Oh jeebus folks. WOW to infinity. I just ate this so my belly is really happy right now and I kinda have no words. Savory, beefy, herbalicious, melt-in-your-mouth polenta and cheesy – could this be any better AND it’s a Cooking Light recipe. Nom, nom, nom.

As you might know. I love doing low and slow things on Sundays, and since ACL is going on right in our backyard and we are hunkered down here in the casa, why not? Sure, there are a lot of ingredients, but once you get past all of the chopping it’s pretty easy. I did add two things. One, once the rib sauce started to boil down, I added a tablespoon of tomato paste plus a dash of nutmeg and half and half to the polenta to give it a bit more oomph.  We loved the fall-off-the-bone ribs, over the creamy polenta with the wicked sauce and that special touch of parsley gremolata that gave it a fresh zing. Plus, there are delicious leftovers the next day. I’ll be you that sauce is even better tomorrow!

I couldn’t find the recipe online, so here you go:

Ribs:

• 16 (3-ounce) bone-in beef short ribs, trimmed
• 5/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons, olive oil, divided
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup chopped shallots
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 6 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 2 1/2 cups cabernet sauvignon or other dry red wine
• 1 1/4 cups lower-sodium beef broth
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons water
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Gremolata:

• 1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Polenta:

• 3 cups fat-free milk
• 1 cup water
• 5/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup quick-cooking polenta
• 1/4 cup grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1. Sprinkle ribs with salt and pepper. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to pan. Add 8 ribs, and sauté for 6 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove ribs. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 teaspoon oil and the next 5 ingredients (through rosemary) to pan; sauté 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add wine to pan, and bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook for 13 minutes or until reduced to 2 cups.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Add broth to pan, and bring to a boil. Return ribs to pan. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, turning ribs after 45 minutes. Remove ribs from pan and strain liquid through a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl. Discard the solid. Skim fat; discard.  Return cooking liquid to pan. Combine flour and 2 teaspoons water in a small bowl, stirring well. Add to pan, and bring to a boil. Cook for 11 minutes or until reduced to about 1 cup. Stir in vinegar.

4. To prepare gremolata, combine 1/3 cup parsley, 1/2 teaspoon lemon rind and minced garlic.

5. To prepare polenta, bring 3 cups milk, 1 cup water, 5/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper to a boil over medium heat. Slowly stir in 1 cup polenta. Cook 5 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Stir in cheese. Place 1/2 cup polenta in each of 8 shallow bowls, and top each serving with 2 ribs, 2 tablespoons sauce and about 2 teaspoons gremolata.