Sear ribs on all sides, in a large, deep pan, in heated oil over medium-high heat.

Remove ribs to a platter after they are well-browned on all sides. Set them aside and keep them warm. Add all the chopped vegetables to pan. Reduce the heat a little and sweat the vegetables. You want them tender and a little browned. Place brandy in a measuring cup and microwave it on high for 30 seconds. This is dangerous.

Add brandy to pan. Ignite it with a long match to remove the alcohol. You may want to experiment using 2 T. at a time. After the brandy is burned off (cover pan with a lid to put out the flame, if needed).

Add the wine. Reduce the wine by ¼.

Add the ribs, beef stock, fresh thyme sprigs, and bay leaves to the pan. Bring to a boil. Now, it’s ready to go into the oven to braise.

Cover the pan. Place in a 250–300° oven. You want the liquids in the pan just to maintain a simmer (a slow bubble). Turn the short ribs every 30 minutes. This ensures even cooking. Cook for about 2–3 hours in this gentle manner. Test short ribs for doneness. A skewer inserted in the meat should slide in easily and the meat should be pulling from the bones. If not serving immediately, remove short ribs from the pan. Let them cool completely. Then cover the ribs and refrigerate them. Strain the vegetables from the sauce; discard. Chill the sauce. After the sauce has chilled, any fat will have risen to the top and solidified. You can easily lift it off the sauce in large pieces.

Combine flour and butter for beurre manie. Blend it with your fingers until uniform. It should feel like soft pastry dough. Blanch onions for 1 minute in boiling water, then peel. Cut stems from shiitakes. Clean remaining mushrooms.

Saute peeled onions in 3 T. butter for 2 minutes. Then add all the mushrooms and saute just until tender. Set aside.

Saute shallots in a large pan, in 2 T. butter until tender.

Add red wine and reduce by half. Then add defatted sauce or stock. After liquid has come to a slow boil, whisk in walnut-sized pieces of beurre manie. Cook until sauce is desired thickness. Ribs and sauce shown here on Mashed Purple Potatoes.

Warm orange juice in a saucepan over medium heat.

Add apricots, remove from heat, and let stand until soft, about 10 minutes.

Pour juice and apricots over fresh fruit; toss with mint, sugar, lime juice, and salt. Serve immediately.

Preheat oven to 350°

Melt in double-boiler: chocolate, sugar, butter over simmering water. Remove bowl. Cool to room temperature. Preheat oven. Coat bottom and sides of baking pan with nonstick spray. Cut and place parchment paper and spray again. As chocolate cools, measure 1/4 cup cocoa and sift into bowl containing flour, baking powder, and salt.

Whisk ingredients together.

Beat eggs, espresso powder, and vanilla until foamy, scraping once. Beat in cooled chocolate mixture, scraping once. Sprinkle small amount of flour in chocolate mixture and fold. Repeat. Add remaining flour. Fold in until no flour appears. Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake in center of oven 22–25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center is barely moist. Remove from oven and cool completely. Run knife around edge of pan. Place rack on top of pan and invert. Peel paper. Invert again onto cutting surface. With a sharp knife, trim off edges and cut brownies into 2" squares.

Preheat oven to 450° with rack in center.

Rub prepared potatoes with oil and salt (doing this in a plastic bag makes the job less messy). Bake directly on the rack for 1 hour, or until tender all the way through when pierced with a skewer. Remove potatoes from the oven, split, and serve immediately. Cool baked potatoes slightly. Scoop out and lightly mash the flesh (reserve skins); set aside.

Saute onion in melted butter until soft, about 5 minutes.

Whisk in flour; cook 2–3 minutes.

Stir in broth and milk. Cook and stir until thick, 4–5 minutes. Add potato and simmer 5 minutes; stir in parsley and seasonings.

Toss strips of potato skins in oil, salt, and pepper. Roast in 400° oven 15 minutes, or until crisp.

Prepare remaining garnishes and serve with soup.