Make a manly meal for Father’s Day

I have heard the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I’m not

sure that’s entirely true, but I’m going to go with it.

When Ben and I got married, his mother gave me a recipe box with

Ben’s “favorite” recipes. Some recipes were good, some weren’t. ...

I’m going to give her some slack since there were seven kids in their

family and five of them were boys. You need a lot of volume to fill

up five teenage boys.

Twenty-one years later, Ben has some new favorites. And this

Sunday, we intend to spoil him with some recipes from Wolfgang Puck.

To the men in my life that I love and cherish: Happy Father’s Day.

Wolfgang’s Honey Spareribs Chinois

2 pounds baby back ribs, in one or two racks

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup soy sauce

1 1/2 cups rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons honey

1/2 cup chopped garlic

2 scallions, minced

1/4 cup chopped fresh ginger

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 small jalapeno pepper, minced

Rub both sides of the ribs with black pepper. Place them uncut in

a roasting pan.

Mix the soy sauce, honey, vinegar, garlic, ginger, cilantro,

jalapeno and scallions and pour over the ribs.

Cover and marinate the ribs overnight in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Drain the marinade from the ribs

and roast the ribs in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes.

Remove.

Before serving, grill the spareribs until they are really brown.

Cut the racks into individual ribs and arrange the ribs in an

overlapping fashion on a warm platter.

Wolfgang’s Coleslaw

1 head green cabbage cut into long, thin strips

1 medium carrot, grated, with excess juice squeezed out

1 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons toasted caraway seeds

Salt and pepper to taste

Pinch of sugar

Combine ingredients in a large bowl.

Refrigerate for two hours.

Mini Strawberry Swirl Cheesecakes

Use 12 1-cup ramekins or a regular size muffin pan

Baking pan large enough to hold ramekins

Strawberry Compote

Three 1-pint baskets strawberries, hulled and cut into thick

slices

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cinnamon sticks in a medium nonreactive saucepan, combine

berries, sugar and cinnamon sticks. Cook over medium-high heat for

about 15 minutes until compote thickens slightly and just coats the

back of the spoon. Cool.

Spago Cheesecake Filling

1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature, cut into small pieces

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon dark rum

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 eggs

Place the cream cheese, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Use an

electric mixer on medium speed and beat until smooth. Turn the speed

to high until the mixture is creamy. Add sour cream, rum, lemon juice

and vanilla. Continue beating until blended. Add eggs and beat

lightly.

Position rack in center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Coat the ramekins or muffin pan with vegetable spray. Spoon one

tablespoon Strawberry Compote into the bottom of each cup, and then

add Spago Cheesecake Filling.

Arrange ramekins in the large baking pan and fill the baking pan

with hot water, reaching about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake until the cheesecakes begin to pull away from the sides and are

almost firm to the touch, 35 to 40 minutes.

Remove ramekins, cool and refrigerate. When ready to serve, run a

sharp knife around the inside edge and invert the cake on a serving

plate. Garnish with fresh strawberries and serve immediately.

* KAREN WIGHT is a Newport Beach resident. Her column runs

Thursdays.