Day 1: Braised Short Ribs and Swedish Creme

My first adventure went pretty well, I have to say so myself.  I made red wine braised short ribs in the slow cooker with roasted veggies and Swedish creme for dessert.  For the recipes look on the "Recipes" tab above.  We were having some friends over for dinner so I thought it was a great chance to try something new and a little bit more luxurious than every day life.  I spent most of the day cooking and cleaning, I'll admit, but I couldn't help but be happy the whole time.  Cooking a new recipe always comes with that thrilling feeling of not knowing how things will turn out.  I was pretty nervous when I pulled those short ribs out of the slow cooker, but the meat was falling off the bone.  I couldn't believe how good they looked!  I roasted some potatoes, carrots, and asparagus and made a reduction of the sauce out of the slow cooker.

Drum roll please....My guests said they loved it! Everyone was talking about how tender the meat was.  My personal favorite part was the sauce.  It was like an amazing, clean gravy with a great red-wine background.  After dinner everyone cleaned up and it was time for dessert.  I'll admit, I love Swedish Creme.  I was a little nervous at first because the creme turned out more bubbly than I was used to, but in the end it produced a great mousse-like consistency which I particularly loved.  One of my guests suggested adding some Grand Mariner to the creme.  I thought that was a great suggestion.  The little hint of alcohol would have added a great sharpness to the creme, especially with the hint of citrus.

Anyway, its time for bed now.  I hope my second day of this food-venture goes as well as the first!  On the menu for tomorrow:  chicken empanadas with beans and rice.