When we first decided to cook along with Top Chef, it was while the first season of Top Chef Masters was on television. Top Chef Masters, in case you’re unfamiliar, featured well-known restaurant chefs competing against each other for a cash prize given to their charity of choice. Watching some of these seasoned celebrity chefs race against the clock and even get back into the kitchen after a few years of running a restaurant empire is always entertaining.

One of our first dishes was the insanely easy and amazingly delicious grilled short ribs and romaine with parmesan vinaigrette. The recipe (found here) is from James Beard award winner and owner of Frasca Food and Wine in Colorado, Lachlan Mackinnon Patterson.

We skipped preparing the horseradish because I’m not a fan. Makes my eyes water and overpowers everything it touches in my opinion. But K used a little prepared horseradish sauce with his meal. K popped the boneless beef short ribs into his crock pot before work in the morning and by the time I got to his place that evening, the ribs were fall apart tender. A few minutes of sizzle on the grill pan to sear the beef was all it needed to give it a delicious little crust.

We pared down the vinaigrette recipe to eliminate ingredients we wouldn’t use again (i.e. anchovies) and just went with a simple parmesan, oil and shallot dressing drizzled over romaine lettuce leaves. We also made some simple and creamy mashed potatoes, tossed a few crunchy onion snacks on top (because K had them sitting around) and enjoyed a melt in your mouth dinner.

As this was one of the first recipes we tackled, it was a good thing it was also easy. There were “Master” dinners that followed where we spent several hours prepping and cooking complicated restaurant recipes. But after enjoying the grilled short ribs and simple salad, we knew the endeavor would pay off in endless memorable home cooked meals.

Grilled Beef Short Ribs (before K got fancy new "plating" plates seen in later photos)