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Main Courses

 

 

Sea Bass in Papillote

   

Ali's note:  I use all kinds of fish in here and foil sometimes instead of paper. I double the tomatoes. This dish is always flavorful and can be adjusted to eaters. Nate never likes the herbs on his fish, but he likes the herb-infused fish. Jesse and Simone like the whole kit and kaboodle. Don't over cook or fish will be dry. Other white flaky fishes work very well too. And it's a fast weeknight dinner.

 

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 4 (6-ounce) fillets black sea bass or striped bass (1/2 to 1 1/4 inches thick) with skin

  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

  • 8 thin lemon slices (less than 3/4 inch thick; from 1 large lemon)

  • 8 sprigs fresh thyme

  • 2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced

  • 12 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons drained bottled capers

 

Preparation:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil, then drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil.

 

Pat fish dry and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Arrange fillets, skin sides down, in 1 layer in center of foil on baking sheet and slide 2 lemon slices under each fillet. Arrange 2 thyme sprigs on top of each fillet.

 

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté garlic, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and a pinch of salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are softened, about 1 minute. Stir in capers.

 

Spoon hot tomato mixture over fish, then cover with another sheet of foil, tenting it slightly over fish, and crimp edges together tightly to seal.

 

Bake until fish is just cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes (depending on thickness of fish); check by removing from oven and carefully lifting up a corner of top sheet of foil, pulling up sides of bottom sheet to keep liquid from running out. If fish is not cooked through, reseal foil and continue to bake, checking every 3 minutes.

 

Transfer fillets with lemon slices to plates using a spatula (be careful not to tear foil underneath) and spoon tomatoes and juices over top. Serve immediately, discarding thyme before eating.

Rigatoni alla Napoletana coi Peperoni Freschi

 

Ingredients:

  • 5 fresh, glossy, and meaty red sweet peppers

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil

  • 4 whole garlic cloves, peeled

  • Salt

  • 1-pound package rigatoni or ziti or other stubby tubular pasta

  • 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter

  • 15 small or 20 large fresh basil leaves

  • 2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

 

Preparation:

  1. Wash the peppers in cold water. Cut them along their deep folds into lengthwise sections. Scoop out and discard their seeds and pulpy core.

  2. Peel away the skin of the peppers, using a swivel-action peeler and a light touch. Cut the peppers into lengthwise strips about 1/2 inch broad, then shorten the strips cutting them in half.

  3. Choose a sauté pan large enough to accommodate later all the peppers without crowding. Put in the olive oil and the garlic, and turn on the heat to medium high. Sauté the garlic until it becomes colored a light brown; the remove it and discard it.

  4. Put the peppers into the pan, and cook them at lively heat for 15 minutes or so. They should become tender but not mushy and shapeless. When nearly done, salt them liberally. They must be well seasoned or the pasta will be insipid. Turn off the heat when done.

  5. Bring 4 to 5 quarts water to a boil, add salt, and when the water returns to a boil, put in the pasta.

  6. While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter slowly over low heat - make sure it doesn't cook.

  7. Rinse the basil leaves in cold water, and pat them dry gently with a soft kitchen towel or paper towels; do not bruise them. Tear large leaves into smaller pieces with your hands.

  8. When the pasta is cooked al dente, tender but firm to the bite, drain it thoroughly, and put it in a warm serving bowl. Add the peppers and all the oil from the pan, the melted butter, the basil, the grated cheese, and toss thoroughly. Serve at once.

Finger-Licking Ribs

 

Ingredients:

  • Babyback ribs (I use 2 large, meaty racks for 2 families of 4. Of course, if there had been more, we would have eaten them, but we were more or less sated.)

  • Kosher salt

  • Rib rub (recipe below)

  • Barbeque sauce (recipe below)

 

Preparation:

Rub the ribs with the rub, then refrigerate them, covered, as long as possible. Ideally overnight.

 

Heat your oven to 275F.

 

Bake the ribs for 3-4 hours -- the longer the better. If at any point the ribs seem to be browning excessively, turn the heat down to 250.

 

Now the ribs are cooked and tender, and honestly, if you ate them now, they'd be excellent. But we finish ours with barbeque sauce on the grill for a fuller barbeque experience. Heat a gas grill to medium (Michael added some hickory chips for a smoky flavor), or else let a nice wood or charcoal fire burn down to coals. Slather the ribs with sauce and then grill them for about five minutes a side, until the sauce is burnished but not burned; the sugar will make the sauce inclined to burn, so watch them carefully and err on the side of not blackening them too much (you could do this under the broiler in a pinch--they would still be good). Use a sharp, heavy knife to cut the racks into individual ribs, and serve with the rest of the barbeque sauce and lots of napkins. (You could also do this under the broiler.)

 

Rib Rub

By all means use your favorite rub or rub recipe, but beware of sugar, which will incline the ribs towards burning during their slow bake.

 

  • 1/4 cup regular (not smoked) paprika

  • 1 tablespoon Kosher salt

  • 1 teaspoon celery seeds

  • 1 tablespoon chili powder (I used a mix of chipotle powder and new Mexican chili powder; if you use a blend that has other seasoning in it such as salt, cumin, and oregano, just cut the salt back a bit)

 

I smashed the celery seeds and salt together with a mortar and pestle until the celery seeds looked pretty powdery; alternately, you could use celery salt and cut back on the Kosher salt a bit. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir together well. 

 

Barbeque Sauce

This adapted from a Tyler Florence recipe that my dad found online. I usually feel like homemade barbecue sauce is not worth the trouble, but this ruddy, delicious one--loaded with smoky flavor from the bacon--is an exception. You can make this while the ribs are baking.

 

  • 2 slices bacon

  • 1 large sprig of fresh thyme

  • 1/2 onion, finely chopped

  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

  • 2 cups ketchup

  • 1/4 cup brown sugar

  • 1/4 cup molasses

  • 2 tablespoons vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)

  • 1/2 tablespoon dry mustard (I used Coleman's)

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 1 teaspoon paprika (I used smoked)

  • Freshly ground black pepper

 

Fry the bacon in a pot over medium heat until it has given off most of its fat, then add the thyme, onions, and garlic and fry, stirring, until the onions are translucent and browning. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a simmer, then turn the heat down and simmer very gently, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. Fish the bacon out (okay, so we ate this on crackers and it was insanely good) before using.

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