Ultimate Beef Short Ribs and Salt Potatoes

Tonight my fiance Eric and I had a celebration dinner.  After a year of hating my job, I have finally been offered an amazing job that will solve all of my problems!  It's not so much that I hate the job I have now, it's just that I work opposite hours from Eric, and we never get to see each other.  Obviously, the already arduous task of planning a wedding becomes drastically less surmountable when you never even see your partner.  So, after recently viewing Tyler Florence make his recipe for "Bistro Style Short Ribs," I decided it would be the perfect recipe for celebrating my accomplishment and our subsequent happiness!

First, the Short Ribs...

Ingredients:
Extra virgin olive oil
2 lbs. beef short ribs
Kosher salt and pepper  
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large tomato, quartered
3 ribs celery   
1/2 head garlic, peeled
1/4 bunch fresh thyme
1 1/2 cups dry red wine (I used Jeunette Rouge from Les Bourgeois)
2 cups low-sodium beef stock
Parsley for garnish

Preheat a cast iron skillet.  Season the short ribs with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and brown on all sides.

Place the onion, garlic, celery, carrot, and tomato into a food processor and blend until you reach a consistent, smooth pulp.

Take a large Dutch oven and place over medium-high heat.  Add 3 tables spoons olive oil and add the thyme to infuse the oil.  Next add the vegetable pulp, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 10 minutes.

Pour in the red wine and stock and bring it to a boil.  Using tongs take the ribs and nestle them into the braising mix.  Place the lid loosely on top, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the meat is very tender, approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

When the ribs are about finished, remove about 1 to 2 cups of liquid and strain into a small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Heat the sauce until slightly reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes.  Serve your short ribs with a dollop of sauce and some parsley.  Time to celebrate!

Let's not forget the delicious salt potatoes! What exactly are salt potatoes? They are potatoes boiled in briny water.  There is so much salt in the water that the boiling temperature is higher than usual, resulting in a potato with a crunchy crust and a super creamy center!

Ingredients:
2 pounds small potatoes (I used baby Yukon golds)
2 1/4 cups kosher salt (That's more than a pound and a half of salt!)
1 stick unsalted butter

Put the potatoes along with the salt and 8 cups of water in a large pot.  Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, the reduce to medium and simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 30 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and shake to remove excess water.  Let the skins dry in the colander so that some of the salt crystalizes.
Serve with melted butter for dipping.