Beef Short Ribs with Tagliatelle

I’m pretty sure Giada DeLaurentis is a bit of a diva (and I’m speaking from personal experience here), but I have to thank her for this very easy Short Ribs with Tagliatelle. I am no stranger to beef short ribs. In fact, it is pretty much my signature dish, and I’ve applied my technique for cooking ribs to all different sorts of tough meat, like these Red Wine Braised Lamb Shanks.

Last night, I had some friends over and wanted to try something new. This short rib preparation had far fewer steps than my own beef short rib recipe, so I was skeptical. Boy, was I projecting my own issues on this recipe or what?! The short ribs turned out just as tender and luscious as I’d hoped. The sauce was savory, warming and full or flavor. I found a great dried tagliatelle at my local Italian butcher shop, and that turned out to be very filling and rich. All in all, we could only eat one bowl, for fear of exploding. We did, however, chow down a few slices of bread used to clean the bowl.

I did make a few mistakes when I served this. First, we laid out a plate of cheeses for appetizers. My guests brought back some lovely finds from their recent trip to Italy, including a recipe for a plate of parmasean cheese, honey and pine nuts. It was divine, but very filling. Second, I served My Own Personal Secret Dessert Weapon for dessert. Both the cheese before and pudding after dinner made it so we really couldn’t move at the end of the evening. Next time I serve this, I will do some fresh radishes or fennel with olive oil for a starter and a dessert of fresh fruit with a touch of mascarpone.

This was a perfect recipe for a Saturday afternoon. It took me about 20 minutes to get things going, then you simply cook for three hours. When the meat falls off the bone, I shredded it and returned it to the thick red sauce in the pan, leaving the pan to sit over extra-low heat to simply keep warm. When we were ready to eat dinner, I boiled the water and tossed in the pasta. Ten minutes later, dinner was served. So easy.