For anyone who participates in any kind of farm share or organic food delivery service, as Adrian and I do, you find yourself needing to get creative when you end up with, say, Swiss chard for the 12th week in a row.  I happen to love Swiss chard, not only because it tastes good but also because of its rich nutritional properties.  However, after its ninth or tenth appearance in our box, I grew desperate to find a way to make it appetizing again.  After sauteing it with everything I could think of, rolling it into dolmas, throwing it in pastas, and baking it in quiches, there it was in our box again, and I thought of something:  creamed chard.  Why not?  After all, I love creamed spinach.  It is comforting and a little decadent, but still a solid way to get those vitamins and iron.

Because I also love creamed onions, and I had just gotten some really nice sweet white onions from the farmer’s market, I decided I would incorporate them into this recipe for texture and sweetness.  Although there is butter in this recipe as well as cream, there isn’t that much of either one, but if you are concerned, use olive oil and milk instead.  I am of the philosophy to use the real deal and just eat a little less, but you make the call.  Either way, I am willing to bet that even veggie-phobes could learn to love this dish.

If you prefer, you can make this same dish with spinach, using the exact method below, or even kale, if you blanched it first, since it has a bit more of a bite.  It would also be delicious if you used mushrooms instead of onions.

Ingredients

• 1 large bunch of Swiss chard, stems removed, thoroughly washed and dried, and roughly chopped
• 1 sweet white or yellow onion, sliced thin
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 1/2 cup of cream
• 1/4 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon of finely ground white pepper
• Salt to taste

Heat a large, stainless skillet over medium heat.  Add the butter, the thyme, and the onions and a pinch of salt.  Saute until the onions become soft and translucent, about 6-7 minutes.  Add the garlic and saute another minute or so.  Add the Swiss chard and saute until it wilts, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes.

Add the flour and stir to incorporate for a minute or so.  Then, add the cream and stir well, scraping any cooked bits from the bottom of the pan.  Reduce the heat to low and continue to stir until the cream has thickened to your liking.  Taste for seasoning and serve immediately.  Serves four.

This post was co-authored (really the recipe was co-cooked) by @taylorbarstow

At some point during the winter, I inevitably will get a serious craving for some delicious and wholesome braised beef short ribs. With winter waning, a few of us on a ‘dudes night’ decided to do something we rarely all do together: cook. It was really rainy out, and all of us were thinking about drinking some dark beer, so Guinness was the answer for both the glasses and the dish. After shopping around a bit with Taylor and Kippy, we found ourselves in the North End, at Sulmona Meat Market on Parmenter Street – classic, old school Italian butcher and had some beautiful short ribs that we decided to have the butcher leave whole and not chop in half like usual short rib cuts.

The cuts of beef will look rather large as you can see in the pictures, but this was cool with us all around.  We decided to use a combination of braising liquids, all brought together with the classic French mirepoix of onions, carrots and celery.  Braising liquids included Gunniess, chicken stock (you can use beef too of course) and a touch of coffee.  We decided to pair the dish with some creamy Parmesan polenta and some of the braising liquid on the plate.  I’d also consider serving some blanched and sauteed bitter dark greens – or really whatever you like.  The beauty of short ribs is that they’re so damn tender “falling off the bone” that you tend to forget whatever else is on the plate.  Here’s what to do:

Before starting, remember that these short ribs can take up to 3 hours to cook!!!  So start early with them!

• 4-6 Whole (or 8-12 halved) short ribs – the freshest you can find – Grass-fed beef preferred!
• 1 large (or 2 medium) carrots – roughly chopped
• 2-3 stalks celery – washed and cubed
• 1 large white onion – diced
• 3 cloves of garlic – smashed
• 2 bay leaves
• A few stalks of parsley
• 2 pint cans of Guinness stout
• 2 cups chicken or beef stock
• 1/2 cup coffee (optional)
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

First thing you want to do is locate a good heavy bottomed pot to use for the braise.  I’ll sometimes use a large roasting pan that I cover with tinfoil if I have too many ribs to fit in my Le Creuset dutch oven.  Once you’ve got your equipment, preheat your oven to 350 F.

