Monthly Archives: February 2010

Ribs for Super Bowl weekend

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rib service 2010

I don’t care about the Super Bowl but I care about ribs.

Ribs tend to be on sale now, so it’s a good time to pick them up.  I found spare ribs (cut from the bottom portion of the ribs and breast bone) for less than $2 a pound the other day, but you had to buy two large, whole racks.  OK, not really a problem for four people who might look for leftovers at night.  I know baby backs (cut from the top of the ribs) are all the rage, but I prefer the more succulent spare ribs, with their layer of meat below where the bacon (belly) was removed.

This morning I found myself with two racks, each about 6 1/2 pounds, and decided to slow-roast them whole, mopped with a thin, Eastern Carolina-type sauce.  I’m sure purists in that area would frown upon all the things I add to the cider vinegar, but I remain true to their “no tomato products” rule, at least.  These ribs have a little zip but are mild.  They’re good for people who don’t want the seasoning to overpower the taste of the pork.  I also give you here my famous (at least in this house!) tamarind cabbage slaw.  This slaw goes well with these ribs because it echoes a couple of the same ingredients.  Note that it’s a dry slaw.

Spare Ribs with Piquant Seasoning
Makes two large racks
Make sauce the day before, if possible

For ribs:
2 whole racks spare ribs
Kosher salt

For the sauce:
Make extra if you want some to serve with the ribs
1 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup water
Juice of 1 large orange + pulp
3 tbsp. tamarind concentrate or syrup (UNSWEETENED) (buy in Asian markets)
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. chocolate syrup
1 tsp. Sriracha sauce (buy in Asian markets, or use Tabasco)
1/2 tsp. instant coffee
3 tbsp. raw or light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ground thyme
1/4 tsp. ground rosemary
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1).  Make sauce by combining all sauce ingredients well in medium saucepan and boiling, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
2).  Allow sauce to cool to room temperature.  If made the day before, allow it to come to room temperature.
3).  Prepare ribs.  For each:  dry off,  remove the membrane from rib side, sprinkle with salt on both sides and set on foil-covered sheet pan.  Let sit while you prep the oven.
4).  Prepare the oven.  Set your oven racks so one is two from the top and the other is two below that.  You want to avoid the top slot as well as the bottom, if your slabs overlap the sheets pans.  If they do, line the bottom oven rack with foil.
5).  Taking 1/3 of the cooled sauce, mop it over both sides of the ribs, leaving the meaty side up.
6).  Allow ribs to sit on counter until they come close to room temperature, but no more than 45 minutes.
7).  Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. and put ribs in.
8).  Mop both sides of ribs with sauce every 45 minutes or so.  For the last mopping, move the ribs to racks set into your sheet pans (not a must, but the ribs will be dryer if you do this), making sure that the meaty side is up when you’re done.  If you run out of sauce for the last mopping, use pan juices.  My racks took a total of 3 hours, but your cooking time may vary.  They’re done when the thickest part comes easily off the bones.  Use good food safety practices here.  I used a pastry brush and washed it with soap after each mopping.
9).  Allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving.  Cut individual ribs evenly between the bones, or create little racks.

Note:  If you have the time and space, prep and mop ribs the night before with 1/3 of the sauce.  Wrap tightly in layers of plastic and refrigerate overnight.  Forgo the first mopping when you make the recipe; just let them sit for 45 minutes on the counter before you put them in the oven.

Tamarind Cabbage Slaw

2 pounds shredded cabbage (a little carrot in there is fine)
1/2 cup good mayonnaise
Just under 1/2 cup tamarind concentrate or syrup (UNSWEETENED) (buy in Asian markets)
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. ground white pepper
1 tsp. Kosher salt

1).  Whisk all except cabbage in large bowl.
2).  Fold cabbage in with spatula.
3).  Leave on counter for 30 minutes, mixing every 10 mins. or so.  It will seem really, really dry until the cabbage gives off some liquid and deflates.
4).  Cover and move to fridge until ready to serve, and mix right before serving.

