4 beef short ribs
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large dried chili, chopped
1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
2 shots espresso
3/4 cup red wine
Rehydrate the mushrooms in a bowl of water. Season the ribs with salt and pepper. In a heavy pot, heat some oil on medium high heat until the oil just starts to smile. Sear the ribs, meaty side down until they get a nice crust then take them out and set aside. If they're large, sear on a couple sides.
Lower the heat and in the same pot cook the garlic, chili and mushrooms for a couple minutes. Save some of the mushroom liquid. Pour in the wine, coffee and mushroom liquid. Raise the heat and reduce the liquid by half.
Lower the heat, put the ribs back in and cover the pot. Let it all simmer for 2 to infinity hours. The longer you let it simmer the more tender the ribs become. If your doorbell rings, it's your neighbors wanting to know what smells so good. As Mark Bittman says, these things are just sexy. Make them for someone you love.
Here's a link to Bittman's video blog on the NYTimes website where he makes this recipe: http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=b864e7ab2f2c7ed5ba373917696c67b14555cc2f
