ChefSteps is a team of chefs, writers, and food lovers who develop recipes, techniques, and guides to help people cook better at home.

ChefSteps

Picture this: It’s a chilly Sunday in March, rain coming down sideways, the kids cooped up inside. There are some things you need to do around the house, perhaps, but otherwise the day is a blank slate, just waiting for you to make something of it. You could mope around, order takeout, cruise Facebook for some alternative facts, do your taxes. Or you could cook. And by “cook”, we mean really cook: think an all-day, soul-soothing, fragrant, succulent braise paired with smooth, creamy polenta and hearty greens. You could open a bottle of wine at 4 p.m. and cook your heart out, even get the kids stirring the polenta and tearing the greens—making them into the gracious, well-rounded people you know they’ll grow up to be. The kind of kids who say things like, “I learned patience and creativity from my mother, when she would spend long Sundays teaching us how to cook things like perfect polenta and braised spareribs.”So how do you make this warm, fuzzy vision a reality? We admit it involves a little advance planning: Head to the grocery store on Saturday and grab some spices, a few go-to veggies, a big ol’ slab o’ ribs. Then prep and season the ribs and throw them in a pot with your sous vide tool. Spareribs are chock full of bone and cartilage, making them perfect for sous vide—low-and-slow cooking turns all that connective tissue to butter and leaves the meat tender and flavorful. Just set your sous vide to work for 24 hours, and when you wake up in the morning, rain coming down sideways, kids cooped up, you’ll know just what to do. Start the prep work for your polenta and side dishes, finish up that housework, and sure, do your taxes—and spend the whole day basking in the knowledge that at 6pm, you’re all going to sit down and share a wholesome, hearty meal you made by hand. The kind of meal that your kids will remember forever, even though it was just a random rainy day in March. The stuff of Sunday-afternoon legend.