Usually, on the weekend, we cook one good meal and either go out or piece together other meals one night. So for this past holiday weekend, we cooked three decent meals. Since this was the holiday weekend, we planned two "new" recipes and, since it was New Year's Day also - we cooked our standard NYD menu for dinner.

On Saturday Night, I knew we would be watching football all day ( Go Dawgs! ), and the TV in our Den is easily watchable from most sport in the kichen so I didn't mind a good 2 hr-ish recipe. I have wanted to try this one for a while, so I decided to dive in:

Beef Short Rib Bourguignon With Garlicky Panko Gremolata
( https://food52.com/recipes/83128-beef-short-rib-bourguignon-recipe )

I was worried we would not be able to find short ribs on such short notice ( we went shopping that morning ), and I was surprised to see two packs which totaled around 2.5 lbs. Braising them was easy; overall, the recipe was pretty easy and time-consuming. Lindsey got me some new cookware for Christmas ( I will write up about it sometime, it's magical ), so it was nice getting to try it out along with the La Cruset that I don't get to use much.

Process:

A Picture showing beef along with a small bowl of onions and garlic and a jar of Duck Fat
A Picture showing beef in a sauntee sauce
A Picture showing Gremolata being made
A Picture showing beef in a large Le Crusete pot in an oven

Result:

Final version of Beef Short Rib Bourguignon With Garlicky Panko Gremolata

New Year's Day was our usual fare. We do the patented Southern NYD formula that includes Black Eyed Peas, Collard Greens, Cornbread, and Pork Chops and tossed an extra Pineapple we had on there also. Pretty solid meal.

Mine:

A plate with black eyed peas, collard greens and a pork chop with a piece of pineapple on top of it

Finally, on the 2nd, I decided I wanted to try this recipe:

Chicken Vesuvio
( https://damndelicious.net/2022/12/26/chicken-vesuvio/ )

I have never made a Vesuvio before, and this looked like an excellent time to try. I am a big fan of Chungah's blog, and this recipe has been waiting for a while. I needed a night when I wasn't working and had time to try it. I did not cook the potatoes with the meal ( did them separate in the oven), and they came out fine, although I wish I had started them a little later in the recipe. They were not dry, per se, but I should have incorporated them into the meal or started them later in the process so they didn't sit out as much. There was also a bit of the leftover white wine drank during the cooking, which could have easily played a part.

A plate of chicken Vesuvio with potatoes and peas

All in all, it was a good weekend for cooking.