If your ribs overlap your pans, set this up

If your ribs overlap your pans, set this up

Rack of spare ribs set up on sheet pan

Rack of spare ribs set up on sheet pan

Ribs done and fully rested

Ribs done and fully rested

Tamarind cabbage slaw when first put together

Tamarind cabbage slaw when first put together

Tamarind slaw 30 minutes later

Tamarind cabbage slaw 30 minutes later

Ribs and slaw serving suggestion

Ribs and slaw serving suggestion

Berry bored waiting for something to happen with the ribs

Berry bored waiting for something to happen with the ribs

Garlic bread

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Buttery & really garlicky garlic bread

Buttery & really garlicky garlic bread

My son, Matthew, loves garlic bread.  I developed this recipe to make up for the fact that most oven-ready loaves from the supermarket don’t have much zing.  Even many restaurant versions don’t have enough garlic and can be dry.

He likes it with a little life left and plenty garlicky, so I don’t toast the bread before adding the spread and use both fresh and powdered garlic.

Give it a try – making adjustments to your liking.

Buttery & Really Garlicky Garlic Bread
Makes 8 pieces

4 long sourdough rolls (i.e., Acme; La Brea Bakery from Costco; nothing texturally skimpy)
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/4 cup melted butter, unsalted
2 tablespoons dried parsley (you can use fresh, if you like)
2 teaspoons garlic powder (NOT garlic salt!)
3 tablespoons pulverized* garlic
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1).  Slice rolls lengthwise and set aside
2).  Whisk together all ingrediants except pepper
3).  Apply spread to rolls liberally with pastry brush, allowing some to soak into crevasses
4).  Place rolls on sheet pan and set on middle rack of oven
5).  Set oven to broil, checking often to make sure tops do not burn, until rolls are to your liking.  You can use very high heat and convection rather than “broil,” if you prefer
6).  When done, grind a little black pepper on top and serve right away

* use a mortar & pestle -or- chop finely, add a little salt and smash/press down on your board with the side of a chef’s knife and grind into paste

You can use a food processor or blender for the spread, but do stir the parsley into the spread by hand.

Lunch at Jimmy Beans in Berkeley

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Matt ready for lunch at Jimmy Bean's in Berkeley

Matt ready for lunch at Jimmy Beans in Berkeley

We used to go to Jimmy Beans (1290 6th Street, Berkeley) all the time but then stopped, mainly because it was just too jam-packed and claustrophobic in there, and then dealing with only one restroom – a drag.  Maybe it was also because we got tired of this kind of casual Berkeley restaurant, of which there are several, and needed a break.  After all, there are only so many dishes of eggs with chicken-apple sausage and vegetable wraps one can eat over a short period.  Maybe it also had to do with not being crazy about T-Rex, another in the K2 family of restaurants, and feeling somewhat ripped-off by that establishment and not wanting to line the pockets of the owners in any way.  Who can remember?  All I know is that Matthew and I started going back to Jimmy Beans recently and rediscovered the things we loved about it in the first place, and found that there have been some improvements – to the space, I mean; the food was never lacking.

Chicken Panini at Jimmy Beans

Chicken Panini at Jimmy Beans

First off, they now have sturdy metal chairs, not those rickety wooden ones, and expanded their dining space.  While it’s still crowded during peak hours, it’s not as bad.  They also now serve dinner, which means that you have until at least 9:00 p.m. to get your fix.  Do what we do, though:  go during off hours, like 2:30 p.m., if you’re able.

Steak sandwich special at Jimmy Beans

Steak Sandwich at Jimmy Beans

Yesterday we had a Steak Sandwich ($12) and Chicken Panini ($9.50).  With one coffee (Matthew, who else?), and a bowl of soup ($4.50), it set us back $30.49 plus a couple bucks for the tip jar.  The steak sand had two thick slices of ribeye, rare, as requested, tomato, caramelized red onion, melted Swiss cheese and a bit of mayo and mustard.  Served on a soft, long roll, the whole thing kind of melted together.  I have to say it was very good, and was not expecting it to be so decadent.  Sometimes things sound good on paper…you know how that works.  My sandwich came with a small portion of fries, really crispy and hot, and a small salad of spring mix, pre-tossed in a nicely-balanced vinaigrette-type dressing.  The chix sand was griddled crispy, which gave the flatbread nice texture, and there was a little veggie action in there.  Matt didn’t allow me to fully inspect his sandwich, but he was very happy with it.  It came with a larger spring mix salad.

