These are a treat.  Since I have been confided to the house with a pulverized ankle my cooking style has entirely changed.  I used to be in a tearing hurry ALL the time, no time to simmer or slow cook.  Now there's all day to simmer and slow cook and the results not only smell wonderful but taste pretty darn good too - these ribs are proof.  I braised them for about 3 1/2 hours on a low heat during the afternoon, whipped up some veggie mash (parsnips and potatoes and way too much butter) and had a happy family when they came home that evening. And the lovely thing about these luscious ribs is - they're SOOO easy to make.

Braised Beef Short Ribs.

4-5 lbsof bone in beef short ribs, trimmed of excess fat
2-3 tablespoons oliveoil
Saltand pepper
1teaspoon of cumin
1onion, finely chopped
3carrots, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1/2cup tomato ketchup
¼cup of Dijon mustard
1/3cup of soy sauce
¼cup of red wine
32oz beef stock
1tablespoon of room temperature unsalted butter
1tablespoon of cornstarch

Heatthe oven to 325F

Trimthe ribs of any excess fat.

Liberallysprinkle with salt and pepper and a touch a cumin.

Heata couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven or pot. 

Brownthe ribs until they have a nice crust, give yourself plenty of time, this cantake up to 30 minutes with 5 lbs of ribs. You will probably need to do this in batches, cover the browned ribswith aluminum foil while you are working on the next batch.

Whenthe ribs are browned, keep them covered with foil while you saute the onion andcarrots for approximately 5-8 minutes.

Addthe sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, wine and mustard, combine thoroughly. 

Placethe ribs back into the pot.  Gently pourover the beef stock.  Bring to the boil,turn down to a simmer.  Cover with atight fitting lid. 

Placein the oven and bake for approximately 3 1/2 hours or until the meat is falling offthe bones.

Removefrom the oven, spoon the ribs out of the pot and place on a warm servingplatter, cover with foil.

Skimoff any fat from the sauce in the pot. 

Ina small bowl mix the butter and the cornstarch to a paste.  Add a tablespoon of the sauce to thecornstarch mixture and combine well.  Addthis back to the sauce. Stir thoroughly and simmer for 5 minutes.

Toserve, place the mashed root vegetable on a large platter, lay the short ribson top of the mash, spoon over the sauce and sprinkle with parsley.

MashedRoot Vegetables.

4large baking potatoes
4large parsnips
1stick of butter

 4oz heavy cream or whole milk

Saltand pepper

Peelthe potatoes and parsnips and cut into medium sized chunks.

Bringa large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the potatoes and parsnips cook until very tender.

Drain,add the butter, salt, pepper and cream and mash until fluffy.  Add more butter or cream if needed.