Dining with Andrew Woods

Simone Ellin

For Andrew Woods, 28, cooking is all about family — his family of origin and the family of friends he has built since moving to Baltimore in 2010. A development professional for The Associated, Woods became passionate about cooking after his mother passed away in 2004.

“I didn’t want to lose the recipes I grew up with as a child in Charleston,” he says. So Woods wrote down all his mother’s recipes from memory and then prepared them over and over until he got them right. The project led to many dinner parties, a cooking blog and a digital cookbook called, “Join Me For Supper.” See it at http://www.joinmeforsupper.com.

Here, Woods shares one of his signature dishes — braised short ribs of beef bourguignon. “It’s a French version of flanken,” he explains.

Braised Short Ribs of Beef Bourguignon

4-6 lbs. bone-in or boneless short ribs of beef or flanken
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons vegetable oil or plain olive oil, not extra virgin
2 large leeks, cleaned, sliced thinly
3 carrots, sliced, 4 large stalks of celery, sliced, 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 sprigs thyme, 3 bay leaves
2 cups Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz
4 cups excellent quality beef stock or broth
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Season ribs with salt and pepper. Dredge ribs in the flour. Drizzle oil in braising pan or large frying pan. Sear ribs on all sides over medium-high heat until browned. Do this in batches. Set aside seared ribs in large glass baking dish or platter. Add a few more tablespoons of oil to pan. Add aromatic vegetables and herbs to oil. Cook until slightly softened. Add wine and stir thoroughly, getting all browned bits from bottom of pan. Allow wine to reduce almost completely, until almost evaporated. Add beef stock, stirring until combined. Allow to come to simmer.

3. If you’re using a Dutch oven, add the meat to the vegetables, cover tightly with the lid and braise in the preheated oven for 4 hours. If you’re using a large baking dish, arrange ribs in the dish and cover with the liquid and vegetables. It should just fit. Cover tightly with foil. Place baking dish over a foil-lined sheet pan to catch any liquid that bubbles over and allow to cook in the oven for 4 hours.

4. After 4 hours, remove meat carefully. Arrange on baking dish and return to oven. Strain liquid into large saucepan, discarding vegetables. Remove as much fat as possible with ladle or fat separator. Simmer 15 minutes over high heat, stirring carefully. It should thicken slightly. Finish with freshly chopped parsley. Arrange ribs on plates or serving platter, spoon sauce over ribs and reserve remaining sauce for table. Serve with simple egg noodles or mashed potatoes.

Photo captions:
(David Stuck)

December 2012