Potato Leek soup at Jimmy Beans

Potato Leek soup at Jimmy Beans

We split the soup, which was excellent, as soups here tend to be.  This one was vegetarian with deep flavor, and not a run-in-the-mill, clumpy potato leek, rather more brothy, with large pieces of potato and other soft veggies.  It came with bread and butter.

Other things we did not have on this visit but which we have regularly and can recommend, are:

Entrees involving chicken on the bone.  They make a fabulous, flavorful roast chicken here.  If I can’t make it to Cafe Rouge to get a whole chicken to go, this is my next choice.

Breakfasts.  Their homefries are more like roast potatoes, and they serve good bread.  When my stepfather used to visit from New York City, we would have the Grilled Pork Chop and Eggs ($12.95) as a treat.  The morning he passed away we drove to Jimmy Beans from UCSF, after having been up all night, to have this dish in his honor and as some small form of comfort.  That should tell you something.

The Cheddar Quesadilla ($5.25).  Enough cheese and nice and crispy.  Matthew, the house expert in this area, says they’re very good.

They serve a good cup of coffee, which is endless and self-serve.  This is a must, really, but you can’t take it for granted.

The specials are often very good, and I tend to order sandwiches from from this menu.

I have not yet tried the fixed-price, three-course, evening meal ($15), which they probably added because of the economic situation.  They are very good at updating their website with daily specials, and you can see what the fixed-price menus are a week in advance.  For example, today it’s meatloaf with mashed and veg, soup or salad, and dessert.

Check the website for their exact hours, but they average about 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.  Although you can order from the lunch/dinner menu all day, they start table service at 5:00 p.m.  Before 5 you order and pay at the counter and they bring your food to you.

Tom Kha Tuna

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tom kha tuna 2010

I had quite a few frozen albacore tuna steaks in my freezer that I needed to use up, which is the only reason I would use such a protein for this dish – let’s get that straight up front.  Why?  If you overcook fresh tuna, you may as well use canned, and it would be very easy to overcook it in this dish.  Albacore and ahi steaks are best seared and served on the rare side.  However, if you find yourself with some that have been hanging around in the freezer till their drop-dead usage date and you want to cook them through, you may want to try this recipe.  If not, use another kind of meaty, white-fleshed fish, shrimp, scallops, or chicken.

This recipe uses tom kha paste. Even people who spend way too much time dealing with food don’t always want to grind lemongrass and galangal, so Thai curry pastes are a Godsend.  That said, tom kha pastes tend to have too much salt and lack the brightness you’d have in a homemade version.  To get around that, we add a few fresh ingredients to amp it back up.  Generally speaking, this problem is less pronounced with other pastes, like panang, green and masuman, to name a few, than it is with the tom kha, which I always need to doctor up.

This is usually offered as soup in Thai restaurants, i.e., Tom Kha Gai (chicken), but I serve it with rice as a full meal.
This recipe will provide dinner to 6 – 8 people if you make a pot of jasmine rice to go with it.  Serve in large bowls and then mound rice on one side.

Tom Kha Whatever-you-like 

2 – 14 oz. cans coconut milk
28 oz chicken stock
1/4 cup tom kha paste (buy in Asian markets)
1 stalk lemongrass, peeled of outer leaves, cut into short (2″) sticks, using the bottom 2/3 of stalk only
2 large slices of fresh galangal or standard ginger – no need to peel
6 red bell peppers, in large chunks (they add some smokiness, but feel free to use some green and some red)
3 1/2 lbs. firm, white protein, i.e., chicken, in large cubes
1/8 cup fresh lime juice

1).  In wok or large cooking vessel and over medium heat, whisk coconut milk, stock (fill each empty coconut milk can with stock to measure) and tom kha paste until blended.
2).  Add lemongrass and galangal.
3).  Bring to boil and add the peppers.
4).  Bring to simmer and cook for 2 minutes.
5).  Bring to boil over high heat and add protein, stir in, bring to simmer, lower heat and cook until protein is just done.  If using something like albacore, this would be only a couple of minutes.  For chicken or shrimp, generally no more than 4 or 5 minutes.  Depends also on the size of your cuts.
6).  Turn off heat and stir in lime juice.
7).  Taste and add a little more lime juice, if needed.
8).  Ladle into bowls.  A couple of scallion curls on top would be nice, or cilantro sprigs.