Name: Maple Shortrib Flatbread + Pomegranate
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 180 min
Ingredients: 2 pieces whole wheat flatbread (about 8 inches in diameter); 3 beef shortribs; 12 ounces light beer; 1 tablespoon maple syrup (plus extra for drizzling); 1 pint sliced mushrooms; olive oil for sauteeing; salt and pepper (to taste); 6 ounces grated sharp white cheddar cheese; 2 cups watercress leaves; 2 tablespoons pomegranate arils (optional)

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We're back! From Thanksgiving, from the cruise, from everything. We came back to a veritable shitstorm yesterday that involved missing electronics, animal control, a new baby (not all one story, it wasn't THAT bad), and a few other hiccups, but the trip itself was amazing and we NEEDED that break from the internet and our lives, let me tell you that. Tune in on Friday for the craziness that's been going on, then next week I'll tell ya the good, bad, and ugly about our first cruise together. There are already lots of pictures on

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But let's eat. We basically ONLY ate for the last 5 days straight, and I'm hesitant to try on anything tight or wander near a scale. Giving it a few days of healthy foods, but that doesn't mean YOU have to be healthy! You can have cheese and beef and bread all together because you didn't just go on a cruise and eat for 24 hours straight for the last 5 days.

At least I hope not.

This is actually the companion to the vegetarian flatbread I showed you a few weeks ago, but this one is basically a Christmas dish because it involves sexy shortribs and is topped with green and red decorations. For Jesus. Because we are using shortribs the process is a little lengthy, but you can easily make the meat a few days in advance and just prep the other ingredients and bake this sucker whenever you'd like to eat it, which will probably be about five seconds from now.

You need flatbread! Any kind you like, pita or naan or pizza dough works great, but we want it to be already cooked. I went whole wheat because I think it goes great with the heavier mushroom and beef flavors. Then we top the bread with shortribs braised in maple syrup and beer, mushrooms, extra sharp cheddar, watercress, and pomegranate. GREAT ingredients for this time of year, if I do say so myself.

So we need to start the shortribs first. Heat an ovenproof pot with a lid over medium-high heat with some olive oil, and turn the oven to 375F. Then, sear the shortribs on all sides with some salt and pepper.

This takes awhile, so be patient. If you try to turn the meat and it sticks to the pan, it's not done yet! The shortribs will release naturally from the pan to flip when they're nice and caramelized.

When the meat is browned on all sides, remove it to a plate.

Then, pour all the beer and the syrup into the pot to get all the yummy crud off the bottom of the pot. Stir for about a minute to reduce the beer just a little bit.

Then, add the meat back to the pot!

Now cook the shortribs for 90 minutes to 2 hours, maybe a little more, until the meat shrinks from the bones and is falling apart all sexy like.

Shred the meat, and shortribs are done!

Now, I did the meat way in advance, but you can also work on the rest of the flatbread while the meat is cooking. You'll want to shred the cheddar, and sear the mushrooms. Do this by adding the mushrooms, some olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt to a skillet over medium-high heat.

Cook the mushrooms for 10 minutes or so until they're very dark and soft. Then set them aside until you'd like to build the flatbreads.

AND, if you buy a whole pomegranate, you'll need to extract the seeds without killing yourself or anyone else around you. There are lots of methods, but I cut off the top, and then make little slits down the edge of the pomegranate where I can see the white edges - like the sections of an orange. Then, I split the pom into those sections (they break naturally) and carefully take the seeds out with my fingers.