Dinner Diary: 6/17/10

• Pan-Seared Black Cod with Lime and Cilantro
• Fennel and Radish Salad with Shaved Parmigiano and Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette
• Farfalline with Pesto

Dinner Diary: 6/14/10 -- Meat-Free Monday

• Linguine with House-made Pesto
• Zucchini and Oregano (from Jacqueline & Fe's garden!!) Sautéed with Spring Onions
• Romaine Salad with Mushrooms and Cucumbers in a Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette

Oven-Barbecued Spareribs with Chinese-Style Barbecue Sauce

Sometimes cooking for A. can be –– well –– frustrating.

He is a busy man with a lot on his mind, and while I hate to say it, from time to time he forgets to, ahem, show his appreciation.

Or to even comment on the meal that I have prepared.

I suppose, if one looks at this optimistically, the tradeoff is that when he does dole out the praise I know that he is sincere.

Like the time I made a pork and apricot dish and A. quipped that this was a dish that Jonathan Gold needed to know about. It was that good.

No small compliment!

The other night I cooked up a batch of oven-barbecued spareribs with Chinese-style barbecue sauce. When A. tasted them, he said that if I ever opened a restaurant this dish would absolutely need to be on the menu.

This is huge, especially from A.

Thanks, baby!

He's right.

These ribs, thanks to the Chinese-style barbecue sauce, are –– to take advantage of an overused word that I typically hate –– phenomenal!

Believe me, this is not overstating the case.

My mom found this recipe in the June 1981 issue of Gourmet. I was nine years old then, and she's been making it ever since. Naturally, I have since stolen it from her.

The magazine suggests that this is a perfect dish for a bachelor party. Perhaps. Really, any celebration would do.

Better idea: Halve the recipe and eat it with your husband for a few meals over the course of a week or so.

If you like pork and have a strong appreciation for butter, pay attention. If you love spicy, tangy, garlicky barbecue sauces, start your grocery list.

There are not that many ingredients in this dish, and the preparation of the sauce and the pork ribs does not take overly long. Cooking the ribs, however, does take a while.

I've made these ribs many times, so this time I didn't bother to read through the recipe. Mistake! I forgot about the lengthy cooking time, and Fe and I were chained to the oven all afternoon and evening.

So worth it though. And burning myself twice in the same place, on the scar of another burn from twelve years ago? –– Worth it too.

The recipe instructs you to use bone-in country style spareribs. I've had trouble finding them with the bone in here in Los Angeles.

Alternatively, I've used boneless country pork ribs with great success. The meat is very moist due to the high fat content in the pork, to the process of blanching the ribs prior to baking, and to the liberal use of sauce during the baking process.

There is a not insubstantial amount of butter in the sauce. Two sticks! I wouldn't dream of cutting back on this. The richness of the butter balances the heat of the chile-garlic sauce and the acidity of the rice-wine vinegar. The ample measure of brown sugar (two cups!) ties all of the flavors together.

The result is a sauce that thrills your nostrils as the chile and vinegar evaporate during the cooking process. It is salty and robust from the soy, and tangy and bright due to the tomatoes and vinegar. Sweet -- but not too much so -- from the sugar.

This sauce strikes a perfect pitch of flavors.

Thank goodness the recipe makes nine cups, because you will notice the sauce slowly begin to disappear as you eat up spoonful after spoonful, while pretending to baste.

I always serve these ribs with rice. Simply put, I want something else over which to ladle the sauce.

This time, I also served roasted asparagus and Japanese negi onions.

This was a little rich for my taste, but A. loved it. I would prefer an acidic asian slaw or sharply dressed salad to offset the heavy dose of fat that comes with these ribs.

These ribs are especially good for entertaining, because you can do everything in advance and finish the ribs off with a final thirty minutes in the oven right before the guests arrive. Walking in the door, they will undoubtedly be enticed by the sweet and vinegary aroma that is filling the house.

And when they sit down and devour the sticky, messy, pork?

You'll almost certainly be guaranteed a heavy calendar-load of dinner parties in the future.

Oven-Barbecued Spareribs with Chinese-Style Barbecue Sauce

12 pounds country-style spareribs, bone-in

4 1/2 cups chopped onion

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter

3 cups tomato purée

2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup soy sauce

3/4 cup rice vinegar

6 tablespoons chile paste with garlic (Sambal Oelek)

In a large heavy stainless steel or enameled saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for 15 minutes, until softened. Add the tomato purée, brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chile paste, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Makes about 9 cups.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Trim the excess fat from the ribs. Leaving the ribs attached, blanch them in batches in a large pot of simmering water for 30 minutes, and drain them. Arrange the ribs meaty side up in 2 baking pans large enough to hold them in one layer and bake them for 20 minutes.

Lower the oven to 350 degrees.

