Short Rib Grilled Cheese

I’ve been meaning to post this for a while now, but haven’t been able to find the time to write it. Now this isn’t exactly the cheapest sandwich out there ( close to 30 bucks for all the ingredients!), but it’s darn worth it if you ask me! Plus, most of the work is done by the trusty ol’ slow cooker, so it’s an easy dinner.

This special sammich is tender, red wine brazed chuck short ribs shredded then topped with caramelized onions and cheddar cheese on your favorite baguette and pressed on a panini press (as I call my George Foreman grill).

*Please ignore the side dish! This was a failed attempt at oven fried green tomatoes! I will be posting a successful recipe for green tomatoes as soon as I get around to it!   IMG_2360

 

 

For the short ribs:

  • 2 Pounds Bone-In Chuck Short Ribs
  • 1 onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
  • 2 carrots, roughly chopped
  • a few sprigs fresh thyme
  • 3 bay leaves
  • a couple cloves of garlic
  • 1 cup red wine
  • Enough beef stock to almost cover the short ribs and veggies in the crock pot, I’d buy the 32 oz size just to be safe!
  • 4 tbsp butter, divided

 

In a skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat, and sear short ribs about 2 minutes on all sides, and remove from skillet. Add remaining butter to the skillet and add veggies, cook until slightly softened, scraping browned bits of meat from the skillet and add to the bottom of the slow cooker. Put short ribs on top of veggies, add seasonings, garlic, wine, and pour the stock over the short ribs until they’re almost covered. Cook in the slow cooker for at least eight hours.

Caramelized onions:

  • 2 large sweet onions, sliced
  • 1/2 a stick of butter
  • 1 tsp salt
  • a few splashes of balsamic vinegar

Melt the butter in a skillet. Add onions and salt and cook and stir for 30 minutes until onions are nice and caramelized. Add a few drops of balsamic to the onions and remove from heat.

 

To put it all together:

Remove short ribs from crockpot and discard bones (or save as a tasty treat for your pup!).  Shred short ribs and set aside.

Take a loaf of French bread or your favorite baguette and slice it in half. Smear the bread with some horseradish sauce or dijon mustard ( or your favorite sandwich spread ) top one side with the shredded beef, then caramelized onions, and sliced cheddar cheese.

Preheat a panini press or your George Foreman grill. Place a piece of foil on the bottom of the grill then put a piece over the sandwich. Press the sandwich and cook until cheese is melted and bread is nicely toasted.

Serve with chips or fries and an ice cold beer!

Salmon Boxty

It’s almost St. Patrick’s Day and I’m not a huge fan of corned beef and cabbage. I wanted to try something different this year, and traditional Irish Boxty sounded rather plain, so I thought adding salmon would make it a little more like a meal. This is more like Irish boxty and salmon croquettes got married and had little bundles of crisp, moist goodness. On first try, I added way too many mashed potatoes and they turned out like mush, so make sure you watch the salmon to mashed potato ratio!

I served it with dill cream sauce (recipe follows), but a good tartar sauce would be delicious also.photo 3

Dill sauce:

  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup mayo
  • 2 tsp dried dill
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

Salmon Boxty:

  • 1 pound fresh salmon fillet, skin and pin bones removed
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup mashed potatoes
  • 2 cups uncooked, shredded hash browns
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I used Gillian’s Gluten Free)
  • oil for frying

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place salmon on a baking sheet and top with a good drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, depending on thickness of fillet. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes, then shred salmon with a fork in a large mixing bowl.

While salmon bakes, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat. Stir in the chopped onion and 1 tsp salt. Cook and stir for 15 to 17 minutes, until onions are caramelized. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

To shredded salmon, add mashed potatoes, hash browns, and egg. Season with salt and pepper. Stir cooled onions into salmon mixture and stir well to combine. Form into about 12 patties. Dredge both sides in breadcrumbs.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry patties in batches for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until nicely browned. Place cooked patties on a paper towel lined plate. Serve with dill sauce or tartar sauce.