Pomegranate Braised Short Ribs #FoodieExtravaganza

Pomegranate braised short ribs are tender and rich with the sweet and sour sharpness of the pomegranate molasses perfectly complementing the melt-in-your-mouth beef. You'll want to eat this sauce with a spoon!

Pomegranate molasses is nothing more than pomegranate juice cooked down until it has reduced to the point of being thick and syrupy. If you can’t find any in your local grocery store, it’s easy enough to make at home. Some brands add sugar, which is not necessarily a bad thing if they don’t add too much, but you do want to make sure that the sweet doesn’t overpower the sour. Good pomegranate molasses should have a solid sour punch.

I must confess that although it seems ubiquitous in online recipes lately, I had never heard of pomegranate molasses until just a few years ago, when we moved to Egypt. They have a fabulous dish made with chicken livers, well seasoned with ground spices and quick fried till still pink inside. Just near the end of cooking time, pomegranate molasses is added to the hot pan. It dries up quickly in the high heat and coats the chicken livers with a sticky slick of sweet and sour. Divine. And now I’ve made myself hungry for those again!

Unlike the chicken livers, pomegranate braised short ribs are cooked long and slow, in a lovely mixture of pomegranate molasses, beef stock and fresh rosemary. The succulent rib meat absorbs the flavors of the liquids and releases its own meaty juices into the resulting savory sauce. Serve this over a bed of fluffy couscous, sprinkled with extra pomegranate arils and some chopped cilantro for pop and a fresh bright finish.

Pomegranate Braised Short Ribs

Ingredients – to serve four
2 lbs or about 900g beef short ribs, cut in four pieces
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
13 1/4 oz or 375g small onions, peeled (see tip below) or substitute chopped onions
1 cup or 240ml beef stock
1/2 cup or 120ml pomegranate molasses
3-4 small sprigs fresh rosemary
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut in short pieces

To serve:
Small bunch cilantro, chopped
Some pomegranate arils
Couscous – check out my easy instructions here.

Tip: To peel small or pearl onions, bring a pot of water to the boil. Add the onions and boil for 1-2 minutes. Drain the pot and put the onions in a bowl of cold water and ice to stop the cooking process. Drain again. Cut the ends off of the onions with a sharp knife and squeeze them out of their skins.

Method
Season the short ribs liberally with the salt and pepper. Heat a large pan (that has a tight-fitting lid) over a medium high fire and sear the short ribs on all sides until lovely and golden, starting with the side with the most fat. This will render that fat, helping all of the sides to brown. (If your short ribs don't have much fat, you can add in a little canola or olive oil.)

Remove the ribs from the pan. Add the peeled onions with a splash of the beef stock and sauté them for a minute or two, loosening up the sticky stuff on the pot from the ribs.

Pour in the pomegranate molasses and stir. Put the ribs back in the pot and spoon the pomegranate molasses over them to coat.

Tuck in the rosemary sprigs and pour in the rest of the beef stock. Cover the pot and simmer until the beef short ribs are tender, about 1 1/2 hours, check the liquid level occasionally, adding a little water if necessary.

Baste the ribs with the sauce from time to time and turn them over halfway through.

Add in the carrots and cook, covered until they are tender too, about 20 minutes.

Remove the lid and cook the sauce down until it begins to thicken, spooning the sauce over the ribs occasionally.

Depending on how fatty your short ribs were, you might need to skim some of the fat off of the top of your sauce. If you have time, in fact, you can even chill the dish at this point, making the fat easier to remove once it is cold. If you choose this option, gently rewarm the short ribs in the sauce and continue with the next step before serving.

Garnish with chopped cilantro and pomegranate arils. Serve over couscous.

Enjoy!

This month my Foodie Extravaganza group is celebrating rib recipes. Many thanks to our host, Sneha from Sneha's Recipes for this great theme and all of the behinds-the-scenes work. Who doesn't love ribs, am I right?

• Canh Suon Khoai Tay (Vietnamese Spare Rib Soup) by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Chinese Spare Ribs (Slow Cooker) by Caroline's Cooking
• Pomegranate Braised Short Ribs by Food Lust People Love
• Singaporean Coffee Spare Ribs by Sneha's Recipe
• Slow Cooker Chinese Spare Ribs by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sticky Pork Ribs by Palatable Pastime

Foodie Extravaganza celebrates obscure food holidays or shares recipes with the same ingredient or theme every month.

Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook group Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you!

If you're a reader looking for delicious recipes, check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board!

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How to Cook Couscous + 4 Easy Recipes with Couscous

Tired of rice, potatoes and pasta? Try couscous! It's super easy to make and goes great with a variety of hot dishes. Couscous also makes a great addition to salad. Check out the gorgeous (and healthy) fish steamed on spicy couscous below.

You can find the recipe by clicking here or on the photo above.

First, let me say, that "How to Cook Couscous" is a misnomer here. Although the packaging doesn't necessarily say it, most of the couscous you can buy in a normal grocery store - and the one I use all the time - is instant couscous. Authentic Moroccan couscous takes much longer and is meant to be steamed. For instructions for that method, check out this post on The Spruce.

Instant couscous, on the other hand, takes mere minutes to make, which is why we added it to our family repertoire when we lived in Paris way back in the 1990s. It's been a favorite ever since. Those were the days of a toddler and a newborn, with a big house to keep tidy, laundry to stay on top of and grocery shopping done mostly on foot, with children in tow.

If there were ever a time when a busy parent needed instant couscous, that was it. I could cook couscous and add in a some frozen peas with the hot water (for color and nutrition!) and the toddler was happy to call that lunch. Of course, we didn't call them peas. It was Couscous with Little Green Balls, a happy, fun dish, beloved by all. Sometimes I used chicken stock in place of the water (and eliminated the salt) to add even more flavor.

Tip: If you don't use couscous very often, store it in a sealed bag your freezer. This will stop it from getting a stale or slightly rancid flavor.

Ingredients - for 4 cups of couscous
2 cups or 370g wheat couscous – medium grain
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt
Just boiled water to cover - a good rule of thumb is about 1- 1 1/4 cups water for each cup of couscous. So for 2 cups of couscous, add 2 - 2 1/2 cups of water, depending on if you like it drier and fluffier or a little more moist. Either way, it should still fluff up.

Method
Put the couscous in a bowl with the salt and butter. Add enough hot - but not quite boiling - water to cover it. Give the whole thing a quick stir, then seal the top of the bowl with cling film and then drape a towel over the top and set aside for at least 10 minutes. Or laissez gonfler - leave it to swell - as the French say.

The couscous will soften and double in size. When it's done, fluff it with a fork and keep covered till needed.

Now you know how to cook couscous. Wasn't that easy?

Use it to make the steamed fish with spicy couscous pictured at the top or serve warm with the Butterflied Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon, below. All the lovely lemony drippings off the golden roasted chicken add even more flavor to the couscous on the plate.

Rosemary Lemon Chicken with Couscous

This Moroccan Style Lentil Chickpea Stew is also a winner served with couscous.

Moroccan Style Lentil and Chickpea Stew

Or let your couscous cool and add it to a dressed salad with pan-fried chicken and broccoli that's filling enough to be the meal!

Broccoli Chicken Couscous Salad with Radishes and Tomatoes

What are your favorite dishes to serve with couscous?

Boozy Red White and Blue Fruit Salad

Not so much of a recipe as a way to add flavor and sweetness, the flavored alcohol makes this boozy red white and blue fruit salad a great adult treat at any summer picnic.

Much of the year, I need to add a little sugar to fruit salad to make it more palatable. But during the summer, sweeter fruit eliminates the need for sugar and opens up other options for adding zip (and just a little sweetness) to a simple summer fruit salad. Namely, booze!

Some of my favorite choices are Pimm's No. 1, Cointreau or Grand Marnier, but you could also use limoncello or whatever else you have on hand. That pretty pink liquid up there is the strawberry-infused vodka I made for Sunday Supper. It's really lovely and super easy to make.

Note: If you want to make this kid-friendly, make very light syrup by boiling 1/2 cup or 120ml water and only 1/4 cup or 50g sugar and infusing it with the fruit of your choice. Leave to cool then strain out the mushy solids and discard them.

This week my Sunday Supper group is sharing colorful red, white and blue recipes that would be perfect for Fourth of July so I chose my fruit accordingly. Feel free to substitute whatever is fresh and sweet in every season.

