Helloooo!!

Long time, no see! We are home safely...tanned and relaxed from the honeymoon. In fact, we've been back for the last week. Jumping back into the real world was rough, but I think we're into the swing of things again now that we've gotten some rest.

I still haven't posted all of the honeymoon pictures on Flickr yet. I'm only on the first couple of days worth. There's been a lot to do since we've gotten back. And yes, besides sleeping! Besides restocking our grocery supply, getting things winterized outside, and taking our rings in for appraisals and mine for saudering together, this weekend we went out shopping with some of the gift cards from the wedding to purchase some of our remaining registry items. And then yesterday, we started unpacking our wedding gifts. Long story short, the house is a disaster right now. We have some major reorganization to do, as we have a lot more "stuff" now then we did before and we have a lot of old "stuff" we are boxing up. Case in point....

You know all that paper Crate & Barrel wraps glasses in? Well, I was working on our own Eiffel Tower.


While wading through all the boxes, paper, and gifts yesterday (and yes, the house still looks like this today), Nate tried his hand at a Short Rib Stew recipe from the latest issue of Food & Wine magazine. This turned out to be the perfect recipe for a chilly fall day. We both were impressed with the way it turned out...the red wine and beef flavors meld very well and the parsnips and mushrooms (no, Nate didn't eat any) add a slightly different twist. Nate ended up cooking the beef short ribs for about 4 hours, much longer than the recipe states, which had the beef falling apart. Yum! Here's a look at our leftovers:

I wanted to pass along this recipe, as it comes highly recommended from us! Either click the link above or here's the recipe:

Short Rib Stew

Ingredients

1. 3 1/2 pounds boneless beef short ribs, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2. 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3. 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4. 2 cups dry red wine
5. 3 cups veal or chicken stock
6. 6 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch dice
7. 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
8. 3 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
9. 1 large onion, cut into 1-inch dice
10. 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, quartered
11. 1 tablespoon thyme leaves, chopped
12. 8 sage leaves, coarsely chopped
13. Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. In a large bowl, toss the short ribs with the flour. In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the oil. Working in batches, cook the short ribs over moderately high heat until browned all over, about 6 minutes per batch. Discard the oil.
2. Return the meat and any juices to the casserole. Add the wine and boil until reduced by half, 8 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat until the meat is tender, 2 hours.
3. Skim any fat from the stew. Stir in the carrots, potatoes, parsnips, onion, mushrooms, thyme and sage. Cover and simmer over low heat until the vegetables are tender, about 35 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

[Recipe by Ethan Stowell, www.foodandwine.com]

Enjoy!