You know you want to free up some oven space.
Jacob Fox
Christmas is probably my favorite holiday.
Ginger-ale-glazed ham painstakingly tended to by my Uncle George on Christmas Eve.
Photo:Jacob Fox
Pungent bowls of horseradish dip with Better Made potato chips (Michigans finest!
), an appetizer made popular by my late grandfatherand to this day, someone always makes it.
That meant we got to start some of our own traditions.
It also meant I got to decide what to make for Christmas dinner.
How could I makecheesy potato casserole,roasted Brussels sproutsandapple pie(I prefer them freshly baked!)
if I also had to make a roast that would spend hours in the oven?
I started scrolling throughPinterestits how I organize recipes, both tried-and-true favorites and ones I want to try.
Thats when I came upon a recipe I developed a few years ago forSlow-Cooker Balsamic Short Ribs.
Plus it didnt involve using my oven.
Was I really going to make a slow-cooker recipe the centerpiece of my Christmas feast?
The recipe starts by searing the short ribs in a large skillet.
Typically, I prefer slow-cooker recipes in which I can just dump ingredients into it and then press start.
And that gravy is fire.
To thicken it up at the end, you just stir in a little cornstarch slurry.
You could even add a knob of butter to make it glossy.
And I was less stressed, knowing I had one less thing to think about putting in the oven.
Wishing you less stressful holidays too!
