Easter Dinner: Chef Sullivan's Braised Short Ribs

There is no better way to celebrate Easter Sunday than a nice, delicious dinner. Now, this Easter, I would only be cooking for me and the girlfriend, a whole ham seemed like overkill. But it being a holiday, I still wanted to enjoy a cut of meat I would not normally splurge on (I'm a $0.67/lb chicken guy normally). Well it just so happened that Basha's had some Managers Special (re: about to expire and less desirable pieces of that particular cut) beef short ribs. BOOM!!! Braised short ribs for dinner. For me, this is a revisit to a delicious recipe from Chef Sullivan's Basic Skills kitchen. I did a decent job back then, lets see what I can do now.

Components
-Short Ribs, floured and seasoned
-Mirepoix
-Dry White Sherry
-Beef Stock
-Roux

Preparation and Service
-Sear each of the 4 sides of the short ribs that had been floured
-Remove and saute mirepoix
-Deglaze with some dry white sherry
-Add back the short ribs and enough beef stock (though chicken will suffice) to cover the ribs
-Oven at 300*F until cooked through and TENDER (after all, that is why we are braising this shitty cut of meat). They can stay in forever and as long as there is liquid they will be moist
-Remove from oven and pan. Strain sauce
-Add a roux (I went between blond and brown) to the sauce to thicken.
-Add ribs back and simmer for a couple minutes.
-I served the ribs with a side of seasoned roasted potatoes and broccoli and carrots with a little sauce on top.
-Cabernet Sauvignon to drink

Impressions
These were definitely some good ribs considering what we started with. When I say this meat was cheap, I mean it. Gristle, a little too much marbling, and cut thin (about 1/2 inch as opposed to a typical short rib of 1"-1 1/2"). It was by no means perfect. Not much meat on the thin ribs. A couple thin gristle veins. But man that meat was moist as hell (that's what she said). The sauce from the braising was good but I should have checked the seasoning before hand, as it was a smidge short on pepper. But honestly, other than the starting quality of the meat, there were no flaws with this dish.

Next Time
-If you start with bad ingredients, you end up with a bad dish. So next time, better, thicker pieces of meat (that's also what she said).
-At school I almost obsessively check everything I make for seasoning. At home, for some reason I don't. I need to start doing that more often (though my British gf enjoys it when I'm a little light on the seasoning... but that is for another post).
-Seriously, I loved this dish. Even the sides accompanied it perfectly.

Final Thoughts
Final score on this dish is a 7.8 out of 10. A point lost for not being a snob and getting the best cut of meat I could. A true foodie will always use the best ingredients, and since I did not, negative points. Also a lost point for the lack of seasoning. But seriously, I can't think of anything I would do differently with preparation or service. Chef Sullivan's short rib recipe is a winner in flavor.