Valentine's Day 2010

Braised short ribs with cauliflower puree, braised celery, and julienne leeks

Short Ribs:
Marinated in malaysian curry powder, five spice powder, white vinegar, balsamic vinegar, palm sugar, honey, soy sauce, garlic, shallot, fish sauce, tamarind paste.

Browned ribs, then add water to cover and let braise for 1.5 hours with celery. Strain out the liquid, add one diced Asian pear, palm sugar, honey, rice wine vinegar and cook until pears are soft. Puree the mixture and put it back on the heat to bubble away until it's significantly reduced.

Julienne leeks -- butter, salt, leeks.

Cauliflower puree -- butter, cream, crispy shallot (hanh phi)