There is an old saying, that I believe in wholeheartedly. “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” (By the way, that goes both ways, too. I knew  my husband was the one for me, when he made me a breakfast of pancakes with fresh raspberries, that nearly made me weep!) My husband and I met in college, when we lived in a house with several other roommates. Our relationship evolved backwards: he moved into my house, we became friends, he moved into a different house, then we started dating, and eventually got married. A little unusual perhaps, but sixteen years later, I can say that it worked out well for us.

While we were roommates, my husband pretty much lived off my cooking. Everything I knew about cooking, I learned from my mother, and my aunts; lovely, lunatic southern women, who are genetically incapable of cooking moderate quantities of anything. My sister, cousins, and I have all inherited this affliction, I’m afraid. If we cook, we cook a lot. We cook enough to feed a family of six to eight lumberjacks, no matter what the occasion. So even back in college, I always made far more than I should have; allowing my now husband, then good pal, to come to the realization that whatever my faults may be, I would never let him go hungry. I love making special meals for my loved ones, and Valentine’s Day is a perfect holiday to go the extra mile in the kitchen. Now this recipe isn’t particularly difficult, but it takes a little bit of time, so be aware of your start time. You will need about forty minutes to sear the ribs, and caramelize the onions before these go into the oven to start the main cooking, which takes about three hours. The first time I made this, I didn’t really think about that, and I started making this at 4:00 PM and ended up making grilled cheese sandwiches for my starving family at 7:30 , with the ribs still cooking in the oven. (They were delicious the next evening, though!) I recommend serving these with smashed red potatoes, or egg noodles. They taste incredible, and the sauce will make your eyes roll back in your head.  This is definitely a recipe that is made with love, and that comes through with every bite!

INGREDIENTS

• 3 1/2 pounds boneless short ribs , trimmed of excess fat
•  Kosher salt and ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 large onions , peeled and sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 6 medium garlic cloves , peeled
• 2 cups red wine (see note)
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 lb. baby carrots
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1/2 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Pat beef dry with paper towels and season with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until smoking. Add half of beef and cook, without moving, until well browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Turn beef and continue to cook on second side until well browned, 4 to 6 minutes longer, reducing heat if fat begins to smoke. Transfer beef to medium bowl. Repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and meat.
• 2. Reduce heat to medium, add onions, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. (If onions begin to darken too quickly, add 1 to 2 tablespoons water to pan.) Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it browns on sides and bottom of pan, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Increase heat to medium-high, add wine and simmer, scraping bottom of pan with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits, until reduced by half, 8 to 10 minutes. Add broth, carrots, thyme, and bay leaf. Add beef and any accumulated juices to pot; cover and bring to simmer. Transfer pot to oven and cook, using tongs to turn meat twice during cooking, until fork slips easily in and out of meat, 2 to 2½ hours.
• 3. Place water in small bowl and sprinkle gelatin on top; let stand at least 5 minutes. Using tongs, transfer meat and carrots to serving platter and tent with foil. Strain cooking liquid through fine-mesh strainer into fat separator or bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Allow liquid to settle about 5 minutes and strain off fat. Return cooking liquid to Dutch oven and cook over medium heat until reduced to 1 cup, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in gelatin mixture; season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over meat and serve.