Season the short ribs thoroughly with salt and a small amount of pepper and set aside.  Heat your pot over medium/high heat and add a few glugs of olive oil to coat the bottom of the pot.  When the oil is just about smoking hot, add the ribs and brown on all sides, then remove the ribs and set aside.

Lower the heat to medium/low and add all of the vegetables, including the parsley and bay leaves and mix to combine and cook until softened – around 5-7 minutes.  Add the braising liquid and bring to a simmer, then add the short ribs back into the pot, cover with a heavy lid and place into the preheated oven.

The time you want to cook your short ribs is really up to you, but I would advise AT LEAST 2 hours.  My rule of thumb I learned from Taylor Barstow and it basically goes like this: cook the short ribs until they are basically completely falling apart and the bone comes out easily.

The last part really pulls the dish together: Start a saute pan over medium high heat and a just a tiny bit of olive oil.  When the pan is really hot, add the short ribs and sear them on each side to add a little bit if texture back to the short ribs (a little crust for your meat).  Once they’re done, serve along side polenta or whatever you’d like and enjoy immediately!

Aimee got me a great cookbook for Christmas – Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc At Home and I immediately really began to enjoy  the organic, seasonal recipe that were featured in the book.  This is one of the first recipes that caught my eye, so I wanted to make it.  Braised chicken perhaps doesn’t do as well in the braising pot as beef or pork, but when you can keep the skin crispy and have a delicious piece of dark meat, it’s awesome.

This dish combines some excellent flavors that aren’t typically found in your typical braise – the first of which has to be one of my favorite vegetables – Fennel.  There’s also some good olives and the infusion of some lemon zest which adds a great kick.

Plus, there’s just something wholly comforting about a braise in the winter.  It makes you whole house or apartment smell awesome, yet is easy to make and even better to eat.  I served this over some simply cooked egg noodles and topped it with the chicken and braising liquid which I cooked down a bit after the chicken was done. I also added bacon to the equation (how can you go wrong, right?) which added a certain richness.  This version of the dish serves 2, so double or triple it if you’re cooking for a larger group.  Here’s how it’s done:

Serves 2

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 2 slices good quality bacon – cut into lardons
• 1/4 cup good dry white wine
• 1/2 – 1 cup good quality (low sodium) chicken stock (homemade preferred)
• 1 medium head fennel – stalks and end removed – layers separated and sliced lengthwise into 1/2″ spears
• 1 medium carrot – peeled and diced
• 1/2 a large yellow onion – diced
• 3 cloves garlic – diced
• 1/2 cup pitted green Spanish olives
• 2 peels of lemon zest (cut with a vegetable peeler)
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 tbsp. thyme leaves – off the stalks and chopped
• Splash of canola oil
• Salt to taste

Season the chicken with a little salt and preheat the oven to 375 F.  Prep the vegetables and heat a heavy bottomed braising pot or dutch oven over medium heat and add the canola oil.  When the oil is almost smoking, add the chicken, skin side down and cook for 5 minutes or so, until the skin nicely browned and crispy.  Flip and sear the skin on the other side for a minute or two.  Remove from the pot and place on a cooling wire rack or parchment paper.

Turn the heat down to medium/low and add the bacon.  Brown it for a few minutes and then add the onions and carrot. Cook the onion mixture for 5 minutes until they become soft and sticky.  Next add the fennel and garlic and cook for a solid 10 minutes until it becomes tender.

Turn up the heat a little bit and add in the wine and let the alcohol cook off for a couple minutes.  Next add in the olives, red pepper, lemon zest, bay leaf and thyme and stir to combine.  Taste the broth and season with salt as needs be.  Add in the chicken stock, then return the chicken to the pot skin side up and place into the oven.

Cook for around 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.  Remove the pot from the oven and turn on the broiler.  Place the chicken pot back into the oven under the broiler and crisp up the skin (making sure it’s out of the liquid) for a couple minutes being careful not to burn it.  Serve with the braising liquid over cooked egg noodles or rice or whatever you like.  Enjoy!