Chef Daniel Boulud

I have decided to start with Chef Daniel Boulud as dining at "Daniel restaurant" was my first dining experience in NYC. It wasn’t the first restaurant I went to, but the first time I could define it as an experience.

The food, the details, the service, a tour in the kitchen and meeting chef Daniel Boulud face-to-face made it an experience I will never forget.

A little bit about chef Daniel Boulud:

Daniel Boulud (born March 25, 1955 in Saint-Pierre de Chandieu, France) is a French chef and restaurateur with restaurants in New York City, Palm Beach, Miami, Montreal, Beijing, and Singapore. He is best known for Daniel, his eponymous, Michelin 3-star restaurant in New York City.

While raised on a farm outside of Lyon and trained by renowned French chefs, Boulud made his reputation in New York, first as a chef and most recently a restaurateur. His management company, The Dinex Group, currently includes six restaurants and Feast & Fêtes Catering. His restaurants include Daniel, Café Boulud, DB Bistro Moderne, Bar Boulud, DBGB Kitchen & Bar, and Boulud Sud in New York City. He has also created Café Boulud in Palm Beach and the Michelin-star Daniel Boulud Brasserie in Las Vegas (now closed)

Some more information can be found:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Boulud

http://www.danielnyc.com/aboutDB.html

Now for the recipe -

I really like this recipe, try it and I think you'll like it too!

Baking requires precious steps. When baking a soufflé for example you need to make sure you take it out of the oven the second its ready and serve it right away. Cooking in some way is more relaxed (I know this is a general statement that is not always true but for the most part it is). When cooking this recipe you can be more flexible and even change it a bit. Forgetting it in the oven for 20 minutes wont hurt as long as there is enough liquid. Another great thing about this recipe is that you can make it a day in advance and some will say it even tastes better.

When I bake I stick to instructions, when I cook I usually follow the recipe the first time and if I like it I try it again and then make some changes. I made this recipe few times – in the final version I used only 2 bottles of wine and one container of beef stock. I served it with homemade pasta the original recipe calls for celery duo.

One last comment before the actual recipe – when you chose the wine, chose one you would drink, it doesn’t have to be a super expensive one but something you like. You will feel the difference when cooking with wine you like vs. a non drinkable one.

Recipe is taken from the great web-site www.epicurious.com

Lets start!

Daniel Boulud's Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine

Chef Boulud says that the success of this dish rests on browning the short ribs well at the beginning of cooking the dish to get the best flavors into the sauce. This recipe also can be found in the Café Boulud Cookbook, by Daniel Boulud and Dorie Greenspan. Yield: Makes 8 servings Ingrdients: 3 bottles dry red wine [Lady V:] I used two 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 8 short ribs, trimmed of excess fat Salt and crushed black peppercorns Flour, for dredging 8 large shallots, peeled, trimmed, split, rinsed and dried 2 medium-sized carrots, peeled, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths 2 ribs of celery, peeled, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths 1 medium-sized leek (white and light-green parts), coarsely chopped, washed and dried 10 cloves of garlic, peeled 6 sprigs flat-leaf parsley 2 bay leaves and 2 thyme sprigs 2 tablespoons tomato paste 3 quarts unsalted beef broth [Lady V:] I used one container of beef broth Freshly ground white pepper Preparation: 1. Pour the wine into a large saucepan set over medium heat. When the wine is hot, carefully set it aflame. Let the flames die out, then increase the heat so that the wine boils; allow it to boil until it cooks down by half. Remove from the heat. 2. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350°F. 3. Warm the oil in a large, heavy, ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Season the ribs all over with salt and the crushed pepper. Dust half of the ribs with about 1 tablespoon flour. Then, when the oil is hot, slip the ribs into the pot and sear 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until well-browned. Transfer the ribs to a plate. Repeat with remaining ribs. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the pot, lower the heat under the pot to medium and toss in the vegetables and herbs. Brown the vegetables lightly, 5 to 7 minutes, then stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. 4. Add the wine, ribs and broth to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover tightly and place in the oven to braise for 2 1/2 hours or until the ribs are very tender. Every 30 minutes, skim and discard fat from the surface. (It's best to make the recipe to this point, cool and chill the ribs and broth in the pan overnight; scrape off the fat the next day. Rewarm before continuing.) 5. Carefully transfer the meat to a platter; keep warm. Boil the pan liquid until it has reduced to 1 quart. Season with salt and white pepper and pass through a fine strainer; discard the solids. (The ribs and sauce can be combined and kept covered in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Reheat gently, basting frequently, on top of the stove or in a 350°F oven.) 6. To serve place on each plate short rib. Pour the sauce onto the plate around the puree. (original recipe calls for celery duo)

Questions, comments and new challenges are welcome.

On my to-do list - get a better camera and learn how to take better pictures :)

Enjoy,

Lady V.