Boozy Red White and Blue Fruit Salad

Ingredients
Juice of 1/2 lemon – about 3-4 teaspoons
1 Red Delicious apple
6 oz or 170g blueberries, rinsed
8.8 oz or 250g strawberries, hulled and rinsed
8.8 oz or 250g melon, already peeled and seeded
1 dragonfruit, peeled
1/2 cup or 120ml fruit-flavored liquor of your choice (or a mix!)

Method
Since lemon juice will stop chopped apples from browning, start by juicing your half lemon into the salad bowl. Core your apple and chop it in to small pieces, adding them to the bowl and stirring to coat them with the lemon juice.

Chop the rest of the fruit (not the blueberries!) into small pieces and stir them all in with the apple. Add in the liquor of your choice. For this batch, I chose a mixture of the strawberry-infused vodka I made for a Sunday Supper post and Cointreau – so strawberries and orange.

Stir gently. Cover with cling film and chill till ready to serve. If you think about it, give the bowl another gentle stir or two while it’s chilling.

You can serve this along with a cheese platter at the end of your summer meal or just in bowls with a spoon. Either way, enjoy!

Looking for more red, white blue recipes?

Patriotic Picnic Picks

• American Flag Layered Dip by Soulfully Made
• Baked Blueberry Pancake with Cherry Syrup by Pies and Plots
• Gluten Free Blueberry Almond Coffee Cake by Cricket’s Confections
• Blueberry Cherry Chia Pudding Parfaits by Daily Dish Recipes
• Blueberry Watermelon Salad by The Crumby Cupcake
• Boozy Red, White and Blue Fruit Salad by Food Lust People Love
• Healthy Greek Yogurt Parfait with Summer Fruit by Confessions of an Over-worked Mom
• Patriotic Slaw by Our Good Life
• Red White and Blueberry Dinner Salad by Cooking With Carlee
• Red, White and Blue Deviled Eggs by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Tomato, Cucumber and Bleu Cheese Salad by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Liberating Desserts

• American Flag Fruit Tart by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Blueberry Strawberry Swirl Sherbet by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Key Lime Cream Puffs by Gourmet Everyday
• Patriotic Low Carb Vanilla Mousse in the Instant Pot by My Life Cookbook
• Red White & Blue Bundt Cake by Restless Chipotle
• Red White and Blue Banana Ice Cream by The Bitter Side of Sweet
• Red, White & Blue No Bake Cheesecake by Bottom Left of the Mitten
• Red, White and Blue Broken Glass Jell-o by Turnips 2 Tangerines
• Rollitos de Vino Blanco by What Smells So Good?
• Rose Petal Jam Filled Blueberry Cupcakes by NinjaBaker.com
• Star Spangled Cookies by The Freshman Cook
• Strawberry and White Chocolate Panna Cotta by Tara’s Multicultural Table

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Chocolate Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins #MuffinMonday

These Chocolate Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins are made from rich chocolate batter with lots of extra chocolate chips. But because they are mini sized, they are perfect as a party snack or buffet table dessert.

Living overseas as I do and far away from most of my old friends and family, it’s not often that I get a chance to take part in wedding or baby showers. But this past weekend, I was delighted to be invited to a wedding shower for the bride-to-be of my friend Sandra’s son, Matthew. I loved meeting all the young women who attended and getting to know them and our guest of honor.

It was such fun! Sandra outdid herself, planning activities and games and, of course, there was a lot of delicious food to eat. I contributed a couple of dishes to the table, these chocolate chocolate chip mini muffins included. For my money, nothing says party like mini muffins, either sweet or savory. I hope you agree!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

Ingredients - for 36 mini muffins
3/4 cup or 180ml milk
1/2 cup or 125g plain, unsweetened yogurt
2 cups or 250g flour
1/2 cup or 40g cocoa powder
3/4 cup or 150g brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup or 80ml canola or other light oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup or 150g semisweet chocolate chips

Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Prepare three 12-cup mini muffin pans by greasing them or lining them with paper muffin cups.

Add the yogurt to the milk in a measuring cup. Stir and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a smaller mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil and vanilla, along with the milk/yogurt mixture.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, until just combined.

There may still be some flour showing and that’s fine. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Use a scoop or large spoon to fill the prepared muffin cups. They are going to be pretty full.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. You do not want to over bake these and dry them out.

Put the muffin pans on a wire rack to cool for about five minutes.

Remove the muffins from the pan and continue to cool on the wire rack. You can eat these warm but be prepared to lick melted chocolate chips off of your fingers.

