Braised Ribs & Horseradish

My favorite dish of our California trip, from Lucques in LA.

6 beef short ribs, 14-16 ounces each (ask for 3 bone centercut)
1 tblsp plus 1 tsp thyme leaves, and 4 whole sprigs of thyme
1 tblsp freshly cracked black pepper
3 dozen small pearl onions
1/2 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced carrot
1/3 cup diced celery
2 bay leaves
2 tblsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups port
2 1/2 cups hearty red wine
6 cups of beef or veal stock
4 sprigs parsley
2 bunches swiss chard, ribs removed

potato puree
1 1/2 lbs russet potatoes
1 1/2 lbs yukon gold potatoes
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cups whole milk
8 ounces unsalted butter, cut into chunks
maldon sea salt

horseradish cream
3/4 cup creme fraiche
1 tblsp grated horseradish (original recipe calls for "prepared" horseradish
maldon sea salt
ground black pepper

1. preheat oven to 425 degrees F
2. season ribs with 1 tblsp thyme and cracked black pepper, coat meat, cover and put in fridge over night
3. take out of fridge 1 hour before cooking, after 30 minutes, season generously on all sides with salt
4. toss pearl onions in olive oil, t tsp thyme, salt and pepper; spread on a baking sheet and roast 15 minutes until tender; when cooled slip off skins and set aside
5. turn oven down to 325 degrees F
6. heat a large sauté pan on high heat for 3 minutes; poor in 3 tblsp of olive oil, wait a minute until the pan is hot and almost smoking
7. place the short ribs in the pan, sear until browned on all three meaty sides; do in batches (do not crowd the meat); when browned, transfer to a braising pan, lied flat bones standing up in one layer
8. turn the heat down to medium, add onion, carrot, celery, thyme sprigs, bay leaves; stir with wooden spoon scraping up all the crusty bits in the pan
9. cook 6-8 minutes, until vegetables just begin to caramelize; add balsamic vinegar, port and red wine; turn heat up to high, reduce liquid by half
10. add stock, bring to a boil; pour the liquid over the short ribs, scraping any vegetables that have fallen on the ribs back into the liquid; the stock mixture should almost cover the ribs' tuck the parsley sprigs in and around the meat; cover tightly with aluminum foil and a tight fitting lid, braise in over for 3 hours
11. when meat is done, it will yield easily to a knife
12. let the ribs rest 10 minutes in their juices, transfer to a baking sheet
13. turn oven up to 400 degrees F, place ribs in oven 10-15 minutes to brown
14. strain the broth into a saucepan, pressing down on the vegetables with a ladle to extract all the juices, skim the fat from the sauce and, if the broth seems thin, reduce it over medium-high heat to thicken slightly, taste for seasoning
15. heat sauté pan for 2 minutes, tear the swiss chard into large pieces, add olive oil to pan, stir in the cooked pearl onions, add half the swiss chard and cook 1-2 minutes stirring the greens in the oil to help them wilt
16. add a splash of water and the second half of greens, season and cook a few more minutes; place the chard on a large platter, arrange ribs on top, spoon the braising juices over the ribs, serve the hot potato puree and horseradish cream on the side
17. to make the puree, place whole and unpeeled potatoes in sauce pan, add salt and fill pot with cold water; bring potatoes to a boil over high heat, turn down the heat to low and simmer 45 minutes until tender; strain when cooked through, set aside to cool; heat the cream and milk together in a small saucepan then turn off the heat, when potatoes have cooled, peel them and pass through a food mill; put the riced potatoes in a pan, heat them over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, to dry them out; add butter slowly stirring constantly and season with 2 1/2 tsp of salt; when all the butter has been incorporated, slowly stir in the warm cream mixture until you have a smooth puree; season, pass through a fine-mesh tames twice
18. to make horseradish cream, combine creme fraiche and horseradish in a small bowl, season