Get ready:

• 1 4-5lb boneless beef chuck roast
• 4 Tsp olive oil
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 1 yellow onions, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 2 cups Burgundy
• 1 6oz can tomato paste
• 6 cup beef stock (more if needed)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tsp dried oregano
• 1 Tsp dried rosemary
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• salt and black pepper

Now let’s play:

Heat up oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat while season the roast with salt and pepper. Sear all sides of the roast till golden brown. Set aside. Saute chopped onion with a pinch of salt for 2 minutes. Add minced garlic, celery, carrot, bay leaves, dried oregano, and dried rosemary; saute for two minutes. Add tomato paste, and pour in Burgundy to deglaze the pot. Add the roast back into the pot, and pour in beef stock to cover the roast by one inch. Bring to boil. Then cover, turn town the heat to low, and let it simmer till the roast is tender but not falling apart. When it’s done, take the roast out of the pot. Let it rest on a carving board for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, add heavy cream to the braising liquid. Bland the liquid into gravy with a immerse blander. Then cook the gravy to the right consistency and adjust the seasoning if necessary. When ready to serve, slice the roast horizontally against the grain at 1/2 inch thickness, and serve with gravy along the side.

After-play thoughts:

When there’s leftovers needed to be reheated, I find it better reheating the meat in the oven, with adequate amount of gravy spread on top and covered with foil.

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup flour
• 5 Tsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp dried  tarragon
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 Tsp tomato paste
• 3 cups chicken stock
• salt and pepper

Now let’s play:

Preheat oven at 350F. Split chicken breasts lengthwise into half. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dredge in the flour till well coated. Heat up 2 Tsp olive oil in a large saute pan and brown 4 chicken breast halves. Repeat with the rest. Rest browned pieces in a 13*9 baking dish. Add the last Tsp olive oil to the saute pan and saute diced onion for 2 minutes. Add garlic and carrots. Saute for 3 minutes. Add celery, and saute for 1 minute. Add white wine, and scrape off the brown bites off the bottom of the pan. Pour the mixture into the baking dish. Add chicken stock into the baking dish. Cover and bake for 1 hour. Serve chicken breast halves with baking liquid (6-8 servings).

After-play thoughts:

You can strain the baking liquid and make gravy of it.

Get ready:

• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 pounds Asian thick cube-cut beef short ribs on the bone
• 3 celery ribs, sliced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 2 Tsp dried thyme
• 2 bay leaf
• 10 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 4 cups dry red wine
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper

Now let’s play:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat 2 Tsp of the olive oil in a large dutch oven. Season the ribs with salt and pepper. Add the short ribs to the dutch oven, and sear until browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer the ribs to a plate. Repeat in batches (you need another 2 Tsp of olive oil when the dutch oven get dry). Add remaining 1 Tsp of olive oil celery, carrot and onion to the dutch oven. Saute for 3 minutes.  Add thyme, bay leaf and garlic. Saute for another 2 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and reduce until glossy, stirring often. Return the short ribs to the dutch oven. Add chicken stock, wine and vinegar and bring to a boil, then cover and braise at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Decrease oven temperature  to 250 degrees F and bake for another 2.5-3 hours or until meat is tender. Cool for 15-20 minutes. Serve the short rib with braising liquid (about 8 servings).

After-play thoughts:

When browning the meat, you should be looking for the golden brown color (but not burned). Remember, “color is the flavor”.

Get ready:

• 2 Tsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 cooked chicken breasted, diced
• 2 medium zucchini, diced
• 2 cups black olives
• 2 14oz cans tomato sauce
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 lb spaghetti, cooked and drained (reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water)
• salt and pepper to taste
• grated Parmesan cheese if desired

Now let’s play:

Heat up olive oil in a large saute pan at medium high heat, and saute minced garlic with red pepper flakes for two minutes. Add zucchini, saute for 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Add chicken, olive, tomato sauce, white wine, dried thyme, and dried basil. Stir together well, and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss with drained pasta (if sauce seems dry, add reserved pasta water). Serve immediately (4-6 servings).

After-play thoughts:

If you use chicken breasts baked at home, chicken stock can be substitute with the juice from baking. Also, you can shred the chicken cubes to make it almost like some sort of chicken ragu sauce.

Get ready:

• 4 1-inch-thick center-cut boneless pork chops
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tsp olive oil
• 2 large peaches, peeled, cored, and pureed
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 Tsp caper
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 Tsp butter

Now let’s play:

Season both sides of pork chops with salt and pepper. Heat up olive oil in a saute pan. When the oil is hot, sear both sides of pork chops until golden brown (in batches if necessary), about 2 minutes each side. Then set aside. Add white wine to the pan, and scrape off the brown bites at the bottom of the pan. Reduce the wine by half, and then add peach puree, caper, and parsley. Cook and stir till the sauce is rich and smooth. Turn off the heat, and finish the sauce with butter. Pour the sauce over pork chops, and serve immediately (4 servings).

After-play thoughts:

Tired of apple and pork? Try peach and pork for the summer (well, next year summer in this case)! Peach makes more smooth and richer sauce then apple, and I just adore the subtle sweetness from the peach.

• 4 1-inch thick center-cut pork chops
• 2 Tsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 2 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 cups beef broth
• salt & pepper

Now let’s play:

Season both sides of pork chops with salt and pepper. Heat up the oil in a large saute pan (12 inch recommended) at high heat. Sear the pork chops on both sides till golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Set the pork chops aside. Then heat down to medium. Saute diced onion with a pinch of salt for 2 minutes. Add minced garlic and saute for another 2 minutes. Add carrots and celery, and saute for 5 minutes. Add pepper, thyme, chili powder, and saute for 2 minutes. Add red wine. Scrap off the brown bites at the bottom of the pan, if any. Add back the pork chops. Add beef stock, and bring to boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve immediately over rice (4 servings).

After-play thoughts:
If you don’t have a skillet large enough, you can sear the pork chops in batch and rest them in a roast pan; saute the vegetables in red wine and pour over the pork chops; add beef broth till the pork chops mostly immersed; cover tightly and bake in 350F oven for 25 minutes.

Get ready:

• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 Tsp olive oil
• 2Tsp butter
• 1 can (10 3/4) condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 pound frozen green peas
• 2 cup cooked long grain white rice
• 2 pounds of flounder fillets, fresh or thawed and seasoned with salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 Tsp dried cilantro
• 1 Tsp dried oregano
• salt and pepper

Now let’s play:

Turn the heat to medium high. Melt the butter together with olive oil. Saute diced onion (add a pinch of salt) until soft. Add garlic. Saute for 2 minutes. Stir in the condensed soup, frozen peas, and rice. Mix together. Cook till peas just thawed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat. Pour the mixture into a 9*13 baking dish, and even out a bit. Layer seasoned flounder fillets over the rice mix. Double-layering and overlapping are fine and recommended, but make sure they are layered evenly. Sprinkle white wine, dried cilantro and oregano over the flounder fillets. Cover with foil, and bake it in a 350F oven for 45 minutes. Then let it cool for 15 minutes before serving (6-8 servings).

After-play thoughts:

I created this dish when my husband was on a week-long business trip and I felt I need a break from everything. It’s easy, light, elegant, and yummy. It was exactly what I wanted.