Enjoy!

Check out the other lovely muffin recipes my Muffin Monday bakers are sharing today.

• Black Raspberry & Brown Sugar Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts
• Chocolate Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Cinnamon Rhubarb Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Mango Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Maple Oatmeal Muffins from Making Miracles
• Zucchini and Roasted Corn Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

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Ginger Lemon Sage Cookies #CreativeCookieExchange

These ginger lemon sage cookies combine ground ginger, lemon and sage for bright tart bites that go perfectly with a cup of tea.

Growing up, my mom never used sage. She said it was a Texas thing and she didn’t like the flavor. I have to admit, that for the most part, I agree. I find dried sage overpowering in stuffing and breakfast sausage. The exception for me is fresh sage. To me, the herby flavor of fresh sage is not at all like dried sage.

A few months ago, at the start of our cooler winter weather here in Dubai, I planted some culinary herbs in a long, deep box outside the living room window. It gets lovely afternoon sun and as a bonus is hooked up to a drip hose on the irrigation system. In past years my basil has been eaten by something – I presumed bugs but could never find any, until one friend said she thought the culprits were birds.

So I trimmed and reshaped a mosquito net to cover the herbs and my handy husband knocked together a couple of wooden slats to attach it to. That put paid to the bird theory. The basil was still munched, but somehow from under the net. In prior years, I had cut the basil back and then the invisible bugs or snails, or whatever they were, moved on to the other herbs.

Fresh sage, anyone? 

This year, I was smarter. Let them eat the basil, I decided. At least I’ll still have parsley, chives, sage, tarragon and thyme. And so I did for a good many glorious months. But as the weather got hotter and hotter, the parsley, chives and thyme succumbed to the heat. Now I have what amounts to an enormous bunch of sage, with a smattering of tarragon.

So what else could I use for my Creative Cookie Exchange recipe when the theme of Herbs in Cookies was announced? If you aren’t a fan of dried sage, I urge you to give fresh sage a chance. And even if you think sage in a cookie is weird, do try these. The lemon and ginger are perfect partners for fresh sage with a little sweetness. All three taste marvelous in these ginger lemon sage cookies.

Ginger Lemon Sage Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup or 125g flour
1/4 cup or 35g cornstarch
2 tablespoons, minced, fresh sage leaves
Zest of small lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 113g unsalted butter, at room temp
3/4 cup or 150g sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup or 60ml fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For decorating:
1/4 cup or 32g icing sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon water
Small fresh sage leaves

Method
In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, cornstarch, sage, lemon zest, baking powder, ginger, baking soda and salt. This takes the place of sifting your flour and helps aerate it just the same.

In the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl, cream your butter and sugar together until light and pale yellow.

Add in the egg, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Beat again until combined. This may start to look like it’s curdling. Do not be alarmed.

Add in the dry ingredients and beat until combined – just a couple of minutes - scraping the bowl down halfway through.

Cover the bowl with cling film and refrigerate at least an hour or until well chilled.

When your chilling time is almost up, preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C and line two cookie sheets with baking parchment or silicone liners.

Use a spoon or scoop to divide the soft dough into about 21-23 cookies. I suggest making them smaller rather than bigger because they do spread out. Even this far apart, a few of mine baked together at the edges.

Bake for 9-10 minutes in your preheated oven.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the cookie sheets for a few minutes. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

To decorate the cookies, mix the icing sugar, lemon juice and water together in a small bowl and pick or snip off the prettiest of your smaller sage leaves.

Brush the cookies, one at a time with the glaze, stick on one fresh sage leaf and brush a little more glaze on top.

Leave to dry before stacking. Store in an airtight container. These ginger lemon sage cookies are soft in the middle, almost cake-like, but chewy around the edges.

Enjoy!

If you love baking sweet treats with herbs, this is Creative Cookie Exchange event is just for you. Many thanks to our host this week, Felice, of All That’s Left Are the Crumbs.

Felice is one of my favorite bloggers, and not just because she’s one of the few who are still awake when I get up in the morning. It’s always a joy to chat with her. She’s originally from Australia but lives in gorgeous Honolulu. As well as checking out her blog for tasty dishes, follow her on Instagram for almost daily doses of tropical flowers and scenery.

Check out all the lovely cookies with herbs we’ve been baking for you.

• Anytime Tarragon-Apricot Cookies by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Citrus Glitters by What Smells So Good?
• Ginger Lemon Sage Cookies by Food Lust People Love
• Lemon Thyme Wafers by Cream and Butter
• Strawberry Mint Cookies by 2 Cookin' Mamas
• Rosemary Parmesan Cookies by Karen's Kitchen Stories

Creative Cookie Exchange is hosted by Laura of The Spiced Life. We get together once a month to bake cookies with a common theme or ingredient so Creative Cookie Exchange is a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts at The Spiced Life. We post the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!

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Chili Cheese Omelet

A fluffy omelet stuffed with sharp cheddar then topped with hearty spicy beef homemade chili, this chili cheese omelet is my take on my husband’s favorite dish from the House of Pies in Houston, Texas.

Omelets make regular appearances for weekend breakfasts at our house, especially if there are leftovers that need using up. If you need inspiration, check out my Omelets with Super Powers post.

But since it’s Father’s Day, today is all about what the fathers want. I chatted with my dad and he said he’d like a beef kidney dish that my grandmother used to make. Sadly, it seems that recipe has been lost. Not that Daddy is with me right now, but I thought I’d ask for future reference. I’ve been researching Cajun kidney recipes and hope to find one similar for sometime when we are together. If anyone has any leads, let me know. Also, I have no idea where to buy beef kidneys. This is going to be a challenge.

Meanwhile, as I mentioned in yesterday’s hearty spicy beef chili post, my husband asked for a chili cheese omelet.

We’ve been frequenting the House of Pies (or House of Guys, as we call it) separately since I was in high school and he was in college, and together since 1986. He always, and I mean, every single time, orders the chili cheese omelet. It comes with a choice of potato – his is always cottage fries - and toast, biscuit or English muffin. Today, tater tots would have to suffice.

Chili Cheese Omelet

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
2 whole large eggs
1 large egg white
1/4 cup or 60ml milk
4 oz or 113g sharp cheddar, grated
3/4 - 1 cup of spicy beef chili, warmed – your favorite or use my hearty spice beef chili recipe
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Optional extras:
Chopped onions
Sliced fresh jalapeños
Chopped cilantro

Method
Whisk the eggs well and then add the milk, whisking again. Add a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Melt the butter in a small non-stick frying pan and cook it until the water evaporates and the butter begins to color.

Pour in the eggs and turn the fire down to medium low.

Occasionally push the cooked eggs back and let the uncooked eggs run under the cooked part.

When the eggs are almost cooked through, add most of the cheese to the top of the omelet.

Use a wide spatula to fold the omelet in half, enclosing the cheese. When the cheese has melted, slide the omelet onto a warmed plate.

Top with warm chili and an extra sprinkling of cheese. At House of Guys, the chili cheese omelet automatically comes topped with chopped onion but Simon always orders his without. And he wants me to tell you that you have to have cottage fries (or tater tots) to dip in the chili.

Enjoy!

Happy Father's Day to my sweetie! 

This week my Sunday Supper family are sharing their dishes for Father's Day. Many thanks to our event manager, Em, and our host, Christie of A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures for all of their hard work behind the scenes. Check out our Sunday Supper Father’s Day Menu Ideas. 

Sides Dad Will Love

• Best Dark and Stormy by Cricket’s Confections
• Spanish Cheese Plate by Caroline’s Cooking

Mains for the Main Man

• Blue Cheese Bacon Burger with Crispy Onions Strings by Confessions of a Cooking Diva
• Chicken Fajita Burgers by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Chili Cheese Omelet by Food Lust People Love
• Chinese Chicken Salad by Pies and Plots
• Cider Braised Pork Belly Tacos by Gourmet Everyday
• Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches by Soulfully Made
• Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Cilantro Pesto by Cooking Chat
• Jalapeno Cream Cheese Burger (The JCB) by This is How I Cook
• Korean BBQ Steak Bowls by Fantastical Sharing of Recipes
• Out of a Can Chili by Bottom Left of the Mitten
• Pork Chops With Brandied Cherries by Mysavoryspoon

Dad's Favorite Desserts

• Banana Coconut Chocolate Chip Brownies by Desserts Required
• Chocolate Tofu Cupcakes by NinjaBaker.com
• Devil's Food Strawberry Shortcake by The Freshman Cook
• Simple Fudgy Brownies by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Snickery Springform Cookie by What Smells So Good?

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