Tomorrow's Dinner

I can't tell you how much I like fall and winter - mostly fall, really. One of the reasons is that there are certain recipes that I love to cook that are just not suited to the summer months. Either they're too heavy or the slow cooking or braising process just heats up the house until it's just unbearable even with the air conditioning at full blast.
I'm making one of the best of these meals for dinner tomorrow and I'd like to share the recipe with you so you can get in on the autumnal flavor and comfort-food feeling of it.
Now, before I go on, I want to make something really clear. I don't use a recipe for most of the cooking I do at home and I rarely cook by taste anymore. After many years of study, training and catering experience I have learned that recipes only help if someone ELSE is making your food and I got out of the habit of tasting things all along the cooking process when I had to cater for groups. Every sip, bite or morsel that you taste is money lost from profits! I cook by smell and sight and experience. The only thing I do from written recipes is baking because that's all about chemistry and balance and needs to be precise.

So, here goes....let's make some OVEN BRAISED BEEF SHORT RIBS!

3 pounds beef short ribs
 Flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, for dredging
1/4 cup olive oil

1or 2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced

2 ribs celery (with leaves if any) chopped

1 parsnip, diced (trust me...even if you don't think you like parsnips)
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and smashed with side of knife
1cup dry red wine (use a wine you would actually DRINK)
1-1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can (14.5 ounces) whole tomatoes broken apart, with juices (I usually just open the can and use my kitchen scissors to cut the tomatoes in the can)
1 cup beef stock

2 bay leaves
1 bouquet garni - one sprig of fresh thyme, rosemary and a handful of parsley stems tied together. I usually use unflavored dental floss because it's strong and doesn't disintegrate during long cooking.
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste(I like a LOT of pepper)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Lightly coat the ribs with seasoned flour, shaking off excess. 

Heat the oil over high heat in an ovenproof dutch oven large enough to hold the ribs in one layer.

DON'T CROWD THEM

Brown the ribs  on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove the ribs and reduce heat to medium. 

Add a bit of butter to the oil and let melt.

Add onions, carrots, celery and parsnip to the pan and saute gently until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. 

Add the garlic and saute one more minute. 

Pour in the wine and deglaze the dutch oven, scraping any browned bits in bottom of pan. 

Add the tomato paste and stir well to combine. 

Add the remaining ingredients, then return the browned ribs to the pan, making certain they are on the bottom in a single layer.
Cover the dutch oven and place in center of 350 degree oven and cook for about 2 hours or until the ribs fall apart easily with a fork. 

Check about every 30 minutes and add more wine and or stock if the level gets low.
Remove ribs from dutch oven and set aside. Also remove bouquet and bay leaves. You can leave the garlic if it hasn't already dissolved during cooking but it's sweet and non-offensive now...COOK's TREAT!

Skim any visible fat off the remaining sauce. If desired, further reduce the sauce over high heat. 

I usually serve with smashed potatoes but it's equally good with pasta or rice, ladling plenty of sauce over all.

You don't need a lot of meat in this meal; it's pretty rich. But, holey moley, it's good. Enjoy!

If you decide to make this dish I hope you'll comment on it. I'd love to know what you think.

So, let's talk about our current digs.

We've had a few apartments since moving to NYC everything from a two bedroom sublet on the Upper West Side, a one bedroom in Midtown one block from the Broadway theater that I was working at when I did Sunset Boulevard, a huge studio and a one bedroom in the same building (which is now torn down) , a studio as big as a postage stamp and now, o wonder of wonders, a large one bedroom in a high rise that is subsidized by the government for people in the arts. We were on a waiting list for a long while for this place and, MAN, is it worth the wait!

We're so lucky to have this space and I have had a great time designing the interiors. It's comfortable and spacious and it serves a LOT of purposes in our busy lives. The best part is that there is always someplace to go for quiet alone time and, after living together for as long as we have, that alone time can come in handy.

Our bedroom is big enough for a high king sized bed and a comfortable chaise and with a gigantic mirror on one end, seems even more massive and luxurious.

I chose deep, rich colors along with warm earth tones with a lot of different textures, a leather wrapped bed and the coolness of black steel and glass bedside tables to keep us happy and well supplied with reading matter and anything else necessary for a restful night.

The wall color in the living room is one of our favorites by Behr Paints. It's called Peanut Butter and that's exactly what it looks like. But the amazing thing is that it changes color with the lighting; getting warmer and more golden. The sectional sofa is not set against the wall. I pulled it out about a foot and placed can lights on the floor shining up on a set of opera posters that we've had since our San Francisco days. I love the dining set that I found - first at twice the price at a furniture store here in New York and then after a goodly amount of searching, at half the price online. Sure, I had to put it together myself, but I love doing that stuff so it was definitely worth the savings. Furniture AND entertainment all rolled in one! And the wedge shaped stools are very comfortable and slide out of the way giving this set a perfect footprint for apartment living.

