GREAT HOME COOKS : Make Room for Daddy

Alan Schoening was 10 years old when he taught himself how to cook--kid favorites such as waffles, French toast, fudge and chocolate pudding. That was during World War II, when his mother was working in a defense plant in Milwaukee. But the thrill of the kitchen didn’t last. “The war ended, my mother cooked, the Air Force fed me and my wife cooked,” he explains.

It was his intense love of Chinese food that got him back into the kitchen--at age 35. Schoening had moved to North Carolina only to discover that the nearest Chinese restaurant was 500 miles away. “On business trips to New York,” he says, “I’d buy bags of fresh, dried and bottled ingredients at the Mott Street markets and bring them home for my wife to cook in her new wok. And I made a chopping block from a sycamore tree, like the ones in the Chinese barbecue shops.”

He also bought his wife, Judie, a razor-sharp cleaver, but ended up taking over knife duties himself. “Edward Scissorhands she wasn’t,” he says, “so rather than have a digit-less spouse, I wrestled the cleaver away and commenced chopping, slicing and dicing.”

The cleaver led him to the wok. “It seemed to be even more fun than the cleaver,” he says. “Finally I was liberated from waffles, French toast, fudge and pudding.”

That was 23 years ago. Since then he’s been cooking Chinese, Japanese, Korean, even Indian food, as well as what he calls “a wealth of traditional Western foods.” Some of his all-time favorites: Chinese-style ribs, hot-and-sour soup, crab won tons and roasted chicken stuffed with glutinous rice, bamboo shoots and lotus seeds.

As his interest grew, cooking became a family hobby. Schoening spent most of his time on the road selling china, crystal and silver, but weekends, when he was home, Chinese banquets were not unusual. “All four of us, including Judie and our daughters Lisa and Carina, would be chopping, dicing, frying, baking and talking together,” he says. Once, for a neighborhood Christmas home tour, Schoening and family stuffed and fried 600 won tons.

“Even as teen-agers, the girls were always home for dinner,” Judie Schoening says, “and when they were little, they sometimes traveled with him--handing out doughnut and food samplings for giveaways.” He even created a small recipe booklet, “The Traveling Salesman’s Total Weekend Involvement,” for a give-away at salesmen’s seminars.

These days, the Schoenings are settled in Los Angeles’ historic West Adams district, faced with the continuing challenge of remodeling their 3,000-square-foot, 82-year-old Craftsman home. When he’s not puttering inside, Alan is outside tending his herb and vegetable garden. “Next to cooking,” says Judie, “Alan loves gardening.” He grows carrots, potatoes, garlic, bok choy, zucchini, eggplant and lots of herbs, all of which help Schoening keep his cooking full of fresh ingredients--he abhors commercially prepared foods. “Those,” he says, “and ketchup are kept under the sink with the Drano.”

When his daughters went off to college, Schoening gave each of them a large box containing a wok, a chopping block, a cleaver, a soup pot and lots of spices and herbs. “They were never starving students,” he says. Both have become experts in Chinese cooking, and Lisa--a jeweler--bakes great bread, while Carina--a professional photographer--likes to make Indian food and sushi.

Judie Schoening thinks it was good for her daughters to have both a mom and a dad in the kitchen.

“Alan has never differentiated between men’s and women’s work,” read the letter she wrote to nominate her husband as a Great Home Cook. “And when he discovered cooking, it added a new dimension to the togetherness of our family. Our daughters learned as much about the kitchen, its workings and its clean-up from Alan as they did from me. Seeing Dad in the kitchen was an important part of our daughters’ concept of themselves and the relationship of men and women. Besides, they learned to be great cooks themselves!”

Schoening discovered baby-back ribs while traveling the mid-South. “They do wonderful things with pork in Tennessee, Kentucky and the Carolinas,” he says. “I had a taste of these ribs at a restaurant in Memphis.” After that he couldn’t wait to make them in his own kitchen. Because baby-backs aren’t always available in the supermarket, Schoening suggests the 99 Ranch Market in Chinatown where you often can find a whole rib loin. Regular full-size spareribs can also be used but they should be cooked longer. You can serve the ribs with plain baked red yams or steamed corn, Judie’s Coleslaw and Bread and Butter Pickles.

UNCLE AL’S MEMPHIS RIBS

4 pounds baby back ribs

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons dried oregano, crushed

1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 2 tablespoons dried, crushed

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice

Cut ribs into 4- to 5-rib sections and place in shallow glass dish. Mix olive oil, oregano, rosemary, pepper and lime juice. Pour over rib sections.

