Braised Short Ribs

One of my new years resolutions is to cook more meat (even though I don't really eat meat). Braised short ribs always seemed like a complicated dish to me because the meat is so tender and flavorful. Turns out, it is incredibly easy. A few ingredients and just one pot. Unless you are like me and don't have roasting pan... then you have to take it from pan to oven-safe dish and back to pan. Either way, it is delicious.

My short ribs look a little different from the blog I got it from- I guess it's a different cut. I have no idea what part of the animal this is, I just asked the butcher for "short ribs" and he gave me these. Uhhh I will recommend trimming the fat before you cook them because these had a very very healthy amount of fat.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

I didn't really grow up eating brussel sprouts, but I haven't ever heard any good things about them. My sister made these roasted brussel sprouts and I was hooked. I've been making these consistently for about 2 years for everyone, including so-called brussel sprouts haters. The outer leaves are crispy and the insides are mellow, sweet and slightly bitter. The balsamic vinegar is sort of sweet too and I love the crunchy salt. Definitely something you should try.

Crab Cakes

I was stuck in LAX for a few hours on my way to JFK and the only thing in the Virgin America terminals was Burger King, Starbucks and Gladstone's. I ended up in Gladstones with a crab cake sandwich. It was bland with very little crab. When I got back home, I had to make a good crab cake. The recipe includes an avocado sauce, but I skipped it.

crab cake + arugula + red onions + egg + balsamic vinegar + olive oil

The previous recipes I've made involve frying the crab cakes, but this one has you bake them. The bread crumbs are tossed with the butter so they're still crisp. I finished mine in the toasted oven for a few more minutes to get a nicer crust.

Toffee Saltine Bark

all you need to make delicious toffee

Toffee is one of my favorite guilty pleasures.... unfortunately my previous sugar candy making endeavors resulted in grainy junk, but this is a really easy recipe. You probably have all the ingredients. The addition of saltine crackers was kinda weird, but it fits in the salty+sweet combination. Be sure to eat within a few days or the crackers get stale. I upped the salty+sweet factor by liberally sprinkling sea salt on top, yum.

Chive Biscuits

My sister made these chive biscuits for thanksgiving dinner and they were pretty good except they were SO dang buttery (in a bad way). They also weren't very flaky so I decided to make them myself. Well... mine didn't turn out super flaky either, but they didn't taste as buttery (in a good way).

I thought I'd made a pretty good biscuit until I had the chicken + biscuit at Pies n Thighs. If you are ever within 100 miles of this place, you gotta go and get their chicken biscuit ($5). It will blow your MIND! It made my biscuit taste like a rock... sigh. I will have to continue trying out biscuit recipes now that I know what biscuits can taste like.