Short ribs with bourbon, baby bellas, and shallots

YES, WE JUST FINISHED GRADING PAPERS for the semester, but that's not why we're turning to Jim Beam.

I manage to collect a variety of magazines this time of year, all of them touting holiday recipes and sure-fire ways to please your family and amaze your friends. All sorts of instruction and helpful hints: sixteen nifty ways to wrap presents with colored cellophane and cheesecloth remains; how to turn a block of cheddar and a Maraschino cherry into a Rudolph silhouette . . . which is perhaps why I found myself spending a little time reading about old cookbooks and recipes in a copy of Early American Life.

In that lovely magazine, I came across a recipe for stew from Leslie Mansfield's "Lewis and Clark Cookbook," in which bourbon flavored the sauce. Intriguing! I thought, and at the next field trip into town, I bought six hearty short ribs, a package of baby bella mushrooms, and a bottle of Jim Beam. I seared the ribs in a little corn oil in a Dutch oven, removed them, added the mushrooms, then added a bunch of small shallots a friend had given me. I returned the ribs to the pot, added 2 cups of beef broth and 1/2 cup of bourbon. Covered and simmered for about two hours. Then, I removed the ribs, added yet another 1/2 cup of Jim Beam, cooked another three or four minutes, stirring up all the goodness, thickened the sauce with a little roux, and cooked a bit more. Served at once, accompanied by a few scoops of roasted potatoes, carrots and red onions. Quite nice.

A fatty dish, short ribs aren't something to consume on a regular basis. But the bourbon gave the sauce a marvelous, hearty note, and a little nip added to reductions for beef will take the ordinary one step beyond.

Image from www.jimbeam.com