Beach Blanket Barbecue

Life at the beach is no picnic--it’s a cookout. At least that’s the way we like our beach parties. In honor of Memorial Day, the first official beach day of the year, we’ve put together several recipes that were made for grilling over an open fire. You put the food together at home--letting it soak in a marinade or assembling it in foil or even a banana leaf. Your job at the beach: Build a fire, put the food right on the grill, then kick back. It won’t be long before dinner’s on.

And, of course, these recipes work just as easily on a backyard barbecue--sand optional.

CHINESE CHICKEN BITES

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced ginger root

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 Thai chile, seeded and minced

2 tablespoons sliced green onions

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

1 teaspoon sugar

3 whole chicken legs, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices

The unusual cross-cut sliced chicken legs sold at the 99 Ranch Markets in Chinatown and elsewhere around Southern California were the inspiration for this Asian-style chicken. The bite-size chicken pieces quickly absorb the ginger-hoisin marinade and are just right for appetizers. If you aren’t able to locate the cross-cut chicken, you can cut whole chicken legs into slices with a cleaver or simply use the marinade on any cuts you prefer.

Combine garlic, ginger, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, lemon juice, chile, green onions, sesame seeds and sugar in shallow glass dish. Add chicken slices, turning to coat. Cover and chill several hours or overnight.

Cook on hot grill over coals until browned and chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Makes 8 appetizer servings.

Each serving contains about:

65 calories; 1,291 mg sodium; 18 mg cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 0.34 gram fiber.

FISH DINNER IN A PACKAGE

Fish is often cooked in foil--it’s a good way to keep the flesh moist. We added potatoes and sliced corn to the foil and made a meal in a pouch. The trick to keeping the fish moist and the potatoes tender is to use a thick piece of fish, such as halibut, so that the fish and potatoes cook about the same length of time.

3 small red potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices

3 tablespoons melted butter

1 tablespoon minced dill weed

Salt

3 anchovy fillets

1 (6-ounce) piece halibut, about 1 1/2 inches thick

4 slices corn, each about 1 inch thick

1 sprig fresh dill

Arrange potato slices slightly overlapping in center of 18x12-inch sheet of foil.

Combine melted butter and minced dill. Brush potatoes with dill butter and season to taste with salt. Put anchovies, then halibut on top of potatoes, brush with more dill butter and season to taste with salt. Arrange corn around fish. Top fish with sprig of dill. Seal top and sides of foil.

Place on grill over hot coals and cook until fish flakes easily with fork and potatoes are tender, 30 to 45 minutes. Timing will depend upon heat of coals and whether fish package has been iced or refrigerated. For oven cooking bake at 500 degrees about 30 minutes.

Makes 1 serving.

Each serving contains about:

544 calories; 1,063 mg sodium; 116 mg cholesterol; 28 grams fat; 37 grams carbohydrates; 37 grams protein; 1.12 grams fiber.

PORK AND RICE STEAMED IN BANANA LEAVES

1 cup fresh orange juice

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 serrano chile, minced, or more to taste

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 1/2 to 4 pounds pork shoulder roast, cut into 2-inch cubes

2 cups rice

1 cup chicken broth

4 large banana leaves

3 to 6 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 large red onion, peeled, halved, sliced thin

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Banana leaves are used in Nicaragua to wrap tamales. In that country, the tamales, much larger than most Mexican tamales, are often filled with meat, potatoes and other vegetables--it’s another sort of meal in a package. Rice replaces the masa in our meal, and we’ve included citrus-marinated pork that gets its spice from a minced serrano chile. You could cook the banana leaves right on the grill, but we wrap the packets in foil to allow the banana leaves to flavor the pork and rice without becoming charred from direct contact with the heat. Banana leaves are available in many Latino grocery stores, but if you can’t find them, the recipe works well if you wrap everything in foil.

Combine 1/2 cup orange juice, lime juice, lemon juice, garlic, chile, salt and pepper in large bowl. Add cubed pork and toss well. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.

Combine rice and chicken broth in sauce pan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Rice will still be hard. Let cool, covered.

