Beef Ribs in Tomato Sauce + COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY!!!

A great cookbook that I'm SURE you would

(image source: The Pioneer Woman)

Sooooooo... I bought a cookbook by The Pioneer Woman a couple of months ago from Fishpond. But, what happened was that they sent me an extra copy by mistake. Yikes! I wasn't sure what to do with the extra copy so I e-mailed them to ask if it was okay for me to use it as a giveaway... And they said YES!

YIPPEEEEEE~~~ Thanks, Fishpond!!

The thing is, I am VERY particular with the cookbooks that I buy but there's so many reasons why I just knew deep down that THIS was the cookbook for me.

Her food is SO utterly delicious because it's the exactly type of food that people crave to eat. Shown in jaw-dropping photography. Plus, they're simple to do! Not to mention how incredibly funny she is. And if you've read her blog, you'll know what I mean. You'll also realise why that this woman is so spectacular in so many ways that it's no wonder she's one of the most popular food bloggers in the world. Period.

So! Want to win a copy of The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier? I'm going to make it very easy for you =)

Here's how to enter:

Simply leave a comment at the bottom.

As many times throughout the competition.

But max once per day.

Competition ends: 8pm, 22nd August (Wed)

Open to Australian residents only.

Winner will be selected at random.

AND... If you tweet this link OR like my Facebook page, you get 3 extra votes -- yay!

Feel free to let me know if you've commented and already a fan of my FB page. I'll know what to do. Best of luck to you all! =)

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To accompany this post, I've decided to share one of my ALL-TIME favourite recipes by The Pioneer Woman. There's so many to choose from, because I've made so many of her recipes by now and they've all been such a huge hit every single time, no kidding!

But, this Beef Ribs in Tomato Sauce has GOT to be one of the best. Takes long to cook, but honestly, very minimal effort. Final product is deeeeeliciously slow cooked beef ribs, where the meat just falls off the bone and fats/tendons/cartilage just melts in your mouth. All drizzled in seriously lip smackingly good sauce.

Now, THIS is why I love The Pioneer Woman's recipes and also why I'm sure you'd enjoy her cookbook as much as me. Do give this recipe a go, you won't be disappointed!

NOTE: By all means, you can choose to cook and braise the beef in a single dutch oven. But, if you're like me and don't own a dutch oven yourself, just cook it in a pan before transferring to a large oven proof casserole pot (like Corningware). Otherwise, a baking tray covered in aluminium foil would work too. Just as long as it's covered and beef is submerged in sauce as much as possible =)

Beef Ribs in Tomato Sauce

(slightly adapted from this recipe by The Pioneer Woman, serves 6)

Ingredients:

1.5 kg short (or beef) ribs *

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp sugar

5 cloves garlic, diced

1 whole onion, diced

1 cup red wine

2 cans (14 oz) whole tomatoes

1 can (14 oz) tomato sauce **

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

1/4 tsp dried herbs

500g fettuccine

Grated cheese ***

Minced fresh parsley

* I can never find short ribs so I just buy normal beef ribs and get the butcher to cut it to about 2.5 inch long pieces

** Or mix 3 tbsp tomato paste + water in the 14 oz can

*** I LOVE the Mexican Blend from Costco. Good in sharpness and gooeyness. My shredded cheese of choice

Method:

Preheat oven to 140degC. Heat olive oil in a heavy pot over medium to high heat. Sprinkle the ribs with salt and pepper.

Brown the ribs in oil, in batches until nice and golden. Very important for holding its shape cause we'll be braising for several hours in the oven! Remove to plate.

Throw garlic and onions into the pan. Stir to cook for a minute or two, then add tomatoes, tomato sauce, wine, salt, chilli flakes and thyme. Stir to combine.

With tongs, set short ribs back into the pan, submerging as much as possible in the sauce. Transfer to casserole pot. Cover pot and place in the oven. Cook for 3.5 - 4 hours. Short ribs should be tender and falling off the bone.

Remove ribs from the pot. Allow pot to cool, then refrigerate overnight. Just before serving, remove from the refrigerator and remove all the hardened fats/grease from the top. Discard. Return pot to stovetop or oven and warm it up.

Cook pasta as per packet instructions. Serve the sauce and beef ribs generously on a bed of cooked pasta. Sprinkle generously with shredded cheese and chopped parsley. DELICIOUSSSS!!!

As you can see, I didn't have fresh parsley but it does make a big difference!

SO yum I seriously could not contain myself

The "Knock You Naked" Brownies that I've blogged about (here) was also featured in this cookbook. Great!