The shelving units along the left side of the photo (IKEA) have since been modified with four square, hinged stretcher frames covered in red acoustical burlap. They cover all of the books, cds, music, dvds, stereo equipment and surround sound speakers without blocking the sound and keeping everything looking sleek, uncluttered and neat and give me easy access to the shelves.

The room divider is also from IKEA. Built from two different pieces stacked on one another, it creates more of a hallway feeling going to the bath and bedroom and holds two layers of books and objets - one layer on either side.

At the turn of the hallway I've places a floating shelf with Buddha statue Jae gave me as a gift lit with a dramatic uplight. Underneath are two upholstered cubes that we have stored for extra seating but inevitably end up as perching spots for our little guys, Jack and Sam as they do what cats are meant to do....watch everything. the hallway is finished off with four framed and matted black and white photos by our friend George Pfoertner; pictures from a journey with a group of doctors to document the humanitarian work in Ecuador.

Our kitchen is so much bigger than that one in Chicago I told you all about but, as in any NYC apartment, storage space is always at a premium. I took care of part of that problem by putting all my herbs and spices in magnetized tins that I found at an office supply store and sticking them to the side of the refrigerator rather than taking up space in a cabinet.

Those cabinets that are over the fridge are so often unusable so I decided to take the doors off and paint the backs the same color as the walls turning them from unused cabinets to display shelves for a collection of chinese porcelain pieces.
The entrance wall is covered with vintage covers of Gourmet magazine that I put in clip frames that I found online by the dozen at a great place.

And the pantry door is painted with blackboard paint for messages, shopping lists and the occasional recipe. It's flanked by a magnetic knife rack and a watercolor portrait that my mom painted. Over the stove is an inexpensive towel bar which I installed to hold the covers for pots and pans.

 

So, that's the story in pictures and prose about our current abode. I've tried to create a sleek, clean-lined place where we can be comfortable, where I can teach and where I can bring design clients (and prospective clients) that looks more expensive that it actually was to do. There's nothing I like better than a bargain and when it works the way I plan it.

Halloween Fave: Eyeballs en Croute

One of my favorite Halloween recipes is Eyeballs en Croute.
A tasty and somewhat gory snack that I think you will enjoy:

1 can (8 oz)  refrigerated Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations seamless dough sheet

Pimento- or Jalapeno-stuffed green olives (about 32), drained, dried with paper towels

Ketchup

2 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

 

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.
• Unroll dough sheet; cut into 4 rectangles. Cut each rectangle lengthwise into 4 strips; cut strips in half crosswise to make 32 dough strips.
• Spread each with a small amount of Ketchup
• Place 1 olive on each strip. Wrap dough strip around olive. Roll between palms of hands until olive is completely covered with dough. Place on cookie sheet. Brush milk over top of each bite; sprinkle sesame seed over top of each.
• Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.                                                                                                                                                      Enjoy a truly tasty hors d' oeuvre! And HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The Perfect Home for Halloween

We had one other apartment in Chicago in a building which, sadly, is no longer standing. It was on the corner of Superior and Wabash across the street from Holy Name Cathedral. It was a cool building that had once been owned by the archdiocese and originally had been used half as residences for priests and half for offices of the church. Ours was one of the latter. It had a great view of the cathedral and Chicago’s famous Water Tower and that northeast view is where we spent most of our time. It also had a kitchen that was the size of a postage stamp but I was still able to make beef stroganoff for thirty members of the touring company of Dreamgirls when my friend was in town traveling with the show.

That was our last apartment in Chicago and from there we moved to San Francisco where I had gotten a job singing with the San Francisco Opera.

In S.F. we had three places but I want to talk about our last today because it has a timely memory.

This magnificent place remains, to this day, one of our favorite residences. It was a second floor flat with a huge kitchen with built in hutches and a pie safe, afull pantry with wash tub sinks, a formal dining room paneled three quarters up the wall with a plate rail all around the room, leaded glass built in buffet, sliding pocket doors to a matching sized living room with a working fireplace with leaded glass cabinets and mantel surround, both the living and dining rooms had bay windows onto the street. There were two bedrooms in the back looking over the yard, and a water closet and separate bath.

This, however, pales in comparison to the best Halloween aspect of the apartment.

For those of you who have never heard of “the silent butler”, it is an iron lever at the top of the second floor landing of the stairs in a certain vintage of buildings.

