WHEN I’M choosing my main dish for a meal, I want it to be the star of the show. I’m always going to reach first for something in season and local for inspiration. When the trout are running, for example, I’m going for a classic Trout Amandine. Then I’ll choose the accompaniments, starters, and side dishes accordingly. All the flavors need to complement one another. I’m all about taste first, followed closely by the colors and textures of a dish. They need to look pretty on a plate—even if it’s only a breakfast of an English muffin with hard-boiled egg and sliced mango on the side. Planning, fixing, and serving food is a work of art for me. I’m blessed that it also became my occupation. But at the heart of the matter, it’s the way that I love and nurture my family. It matters.
I am nontraditional in almost every aspect of my life, except for sitting down together for a meal, a ritual imprinted on me by my family’s Sunday dinners. I consider gathering around a table, whether it’s fancy mahogany or a weathered pine picnic table, the apex of Southern food culture and a noble tradition I want to pass down to my grandchildren.
Having lived on all three coasts of the United States, I know many Southerners who have left the South and moved away, but very few of them have abandoned their passion for Southern food culture—they take it with them wherever they go. That’s not to say every Sunday dinner in the South is an example of family harmony (goodness knows not every Buffett family dinner was!), but there is something special in this chaotic, speed-obsessed world about sitting down to eat at a table with plates, cloth napkins, forks and knives, and food that someone has thought about, prepared, and presented. It takes a long time and a lot of work to cook! Making a presentation of it shows an appreciation for the effort. It sends the message that food and family are indeed a big deal—and worth celebrating every chance we get. Appreciating our food and each other is always in season.
MAKES 20 RIBLETS
A MILLION YEARS ago, when I was a young cook and read any recipe book I could afford, I purchased a paperback Sunset cookbook on Chinese cooking. I was fascinated by learning this new cuisine, and luckily there was an Asian grocery store in the boondocks in Mobile, Alabama, where I could purchase what were then quite exotic ingredients. One such ingredient was fermented black beans. They had a salty, pungent flavor I had never tasted before and that I found absolutely alluring. In that little cookbook, there was a recipe for cocktail black bean spareribs, and every time I cooked the dish, the compliments were overflowing. Recently, when I was creating some new recipes, I decided to rework that black bean rib recipe with some Gulf Coast attitude, and this was the end result. Full of flavor that’s a mix of both the traditional and the unusual, this rib dish has quickly become a stand-up favorite!
2 pounds baby back pork ribs (your butcher can saw the entire rack horizontally to make riblets)
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup beef broth
1 cup Allegro Original Marinade
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup good-quality sake
¼ cup hoisin sauce
½ cup honey
½ cup beef broth
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce (I like to use Dreamland from Tuscaloosa, Alabama)
½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons Chinese fermented black beans, if available, or salted black bean paste or sauce (optional)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ cup finely chopped green onions
¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
Honey, for drizzling
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Place the rib racks in a roasting pan and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Add the broth and marinade. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes.
3. When the ribs have completely cooled, remove them from the cooking liquid. Cut in between the bones of the rack so they are cut into individual rib pieces and set aside.
4. Combine all the ingredients for the cooking sauce and set aside.
5. In a large wok or large heavy skillet (10 to 12 inches), heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. When the oil is just about to sizzle, add the garlic, ginger, black beans, and red pepper flakes. Stir for 1 minute.
6. Add the ribs to the wok or skillet, continuously lifting them to make sure they get covered with the garlic mixture. Stir-fry for 5 minutes, or until the ribs are heated through, scraping the bottom of the wok or skillet to make sure there’s no burning.
7. Add the cooking sauce and continue to stir the ribs for 2 minutes. Cover the wok or skillet, reduce the heat to low, and cook the ribs for 10 minutes.
8. Add the green onion and stir well. Cover the wok or skillet and remove it from the heat. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
9. Place the ribs on a large platter or divide among individual serving bowls. Sprinkle them with cilantro and drizzle with honey. Get ready to get sticky!