Cut each banana leaf in half to get 2 squares from each leaf. Loosely roll each leaf half and steam over simmering water about 20 to 25 minutes until the leaves are soft and pliable. Unroll and let cool to room temperature.

Remove pork from marinade. Reserve marinade.

Quickly brown pork in batches with 1 to 2 teaspoons olive oil per batch in large saute pan. Set pork aside as browns.

To assemble banana leaf packets, place scant 1/2 cup rice, 1 cup pork and 1/4 cup reserved marinade in center of each leaf. Fold in sides and ends of leaf. Secure with kitchen twine, tamale-fashion. Wrap each filled leaf in foil. Grill about 1 1/2 hours until both pork and rice are tender.

While pork packets grill, make garnish by combining remaining 1/2 cup orange juice, red onion and cilantro in small bowl. When pork is cooked, unwrap packets and top each with spoonful of garnish.

Makes 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

587 calories; 776 mg sodium; 109 mg cholesterol; 36 grams fat; 38 grams carbohydrates; 27 grams protein; 0.22 gram fiber.

GRILLED BABY BACK RIBS

10 cloves garlic

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 tablespoon dried sage

1 tablespoon dried thyme

2 (2 1/2-pound) racks pork baby back ribs

Ribs seem to be everyone’s favorite barbecue meat for Memorial Day. We like this dry rub for ribs, especially for beach cooking. It’s a great alternative to typical barbecue sauces--you don’t have to worry about the mess of brushing on sauce and you’ll be a lot cleaner when you finish eating.

Puree garlic, salt, pepper, sage and thyme in work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade until thick paste forms. Rub paste on both sides of ribs.

Refrigerate ribs, covered, overnight. Grill over hot coals about 10 minutes per side.

Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

745 calories; 2,853 mg sodium; 199 mg cholesterol; 60 grams fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 44 grams protein; 0.41 gram fiber.

NEW POTATOES WITH HORSERADISH CREAM

8 small red new potatoes

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish, or more to taste

Salt, pepper

Foil-wrapped new potatoes are easy to throw on the grill as you cook your meat--and they cook much faster than big russets. For a change, we like to top the potatoes with horseradish cream instead of sour cream. Note that fresh horseradish can vary in strength; when in doubt, use prepared horseradish, which is predictably zesty.

Wrap each potato in foil. Grill about 25 to 35 minutes, or until tender.

Beat cream in bowl until fairly stiff. Mix in horseradish. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top each potato with generous spoonful of cream.

Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

149 calories; 92 mg sodium; 41 mg cholesterol; 11 grams fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0.28 gram fiber.

SOUTH OF THE BORDER CORN

2 tablespoons hot water

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Dash cayenne

4 ears fresh corn

This earthy Southwest corn recipe comes from home cook Beth Oliver, a TKTKTK TKTKTK. She first found the recipe in Cooking Light magazine and loved it so much the first time she tried it that she’s never have had corn any other way since. The spiced butter is brushed on before cooking so the corn comes off the grill ready to eat.

Combine water, butter, cilantro, cumin, paprika, salt, garlic powder and cayenne in bowl. Brush mixture on corn.

Rewrap corn in husks or in foil. Grill about 15 to 20 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

133 calories; 368 mg sodium; 16 mg cholesterol; 7 grams fat; 18 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.81 gram fiber.

CUCUMBER SALAD

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Dash red pepper flakes

2 Japanese cucumbers, sliced paper-thin

8 Iceberg lettuce leaves, optional

Shredded red pickled ginger, optional

The secret of this Asian-style cucumber salad is that the Japanese cucumbers are sliced paper-thin. This salad, which works well with Chinese chicken bites, tastes best when prepared and allowed to stand overnight.

Combine rice vinegar, sugar, salt, sesame seeds and pepper flakes in glass bowl. Stir in sliced cucumbers. Refrigerate overnight.

Serve in lettuce cup garnished with red pickled ginger.

Makes 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

31 calories; 149 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0.25 gram fiber.

* Adirondack chair from San Marino Pool and Patio, Pasadena.