If your door at the foot of the stairs is unlocked you can push down on that lever and it will open the door for you downstairs via an in-wall pulley system. OH YEAH!

Being inherently lazy myself, I tended to use it often. One sunny afternoon some people rang the bell unannounced. You know the ones. White, short sleeved shirts, skinny black ties, nametags and lots of reading material. I answered the door with the butler and they started their spiel, “We were wondering if we could come in and talk with you for awhile.” I said, “Is this about God?” “Why, yes, it is!”

“No thanks, we already have one.” And….SLAM! All without descending the steps!

But the best was on Halloween! There was just enough room at the bottom of the stairs for a tall plant stand with a cauldron of warm water and dry ice on the floor and a big bowl of candy. Loosening the hinge pins on the door made it squeak in a very satisfying way, darkened lights, spooky music and no one behind the slowly opening door was a perfect recipe for scaring the bejeezus out of trick-or-treaters.

The kids loved it…the adults too. I miss my silent butler. A NYC doorman is never quite as much fun!

Living in a matchbox

My partner Jae and I have lived in a LOT of different places. Mostly due to my work, we’ve moved around quite a bit.

We met in Chicago where I had grown up and returned after college and where he had moved from a small southern town in search of life in the big city.

One of the things that I have always appreciated – being the control freak that I am – is that he has always left the design aspect of our apartments to me. He will tell me if he’s intensely against a choice that I run by him but after twenty-seven years he’s decided that our tastes are similar and it will all work out in the end.

We have had quite a range of apartments too. Our first was what I like to call our “one room deficiency” apartment. It was a small studio in Chicago and for one person it would have been…um…charming. We all know what charming really means…small. Now imagine this scenario – I was having problems with my roommate at the time and we had a large two bedroom apartment where I owned most of the furniture. Things came to a head and it was getting dangerous to stay (don’t ask) and Jae and I hadn’t had time to look for a place of our own as yet.

So, we got a bunch of friends together with a truck and while Roommate From Hell was at work one day we all descended on the apartment and virtually cleaned it out. MAN, I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when RFH got home that evening!

The studio was Jae’s and we moved EVERYthing in there except the dining room which we “lent” to a friend. This included an antique bedroom suite, my grandmother’s wing chairs and about two dozen boxes not to mention artwork (remember Mom was a painter), clothes and about a billion chotchkas (this was before I learned what kind of freedom paring down can bring.

Ever the resourceful decorator, I spent a goodly amount of time stacking all the boxes up to the ceiling and covering them with neutral fabric and then hanging art on them. There wasn’t a whole heck of a lot of room but, it shore was purty!

We soon had found a great (big) apartment of our own and in the years we lived there it was always in a state of flux.

One Christmas Jae’s mom was coming to visit so I took that opportunity to put all the antique furniture in the small second bedroom and create the “Laura Ashley Living Memorial Bedroom” for her time with us.

When I got bored with the layout – a classic Chicago shotgun apartment – I took an afternoon while Jae was at work to move the dining room furniture into that second bedroom and all the four six foot tall bookcases out of the second front sitting area, sitting on the floor and pushing those heavy things down the hall to the dining room to make us a den! Imagine his surprise when my partner walked into the living room and threw his briefcase down where the chair “was supposed to be”!

Welcome to my blog. Design, Homekeeping, Cooking and DIY on a budget for the Masses

My name is Steven Stein-Grainger. I am a 52 year old actor and singer by profession, an interior designer by training and a cook and DIY-er by necessity and happy circumstance.
I want to welcome you to the blog that I never thought I would write. But, here goes.
Here's the reason I wanted to write all of this down...

I have learned a little about a lot of things over the years but one of the things I've learned a LOT about is being self sufficient. My dad was, for a lot of my formative years, a traveling salesman (no jokes please - there were no farmer's daughters so far as I knew) and I watched my mom become a gourmet cook AND change light fixtures, sew pillows and curtains AND rewire lamps, paint incredible watercolors and acrylics AND snake out a drainpipe...sometimes all in the same day.

When I was a young gay man I also became aware that in my life I was going to be responsible for a lot of varied disciplines and talents and that I was going to have to be a jack of all trades and, with luck, master a few along the way. It also became clear that I was going to have to be responsible for making my home comfortable and beautiful without the help of wedding gifts, and the usual benefits of afforded to straight couples - that wedding didn't happen till two years ago and we had been together for a quarter of a century or more by then!

SO. In this blog, I want to share my ideas about interior design, most of which come from my business Daddy's Home, Inc. (www.DaddysHomeInc.com) and my nearly manic need to make things look expensive without breaking the bank, entertaining and food, and a little DIY for the amateur who wants to save a buck or two along the way.

Let's have some fun!