Downton Abbey Bed and Breakfast Weekend

This weekend my Grandmother and her two sisters (and my brave great uncle) came from out-of-state to stay with us! We were so happy to have them. They are a lot of fun and we don't have any local friends, so having them come to visit is a real event. This is their second visit and they like to say they are "at a bed and breakfast." After spending much time cleaning, decorating, planning, organizing, and stressing, I made them dinner when they arrived and after that we spent the long weekend relaxing and seeing some local sights, including the Downton Abbey costume exhibit! Seriously, it's amazing.

Let's talk about dinner. I wanted a seasonal menu that could be made ahead of time during the day with minimal attention needed right before it was time to serve the meal so that I could hang out with my "Gram and the Aunties" as I call them. First I made this amazing Blood Orange Salad with Shaved Fennel and Hazelnuts that my husband and I love. My family is Italian and my Gram makes a great Sicilian Orange Salad with oranges and red onion, so I was hoping they would like this twist on that salad as much as I do. It was a hit! I have made the salad with all kinds of oranges (Typical navel, blood oranges, and pink cara cara oranges - always fab!) I have not used hazelnut oil once - always olive oil - and it's just a great, fresh salad for the winter. And in the case of never-ending winters, it's a must. Next I went with Ina's Beef Short Ribs and only tweaked the recipe slightly. I have made this one before and this time I used some bone-in ribs and some that were already off the bone. This way, the sauce was flavored by the bones, and I had some bigger "man-sized" short ribs for my husband and my uncle. The bone-in ribs don't always have a ton of meat on them. It turned out great! I served the Short Ribs with Creamy Parmesan Polenta which I love. Like, LOVE-love. My husband helped me make the polenta when the ribs were almost ready to serve (at the end, you remove them from the pot and let the sauce thicken a little bit which is the perfect time to make polenta) and we were done! Oh, and of course we had a nice, crusty bread with dinner. Everyone had a great time and it was a fabulous kick-off to the long weekend.