Start barbecue grill. When temperature drops to 375 degrees, place ribs around edge of rack, away from direct heat. Cover and maintain heat around 325 degrees, until ribs are tender, about 1 hour.

To cook in oven, arrange ribs on rack in shallow roasting pan and bake at 400 degrees 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 250 degrees and bake another 30 minutes or until done. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

613 calories; 129 mg sodium; 132 mg cholesterol; 54 grams fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 29 grams protein; 0.32 gram fiber.

Note: If using regular full-size spareribs, bake in 400-degree oven 10 minutes on each side. Then bake additional 1 1/2 to 2 hours at 200 degrees. Place pan of water in oven to keep ribs moist. Slow low heat enables more fat to drip off ribs.

To go with her husband’s Memphis-style ribs, Judie Schoening often steams ears of fresh white corn and makes a batch of her coleslaw. “She’s the salad chef,” Alan says, “I keep out of it.” She tosses the cabbage with green peppers and carrots and a tangy red - wine vinaigrette.

JUDIE’S COLESLAW

1 medium head cabbage

2 green peppers, finely shredded

2 carrots, finely shredded

2 tablespoons minced parsley

1/2 cup finely sliced green onions

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon sugar, preferably raw sugar

1 teaspoon salt, about

Cayenne pepper

1/2 to 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, ground

6 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Reserve outside leaves of cabbage for garnish, refreshing in ice water to crisp. Slice remaining cabbage into fine shreds and place in large bowl. Add green peppers, carrots, parsley and green onions.

Combine olive oil, sugar, salt, cayenne pepper to taste and mustard seeds and stir well. Add to vegetables and toss. Add red wine vinegar and toss well. Adjust salt to taste. Cover and chill until serving time. Makes about 12 cups, 12 to 16 servings.

Each serving contains about:

93 calories; 215 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 7 grams fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.84 gram fiber.

Alan Schoening revised this recipe from an old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. He usually gets his pickling cucumbers at the farmer’s market in Santa Monica. Recently, he bargained with them all afternoon until he got a 30 cents-a-pound deal. “I guess they didn’t want to take them back to the farm,” he says.

CRISP BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES

4 quarts sliced unpeeled medium pickling cucumbers (about 4 pounds)

6 medium white onions, sliced

2 green peppers, sliced

3 whole garlic cloves, peeled

1/3 cup pickling salt

5 cups sugar

3 cups cider vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 1/2 teaspoons celery seeds

2 tablespoons mustard seeds

Combine cucumbers, onions, green peppers, whole garlic cloves and pickling salt in large bowl. Cover with cracked ice. Mix thoroughly. Let stand 3 hours. Drain well. Remove garlic cloves. Place cucumber mixture in large saucepan.

Combine salt, sugar, cider vinegar, turmeric, celery seeds and mustard seeds. Pour over cucumber mixture. Bring to boil.

Fill hot sterilized jars with mixture, leaving 1/2 inch head space. With damp cloth, wipe off any spilled food from rim of jar and adjust lids to seal. Place jars on rack in large kettle and add hot water to cover jar lids by 1 to 2 inches. Bring to boil and process 5 minutes. Makes 8 pints, or 48 servings.

Each serving contains about:

94 calories; 641 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 24 grams carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0.33 gram fiber.

They’re similar to Chinese deli ribs, if not better, because you make them fresh. For extra-tender ribs, cook for a longer period. If you’re using regular spareribs, don’t forget to put the pan of water in the oven to keep the ribs moist.

CHINESE RIBS CAUCASIAN

4 pounds baby back ribs

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 slices ginger root, minced

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup dark soy sauce

3 tablespoons shao hsing wine

1/2 teaspoon 5-spice powder

Slice ribs between bones about 2/3 through. Place ribs in shallow dish. Combine garlic, ginger, maple syrup, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, wine and 5-spice powder. Pour mixture over ribs, rubbing into cuts. Marinate 2 hours.

Place ribs on rack in shallow baking dish and bake at 400 degrees 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 250 degrees and cook another 30 to 40 minutes or until done. Slice rib sections into individual ribs and serve with steamed rice and cold marinated sliced cucumber salad. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

573 calories; 2,686 mg sodium; 132 mg cholesterol; 40 grams fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 32 grams protein; 0.46 gram fiber.