New Years Day 2015... the brunch

     We welcomed 2015 with our annual New Year's Day Brunch.  And I must ask, how do so many people take such stunning photos of their elaborate meals?  Documenting my brunch is usually an afterthought.  There is just too much going on in my kitchen!  Maybe next year I'll ask everyone attending to bring along their cameras (or phones) and click away.  I did, however, get a few shots of the celebration, and here they are!
     ABOVE... Gruyére Gougéres and Canelés de Bordeaux welcomed our guests, along with Pomegranate Champange Punch to wash it all down.

•  Pomegranate-Champagne Punch (recipe HERE)
•  Gougéres
•  Canelés de Bordeaux (recipe HERE)
•  Beer-Braised Beef Short Ribs with Corn Pancakes
•  Oranges with Vanilla and Rosemary (recipe HERE)
•  Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Walnuts (recipe HERE)
•  Tartine's Banana Cream Tart with Chocolate and Caramel

     My friend Lynn arrived early to assist me in the kitchen.  Without her help, we would have been eating hours later...  a New Year's Day dinner instead of brunch. 

     I have to admit, everything on the menu was pretty delicious!  I quadrupled the recipe for Beer-Braised Beef Short Ribs.  After braising the ribs, I was left with a huge pot of beer broth to reduce.  I did that very slowly, and was rewarded with a thick, dark, flavorful sauce for the shredded beef.
     I roasted enough of the Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Walnuts (recipe from Stacey Snacks) to have leftovers. The first thing I thought about this morning was heating up a bowl of the sprouts for breakfast.  Unfortunately for me, my husband was thinking the same thing.  I found the empty container in the sink...

    

• recipe from BREAKFAST for DINNER by Lindsay Landis & Taylor Hackbarth

Makes 4 servings

FOR THE SHORT RIBS
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds beef short ribs
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
• 1 (14.9-ounce) can beer, preferably a stout such as Guinness
• 1 cup beef broth
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

FOR THE PANCAKES
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels (I used frozen corn)
• Olive oil, for cooking
• 1 Granny Smith apple, diced

1.  Preheat oven to 300˚F.  Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add the ribs and sear for approximately 5 minutes, turning to brown evenly on all sides.  Transfer ribs to a plate.
2.  Reduce heat to medium and add the onions and jalapeños to the pot; cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add beer and broth, and cook briefly, stirring to remove any brown bits from the bottom of the pot.  Stir in the brown sugar, tomato paste, honey, cinnamon, cumin, salt, and pepper.  Add the short ribs and bring the mixture to a simmer.  Cover the pot and place on the middle rack of the preheated oven.  Bake for 2 1/2 hours, turning the ribs once, until the meat is very tender.  Remove ribs from liquid and when cool enough to handle and shred the meat. Dispose of bones and any fat.  Place the beef in an airtight container and refrigerate. 
3. Transfer the liquid to a large bowl or pitcher and refrigerate until cold and the fat has solidified on top. (You can do this up to a couple of days ahead as I did). Remove as much fat as possible from the liquid. 
4.  When ready to proceed with the recipe, return the liquid to a large saucepan and over medium heat, reduce the liquid by at least one-third.  I quadrupled my recipe and had a huge amount of liquid.  I reserved about 4 cups to freeze for future use, and reduced the remaining beer-broth liquid over medium-low heat to about half of its original amount.  I then stirred in the shredded beef, and simmered the mixture, until heated through. 
5.  While the broth was reducing, I mixed up the pancake batter.  Preheat oven to 200˚F.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and milk.  Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir until combined.  Fold in the corn kernels. 
6.  Pour a small amount of olive oil into a large, non-stick skillet (I prefer to use cast iron).  Heat over medium-high heat and when hot, drop batter into the skillet and spread into 3-inch rounds.  Cook until golden brown, flip and brown the other side.  Place the pancakes on a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while making additional pancakes.  To serve, top each pancake with the braised, shredded beef.  Sprinkle with diced Granny Smith apples.

                    Tartine's Banana Cream Tart with Chocolate and Caramel

     I always say, if anything happens to the main course... there's still dessert!  And this Banana Cream Tart was as good as I remember it being when I sampled a piece at Tartine in San Francisco several years ago.   After our brunch, there was one slice left.  When all of our guests departed, I ran into the kitchen and downed that remaining slice; no sharing by me.  It was probably pay-back when my husband left me with an empty brussels sprouts container. 

 

TAKE a LOOK: