Braised short ribs with acini de pepe

It took me a few hours and I couldn't decide what to cook for our New Year's eve dinner. Not until I arrived at Whole Foods could I make up my mind. When I saw the short ribs my mouth started watering.

Sorry for the approximations, but I made this dish by eyeballing each ingredient

1.5 lbs boneless short ribs
couple of TBS of flour seasoned with Salt and Pepper
about 1/4 c of olive oil
1 small onion small dice
1 large celery stalk, small dice
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 handfuls of baby carrots, sliced lengthwise
1, 8 oz package of sliced white mushrooms
2 spoonfuls of tomato paste
rosemary, dried -- to taste
thyme, dried -- to taste
1/2 - 1 c dry red wine (I used a CA cab)
approx 1 c of chicken broth
1 c of frozen green peas

Heat a medium sized Dutch Oven pan with the oil. Flour and season the short ribs. Add to the pot and brown on all sides. The browner the better. It creates a crust that keeps the moisture in the meat and brown bits in the bottom of the pan create the extra good flavor for the sauce. Once all sides have been equally browned remove and set aside covered. Add the onions and celery. Cook about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and stir cooking another 3-4 minutes. Add the mushrooms, herbs and garlic. Season with some salt and pepper to taste. Let the mushrooms begin to cook down and add the tomato pasted. Stir the vegetables until the tomato paste has been cooked in. Pour the wine into the pot and stir the brown bits. Let reduce and thicken. Now add the meat back to pan and the stock. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer on low for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until the meat is fork tender. Add the frozen peas and stir. Cook on low about another 5 to 10 minutes with lid off.

You can serve with mashed potatoes, rice, barley, quinoa. On this night I made one of my favorite side dishes.
Acini di pepe with Spinach

1 cup of acini di pepe
1 package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess water
1 small red onion, small dice
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 c olive oil
salt and pepper
(optional: parmesan cheese and butter can be stirred in at the end)

Bring a medium sized pot of salted water to a boil. Add acini and follow cooking instructions. In a large saute pan over medium high heat add the oil, onions and spinach. Let the onions soften. Add the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Turn to low.
Drain the acini (reserving a cup of cooking liquid). Add the acini to the large saute pan. Stir thoroughly, adding some cooking liquid if necessary. Also, add some additional olive oil if desired. Turn the pan off and serve.

The additional side dish to the meal was some beets with shaved aged manchego. It was so delicious.