if they don't all fit, do them in shifts. Jiggle them once they sit in the oil for a few seconds to keep them from sticking. Brown on all sides and remove to an unlined plate.
3. There should still be some fat left in the pan, if not add a another 30mL of oil. Toss in the vegetables until the onions are just translucent. Pour the wine over the vegetables and with a wooden spoon scrape up the brown bits at the bottom. Bring all of this to a boil over high heat until the volume of liquid is halved. Taste and add salt and pepper as necessary. Add your herbs. You can either tie them together or add them loose.
4. Place the ribs on top of the vegetables, and use your stock to help collect the drippings on the plate into the pot. Cover with stock, you may not use all of it and let the pot come back to a simmer over medium heat. Once it is simmering, place the cover on the dutch oven and move to your pre-heated oven for 2 hours.
5. Test your meat with a sharp knife. If it is tender, remove. If not, keep it in the oven and check every 15 minutes. When tender, return your dutch oven to the stove over medium heat. Uncover and carefully move the ribs to an unlined plate. Remove the herbs and skim excess fat from the sauce. Cook the vegetables and liquid until reduced by about a third. Replace and the meat until warmed through. Serve.

I personally love to serve this with either mashed potatoes or parsnips. Sunchoke puree also works if they're in season. To make my version of shepherd's pie, put some of the ribs, vegetable and sauce in an ovenproof bowl and top with mashed root vegetables and cheese. I like raclette, mimolette or emmentaler. A sharp cheddar also works well with mashed potatoes. Place the bowls in your broiler until the cheese is melted and toasty. Serve for Pi Day!

* edit - Can't believe I screwed that up. I don't know what I was thinking.