Hand, Foot, and Mouth…Oh My!

The cousins are down for the count…Hendley and MR have Hand-Foot-and-Mouth Disease. The virus is common in infants and toddlers and is characterized by fever, sores in the mouth, and a rash with blisters. Poor Hendley has the rash all over her body. For the most part, MR has managed to escape the painful rash and sores, but has had a fever for most of the day. This morning, her fever spiked to 103 °F, causing Henney Penney quite a scare! With the help of Tylenol, we’ve been able to keep it down to 100 °F. Needless to say, little Miss Mary Reese spent most of the day resting in her crib. Sadie took full advantage of her absence and once again took over her playmat…

The Carly Cooking Show continued at the Harvey household tonight. Tonight’s meal: braised beef short ribs, brown rice, and buttermilk cornbread. The meal was delicious! The beef was tender, the cornbread sweet, and the leftover gravy from the ribs went perfect with the rice. I hate to admit it, but I’m actually enjoying my time in the kitchen!

Braised Beef Short Ribs (not a quick and easy meal, but worth the effort and time):

12 beef short ribs, bone-in
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup grapeseed oil or olive oil
1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 750-ml bottle good dry red wine (we used a zinfandel)
6 cups beef stock

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Season ribs. Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed ovenproof pan over high heat. Add ribs and brown on all sides (about 1 minute per side). Work in batches if you need to so that the ribs don’t get crowded (this will help with browning).

2 Transfer ribs to a plate. Add the onions, celery, and carrots to the pan and sauté, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Pour off excess fat, then add the wine, deglazing the pan, scraping off any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the wine by three-quarters until thick and slightly syrupy, about 15 minutes.

3 Return the ribs to the pan, add the beef stock and enough water to cover the ribs. Bring to a boil, cover with foil, and place in the oven. Cook in the oven 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until the meat is fork-tender. Allow the ribs to cool in the liquid, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

4 The next day, remove the excess fat that has solidified at the top from the overnight chilling. Place the pan with the ribs and cooking liquid over medium heat, uncovered. Cook until the liquid has reduced by three-quarters, about 1 hour. Continue to cook, spooning the sauce over the ribs, until the sauce is thick and ribs are glazed. Take care not to burn the glaze; move the ribs around in the pan to keep them from burning.

This cornbread is love in an 8×8 pan; quick, easy, and delicious!!!

Buttermilk Cornbread:

1/4 pound butter
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch square pan.
2 Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3 Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

MR didn’t hesitate to pick up the phone to check on Hendley

MR going strong at 9 p.m (hence my late blog posting)