The Chef's Manolos- a comfort food dream!

I received many lovely Christmas gifts and I am highlighting two as part of my tribute to comfort food. I received TWO Le Creuset dutch ovens... one small and one large! For those that do not cook- I must explain that Le Creuset cookware is to a cook- what Manolo Blahniks are to those who love all things shoes! Or what pocket aces are to a game of Texas Hold Em. You get the idea...
This comfort food season I have been obsessed with braising- slow cooked meats with root vegetables, herbs, wine and broth. My new dutch ovens are coming in particularly useful. Today I am braising short ribs- I have made these once prior to today and recently ordered them in a restaurant. Short ribs have jumped high on my list of comfort food. What is fun about braising is that you can really experiment- sometimes I flour and season meat, sear it, and then put in the dutch oven. Whereas today I roasted the short ribs for 15 minutes and then added to my vegetables. You can add whatever herbs and vegetables you think sound good. I have combined several recipes for today's concoction! Here is my experimental recipe- should you wish to indulge!

Ingredients:
8 Short Ribs
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Celery, 4 stalks - chopped (fairly large)
4 Carrots- peeled and chopped
1 Fennel Bulb- chopped
1 Spanish Onion- chopped
2 Leeks- white and light green portions- coarsely chopped
10 oz Whole Button Mushrooms
4 Cloves Garlic- chopped finely
Thyme- fresh bunch
1 Tbl Brown Sugar
1 bottle Cabernet Sauvignon
4 cups Beef Broth

1) Roast Short Ribs seasoned with Salt and Pepper for 15 minutes at 400
2) In large dutch oven, saute vegetables in olive oil for 20 minutes
3) Pour wine in and bring to a boil until alcohol has cooked out and liquid is reduced by half
4) Place short ribs over the vegetables
5) Add beef broth, brown sugar, thyme and season with salt & pepper

Cover dutch oven and bake at 300 for 4 hours until meat falls off the bone...

I recommend serving these with garlic mashed potatoes.

We are expecting more snow and ice tonight- can't think of anything that will taste better on a cold winter's night...