This weekend was quite a busy one for us! My friends and I participated in the Old Fort MacArthur Days at Fort MacArthur Museum in San Pedro, CA. This is an annual military timeline event, featuring numerous time periods, all represented by reenactors dedicated to the art and science of our history. I knew this would be a very busy weekend, so on Friday evening, my lovely assistant and I put beef short ribs in to marinade. I wanted to make the Chili Baked Short Ribs, but unfortunately discovered I don’t have any chili powder. I improvised and used minced garlic instead.

Ever the improviser, when I realized that I had tomato paste and the recipe called for tomato juice, I thinned out some of the paste with water. We then combined the rest of the ingredients and Melody stirred it to mix it well. Finally, we put in the ribs and made sure they were covered with the marinade.

Once the marinade was finished, I covered the dish and put it in the refrigerator for an overnight soaking. At 4 the next day, I called my husband and gave him the temperature for the oven.  When I got home around 6, Melody announced that “Daddy made us dinner!”  The ribs were tender and flavorful, but not overpowered by the marinade. The ribs I happened to get were a bit fatty, so there was a lot of liquified fat in the pan, that if drained off would have left behind a nice sauce. Among four of us, we ate 9 ribs and I sent three home with my sister. I’d say this recipe test was an unqualified success!