Brush the ribs lightly on both sides with the sauce and bake them meaty side down for 20 minutes. Turn the ribs meaty side up, baste them generously with the sauce, and bake them for 20 minutes. Transfer the ribs to a cutting board, cut between the bones to separate them, and return the ribs meaty side up to the pans. Baste the ribs generously with the sauce and bake them for 20 minutes. (The ribs may be made ahead up to this point. Reheat the ribs in a 350 degree oven, turning them once for 30 minutes, or until they are heated through.)

Serves 8.

Spinach Cake

So far the name sounds more delicious than the final product.

Uh-oh.

The recipe is from A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes by David Tanis. I was optimistic, as I had great success with his vibrant carrot salad and delectable Indian-spiced halibut.

Although Fe would argue the point vigorously, this was sadly not quite the home run the others were. With a couple of adjustments though, this spinach cake might actually be a solid brunch or picnic dish.

Somewhere between a custard and a frittata, this cake puts to good use the extra eggs and milk in the refrigerator. Throw in about two pounds of spinach, a couple of leeks, and some seasonings and you have brunch. Or, in our case, a late night supper.

The cake is tasty and a gorgeous emerald green. Considering the recipe calls for a whole sink-full of spinach, it is not surprising how -- well -- spinachy this dish is.

I thought I had taken Tanis' advice to highly season the spinach seriously, but he is not joking around here. I felt the final product needed even more salt, pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg. The flavor was just too one-dimensional. It's spinach, period.

Next time I will add some chopped garlic to the leeks.

My only other criticism, aside from the seasoning problem, would be the issue of wateriness.

After you wash the spinach, you place it in a colander to drain. There is a lot of water on that spinach, and without spinning at least some of it dry or letting it drain in the colander for quite a while, you have a lot of moisture in your dish.

The water clinging to the leaves is important. When cooking, it steams the spinach. And Tanis wants us to reserve all of the liquid and add it to the final batter. This didn't seem like a problem until later.

After slicing, the water seeps out of the spinach cake onto the plate. I found a small puddle at the bottom of my baking dish. But it's not really a presentation issue -- the biggest problem is that the spinach cake just tastes and feels watery in the mouth.

The solution must be to spin dry at least half of the leaves or pour off some of the liquid before adding the vegetable mixture to the batter.

With those adjustments -- oh yes, and add a bit more Parmigiano! -- this really would make an excellent dish for a weekend brunch. It must be made ahead, which is actually convenient, as it needs to be served at room temperature. Undoubtedly, it presents beautifully.

A citrusy herb salad on the side as Tanis suggests and a loaf of no-knead bread would be the perfect complements.

Spinach Cake

2 bunches spinach, about 2 pounds

2 medium leeks

2 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper

nutmeg

2 cups whole milk

6 large eggs

pinch of cayenne

2 tablespoons or more grated Parmigiano

Cut the spinach into 1-inch wide ribbons (I just used baby spinach), discarding any tough stems. Wash the spinach in a large basin of water, then lift them out to a colander. Repeat until there is no sand or dirt in the water.

Trim the leeks and peel off any tough outer layers. Cut the leeks into a small dice. Rinse in a bowl of warm water until the sand and dirt has settled to the bottom. Scoop the leeks out of the water. Repeat as necessary.

Melt the butter in a deep, heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the leeks, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until tender, about five minutes.

Turn up the heat and scrape a little nutmeg over the leeks. Add the drained spinach in layers, sprinkling each layer with a little salt. Cover tightly, and let steam rapidly over the leeks, stirring once or twice. The water clinging to the spinach will provide enough moisture for steaming (and how!). When the spinach is just barely wilted, 2 minutes or less, turn out the contents of the pot onto a platter and let cool. Be sure to save any cooking juices that have accumulated.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. When the spinach-leek mixture is cool, taste for seasoning and adjust. It should be highly seasoned. In a blender or food processor, puree the cooked vegetables with the milk and eggs in batches, adding a little more salt and pepper, and a pinch of cayenne. Add any remaining cooking juices to one of the batches and puree again.

Pour the soupy green batter into a buttered baking dish or a 9- or 10- inch deep-dish pie pan. Grate a scant 2 tablespoons Parmigiano over the top, and bake uncovered for 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool. Cut into wedges and serve.

Dinner Diary: 6/9/10

• Roasted McGrath Farm Carrots
• C.S.A Salad with Romaine, Radishes, Cucumbers, Avocado, Pear Tomatoes with a Lemon, Garlic, Mustard, Parmesan Vinaigrette
• Oven-Roasted Tri-Tip

Dinner Diary: 6/07/10

• Sautéed Bay Scallops with Garlic and Lemon Over Jasmine Rice
• Pan-roasted Summer Squash with Spring Onions and Garlic
• Rocket with Lemon Vinaigrette

Dinner Diary: 6/6/10

A while back, I mentioned that I wanted to keep a record of what I cook for dinner. Certainly not every meal that I cook is worthy of a lengthy post or discussion.

