The Daring Cooks' March 2012 Challenge - Brave the Braise!

The March 2012 Daring Cooks' Challenge was hosted by Carol a/k/a Poisonive--and she challenged us all to learn the art of Braising! Carol focused on Michael Ruhlman's technique and shared with us some of his expertise from his book "Ruhlman's Twenty".

So what exactly is Braising? Carol gives us this definition: from the French word "braiser" offers us a combination of cooking method...typically the meat is seared in hot fat which adds flavor and aromas, improves color (browning) and texture (crust). It is then submerged in liquid and cooked slowly and gently at low heat.

Carol gave several recipes to follow, but she also encouraged us to be creative. I based my Braised Beef Shank in Red Wine and Tomato Sauce on one of those she gave.
This came out really delicious-- the sauce was rich and thick after I braised it for 2 hours, and the beef shank was tender and dripping with flavor.

Thank you Carol for hosting this challenge, it was fun. For the other Daring Cooks' versions of this month's challenge, click here.