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The entire process with pictures is located at http://fotocuisine.com/2008/02/24/braised-beef-shortribs-4/

(this is written to be seen with the pictures at the above address)
So. Braising.I've hit a lot of classical cooking in the last few months or so, trying to add some knowledge to my cooking improv. However, most of my experimentation has been in sauces, from mother- to derivative-, with just a bit of French technique.

I recently bought Tom Colicchio's Think Like a Chef (he of the Top Chef hosting). Colicchio, though a four-star chef, started from no classical training, and never got around to the CIA. So, his cookbook is not necessarily about classical recipes, but more about techniques of classic cooking. Since I tend to ignore recipes, but am intrigued by techniques, I think his is the most interesting cookbook I've read in the last year.

One of his big techniques as a meat-centric chef is braising. I have never really braised, at least as a formal technique, and real meat like beef, as opposed to the quicker (yet still classic) techniques of seafood.
So, I bought some beef shortribs, and here we go:Trimmed shortribs, parsnips, carrots, onions, celery And, of course, five or so cloves of garlic Chopped with thyme Shortribs are salted and peppered Browned on all sides Veggies get tossed in a pan Clean some red jalapenos and toss into the veggies at the last minute Preheated oven at 350, I put the ribs and veggies together Added beef stock and red wine vinegar Not covering the ribs, but enough to bring liquid up to the sides The broth should barely simmer in the oven. After a half hour or so, I dropped the temp to 300. I turned the ribs, then cooked for another hour and a half, and midway through, I dropped the oven to 275. Basically, a very, very slow simmer (a couple bubbles trickling up consistently).

So, after a few hours, I removed the veggies and ribs Reduced the sauce in a pan by half, then (after feeding both kids, giving baths, putting to bed, making martinis, and other important life-activities...) added the ribs and veggies back to the reduced broth...merely to warm back up