I've been thinking over my failure to keep this record, and I believe the best way for me to arrive at success is to find a shorthand that will allow me to log what I've cooked for dinner with just the fundamentals -- a few pictures, a naming of parts, perhaps a simple description.

So here we go.

Sunday night, Dinner, 6/6/10

• Roasted White Bass with Morels
• Boiled Farmer's Market Red Fingerling Potatoes with Crème Fraîche and C.S.A. Baby Scallions
• McGrath Farm's Green Beans with Garlic

What's in Your Pantry? -- Desperation Clam Sauce

It's been said before, but looking into a person's pantry is very much like spying on someone's groceries in the checkout line at the supermarket. It can reveal a lot about a person.

Two things that I often wonder about –– What do people cook on a regular basis, especially during the middle of the week, when they're short on time and energy? And when it comes to it, ok, yes, what is in their pantry?

What kind of chocolate is in there? How many types of salt do they have tucked away? Are they tidy and organized or is everything shoved in haphazardly? What kind of oil do they cook with? Is there an amazing ingredient hiding behind the corn starch or curry powder that I need to know about?

When I am desperate and tired, I rifle through my pantry -- ok, it's just a really tall cabinet! -- and look for solutions.

A few nights ago one came in the form of three cans of clams.

Now, I can't promise that you will love this. My sister really doesn't, though she acknowledges its merits. She thinks it's like ham –– we never long for it, but when my mom barbecues a whole ham we are surprised by how happy we are to eat it.

I think A. is pretty ambivalent. He never even comments.

I, however, find this linguine with clam sauce to be very satisfying and incredibly easy. You can make it in your sleep. I always have the ingredients on hand, and the whole dish can be ready in fifteen minutes. Add a salad and you have a fine meal.

All you need are clams, garlic, parsley, butter, thyme, and linguine. I almost always use Snow's brand chopped clams, because they come in clam juice. This way you don't need to bother buying a bottle of the stuff. If you buy clams in water, be sure to spring for the extra bottle of clam juice. It really is essential.

This is not a fancy linguine and clam sauce. These are canned clams, but the garlic and butter combined with the clam juice make for a delicious sauce that bathes the linguine well. Some folks might like to thicken the sauce with flour, but not me. I prefer the brothiness of the unthickened sauce.

And yes, I like to dust the whole thing with parmesan cheese. I can just hear the gasps now.

––Cheese on seafood! A culinary catastrophe!

I say eat what you enjoy!

Linguine with Clam Sauce

1/4 cup butter

1 large clove garlic, finely chopped

3 6.5 ounce cans Snow's chopped clams

1/4 cup chopped parsley

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves

3/4 pound linguine

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the linguine and cook until al dente. Drain.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the garlic and cook for one minute over moderate heat. Open the cans of clams and pour in the juice only, stirring.

Add the parsley, salt, pepper, and thyme and simmer for ten minutes. Add the clams and heat through.

Serve the sauce over the linguine. Pass parmesan cheese at the table, if you can stand the humiliation!

Tacos Baja Ensenada

Wednesdays are a very good day to visit East L.A.

The reason –– 99 cent fish tacos!

Mo and I headed over to Whittier Blvd in East Los Angeles midday Wednesday. An ideal time for driving through our congested city. There was no traffic at all –– except for the traffic inside Tacos Baja Ensenada.

Tacos Baja Ensenada is the the Mecca of fish tacos in Los Angeles. Usually very crowded at lunchtime, it was more packed than I had ever seen it. Not surprisingly –– a 99 cent fish taco is quite the deal!

Fortunately, the line moved quickly.

It was not long before we had our order. We each selected a shrimp and fish taco combo, and we shared the ceviche mixto. And, at this point, you should be asking what were they thinking?

Good question.

That ceviche bar always calls out to me, but I've learned it's best to turn a deaf ear. This time the ceviche was no good at all. It may have been the imitation crab, but something tasted wrong –– a little antiseptic or metallic. Either way, this is not what you want your seafood to taste like, especially if it has only been cooked through the chemistry of citrus and salt. We couldn't eat it.

I remember liking the rice and beans in the past, but honestly they are irrelevant. Bland and pointless –– you do not need a combo. Mo really liked the shrimp taco, and so did I, but the star here is definitely the fish taco.

The tacos are bursting with fish, and the fish is fresh and clean-tasting, encased in an ultra-crisp batter. A squirt of lime juice is all you need to add to the crema-cloaked package.

Eat your tacos quickly before everything gets soggy! These are outstanding.

And if you are a crazed chile maniac like me, take a bite of the addictive lightly-roasted yellow chiles after each bite of taco. I adore these chiles! I crave them! They're not too spicy, so you don't have to stop!

Yes, Wednesday is the ticket. Fish tacos and yellow chiles. You don't need to order anything else. You can leave Tacos Baja Ensenada fully sated for about five bucks.

Tacos Baja Ensenada

5385 Whittier Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90022