Well, I’m back to normal, if you could call this normal.  I’m a bit of a complaining mess these days, being 8 months pregnant and all.  We ended up in the hospital in Labor & Delivery the other day for about 7 hours or so.  Luckily, my contractions stopped and the baby is still all snug-as-a-bug in my very large tummy.  Although I’m so ready to be done with this, I know she needs to stay in there a bit longer.  So, I will continue to whine, for about the next 8 weeks.

I joke that I’ve lost the ability to cook, but somehow dinners have still turned out ok lately.  I just seem to lose patience quickly.  However, this one was simple since most of the time is spent unattended in the oven.  I also admit, I didn’t use Melissa’s polenta recipe, but instead my own concoction.  It was terrific comfort food, even though I’m not sure my picture did it much justice.  Hence, why I work in IT and not in food photography.

Braised Country-Style Pork Ribs
courtesy of Melissa d’Arabian
serves 4 (or more, if you ask me!)

3 pounds bone-in country-style pork ribs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Pat the ribs dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and brown the ribs on all sides, working in batches if needed. Remove the ribs and set aside. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the Dutch oven and reduce the heat to medium. Add the onions, carrots, celery, salt, and pepper and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, to remove the raw flavor, about 3 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the vinegar, and then add the red pepper flakes and bay leaves.

Add the ribs back to the pan and add enough stock to reach halfway up the sides of the ribs. Bring the pan to a simmer, cover, and place in the oven. Braise until the meat is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. During the last half hour, uncover to allow the liquid to reduce and the pork to brown.

Serve the ribs with Creamy Polenta, spooning the sauce on top, and garnishing with parsley.

Margo’s Creamy Parmesan Polenta
serves 4

1 c instant polenta
2 c chicken broth
1 c half and half
1/4 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp light butter (I use Brummel & Brown)
salt and pepper

Bring chicken broth and half & half to a boil. Be careful not to burn the half & half. Add polenta and stir for 5 minutes, until cooked.

Add Parmesan cheese, butter, salt and pepper. Whisk well to combine.

~M