Gone are the days when the grill was the only spot manly men could express their culinary leanings. A wave of man-friendly foods, gadgets and food-media have made it safe for guys to get in the kitchen. Here are a few recipes to play with while there.

Oven Barbecued Spareribs

Ingredients

For the rub:

6 tablespoons yellow mustard

2 tablespoons ketchup

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp. sweet paprika

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 1/2 Tbsp. kosher salt

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

For the ribs:

2 racks pork spareribs (about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds each), trimmed of surface fat, membrane removed, each rack cut in half

1/4 cup finely ground Lapsang Souchong tea leaves (leaves from about 10 tea bags run through a spice grinder)

1/2 cup apple juice

Directions

To make the rub, in a small bowl combine the mustard, ketchup and garlic. In a separate small bowl, combine the black pepper, paprika, chili powder, cayenne, salt, and brown sugar.

Spread mustard mixture in a thin, even layer over both sides of the ribs. Dust the ribs on both sides with the dry spice mix, then wrap them in plastic and refrigerate overnight, or up to a day.

When ready to cook, transfer the ribs to the freezer for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 500 F. Adjust one oven rack to lowest position and a second rack to upper-middle position (at least 5 inches below broiler). Place a baking stone on lower rack.

Sprinkle the ground tea evenly over a rimmed baking sheet and set a wire rack on the sheet.

Unwrap the ribs and place them meat side up on the rack. Cover with heavy-duty foil, crimping edges tightly to seal.

Roast ribs directly on the stone for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 250 F, leaving the oven door open for 1 minute to cool. While oven is open, carefully open one corner of foil and pour apple juice into bottom of baking sheet. Reseal foil.

Continue to roast until meat is very tender and begins to pull away from bones, about 1 1/2 hours. Begin to check the ribs after 1 hour. Leave loosely covered with foil for remaining cooking time.

Remove the ribs from the oven. Preheat broiler.

Remove the foil from the ribs and carefully flip them so the bone side is up. Place the baking sheet on the upper-middle oven rack. Cook until the ribs are browned and crispy in spots, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Flip the ribs so they are meat side up and cook until browned and crispy, another 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into individual ribs. Serve with barbecue sauce, if desired.

Makes 4 servings.

(Recipe from the January 2006 issue of Cook’s Illustrated magazine)

(Start to finish: 4 hours cooking, overnight chilling)

Broiled Bacon-Basted Salmon with Mushroom Oyster Sauce

Ingredients

Two 1 1/4-pound skinless salmon fillets, about 1 inch thick

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

10 slices of bacon (4 of the slices cut into 1-inch pieces)

3/4 pound mixed mushrooms, such as oyster and cremini, thinly sliced

1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1/4 cup finely chopped chives

2 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 cup hot water

1/4 cup Chinese oyster sauce

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

2 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to broil.

Directions

Lightly season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Wrap 3 slices of the bacon crosswise around each fillet, spacing the slices 1 inch apart.

Place the fillets in a medium roasting pan and set 6 inches from the heat. Broil for about 13 minutes, rotating the pan front to back halfway through, or until the salmon fillets are just cooked through.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over high heat, cook the bacon pieces, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and slightly crisp, about 4 minutes. Pour off all but 2 teaspoons of the bacon fat and reduce the heat to medium-high.

Add the mushrooms to the skillet and saute until they are golden, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and stir in the chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons of the chopped chives and the minced garlic. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.

In a small bowl, whisk together the hot water and the oyster sauce. Add to the mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 1 minute.

Stir in the nutmeg, then whisk in the butter and cook until just melted. Remove the mushroom sauce from the heat.

Carefully remove the strips of bacon from the salmon fillets and cut each fillet into 3 pieces. Save the broiled bacon slices for another use. Transfer the salmon to a large platter. Spoon the mushroom sauce over the fish, garnish with the remaining chives and serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings.

(Start to finish: 50 minutes)

(Recipe from David Rosengarten in Food & Wine magazine)