asian beef short ribs over warm balsamic potato salad

Would you believe this is my first time making beef short ribs? I can't believe it either. I don't know why I haven't used these sooner because they are the perfect sponges for sauces. I remember always passing them by at Whole Foods thinking what the heck am I gonna do with those? They don't look very meaty to me, and to be honest they really don't. They look all fatty, but underneath all that fatty is the hidden gem of tender meat. Really tender. The only downfall is they are not cheap--very expensive, but it was worth it. A meal you won't soon forget. And as I said before they are the perfect vessel for sauces, and you all know how I love my sauce.
Please bear with me, I think I got all the ingredients for the ribs; I kind of used what came to mind and/or what it needed as I went along. But you're all smart little foodies and know to taste your sauce as you go along and see what it needs, right? Good.

asian beef short ribs
by vanillasugarblog.com
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1 cup soy sauce
1 cup packed light brown sugar
4 TB sesame oil
4 TB ketchup (oh yeah, gourmet time)
4 TB rice vinegar
4 TB minced fresh ginger
About 5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 ts red pepper flakes
4 - 5 lbs beef short ribs

Preheat oven to 260 degrees.
Mix soy sauce, sugar, oil, vinegar, ginger, garlic and red pepper in a bowl.
Place ribs in a dutch oven and pour sauce over.
Cover and cook about 4 hours, then move them around a bit, cook for another hour with the cover off. Check to see if they are done (the meat should be really tender and falling off bones, if not, just cook a bit longer).
Remove ribs from crockpot. And at this point I like to make a reduction sauce using the sauce along with a bit more brown sugar & ketchup (taste as you go along and add what you think it needs); reduce till nice and thick. (this should be enough for four people).

warm balsamic potato salad

4 large potatoes (I use russet, use whatever you like)
¼ cup of Hellmans mayo
2 TB high quality balsamic vinegar
Dashes of black pepper
5 TB red onion, chopped fine
3 TB chopped scallions

First make dressing mix all the ingredients but the potatoes and scallions in a dish and chill.
Chop up potatoes into med. size chunks. Boil in salted water until just tender. Drain very well, I mean very well, and let them be and cool off a bit. OR if you want a cold salad this would be the time to chill them in the fridge for a while. When ready add the sauce to the potatoes and stir, then add in the scallions. (this should be enough for four people)