COOK'S CORNER WE'VE GOT HIS NUMBER FOR SPECIAL SCANDINAVIAN PAN.

Byline: Natalie Haughton Food Editor

James Parks of Van Nuys recently wrote, ``I acquired a Griswold's No. 32 pan #A 962. It has seven half-round indentations for making round muffin type cakes.'' He's interested in knowing the name of the pan and would like a recipe to use in it.

From Parks' description of the pan, more than likely it's an aebleskiver pan - a cross between a frying pan and a muffin tin. The pans are at home in Scandinavia - and you'll often find them used by Danish cooks to make aebleskivers or Danish Pancake Balls. A friend of my mother's served them often while I was growing up - with raspberry jam and dusted with powdered sugar - and they were always a hit.

Recently I came across the recipe, included here, while cleaning out some old Sunset magazines. So give it a whirl if you have an aebleskiver pan. They're delicious - and easy and fun to make.

DANISH PANCAKE BALLS

(Aebleskiver)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom OR ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons melted butter OR margarine plus more for brushing pan

In a bowl, mix flour with sugar, baking powder, cardamom and salt. In a small bowl, beat egg to blend with milk and 2 tablespoons butter. Add liquids to dry ingredients and stir until evenly moistened.

Place aebleskiver pan over medium-low heat. When pan is hot enough to make a drop of water dance, brush pancake cups lightly with melted butter and fill each to slightly below the rim with batter.

In about 1 1/2 minutes, thin crusts will form on bottoms of balls (centers will still be wet); pierce the crust with a slender wood skewer and gently pull shell to rotate the pancake ball until about half the cooked portion is above the cup rim and uncooked batter flows down into cup. Cook until crust on bottom of ball is again firm enough to pierce, about another minute, then rotate ball with skewer until the ridge formed as the pancake first cooked is on top. Cook, turning occasionally with skewer, until balls are evenly browned and no longer moist in the center, another 10 to 12 minutes. Check by piercing center of last pancake ball added to pan with skewer - it should come out clean - or by breaking the ball open slightly; if balls start to get too brown, turn heat to low until they are cooked in the center. Lift cooked balls from pan and serve hot (see Note). Repeat to cook remaining batter. Makes 12 to 13 pancake balls.

NOTES: Serve warm pancake balls with butter and jam or dusted with powdered sugar. To make filled aebleskiver, add about 1/2 teaspoon jam to the batter in each cup just before you make the first turn. Serve the pancake balls as they are cooked, or keep warm in a napkin-lined basket until all are ready. The batter can also be cooked on a lightly buttered griddle over medium heat to make light, tender pancakes.

From Sunset magazine.

SPINACH LATKES: Sheila Hafner of Encino, who requested a recipe for spinach latkes, is in luck. Here are a couple of variations on the theme from Faye Levy's cookbook ``1,000 Jewish Recipes.''

The Spinach Latkes With Nutmeg Cream make a colorful addition to a platter of white potato or sweet potato latkes or a good accompaniment for baked fish. The second recipe is a Sephardic rendition that can be served as appetizers.

SPINACH LATKES WITH NUTMEG CREAM

3 (10-ounce) bags rinsed spinach leaves

2 tablespoons butter OR vegetable oil

2 medium shallots, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste

Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1 cup sour cream (regular or low-fat)

Ground white pepper to taste

About 1/4 cup vegetable oil (for frying)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives 

Line a tray with paper towels to drain latkes. Cook spinach in a large pan of boiling salted water 3 minutes or until tender. Rinse with cold water. Squeeze spinach to remove excess liquid. Chop fine with a knife.

Melt butter in a medium skillet. Add shallots and saute over medium heat about 1 minute. Add spinach and cook about 2 minutes, stirring. Season with salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and nutmeg. Transfer to a large bowl.

Mix flour, eggs, milk, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a pinch nutmeg in a small bowl until it becomes a thick batter. Add batter to spinach and mix well.

To make nutmeg cream topping, mix sour cream with nutmeg, salt, white pepper and cayenne pepper to taste.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Fry spinach mixture by tablespoonfuls, flattening each after adding it, about 2 minutes per side or until golden brown. Do not crowd pan. Turn carefully with 2 slotted spatulas so oil doesn't splatter. Transfer to paper towels. Stir batter before frying each new batch. Add more oil to pan as necessary, and heat before adding more latkes.

Pat tops of latkes with paper towels before serving. Serve hot, with a small dollop of topping and a sprinkling of chives. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

SEPHARDIC SPINACH CAKES

2 (10-ounce) bags rinsed spinach leaves, large stems removed

3 to 5 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

Cook spinach in a large pan of boiling salted water 2 minutes or until just tender. Rinse with cold water. Squeeze spinach to remove excess liquid. Chop finely.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet. Add garlic and saute over medium-low heat, stirring, about 30 seconds. Add spinach and saute about 2 minutes, stirring. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix flour, eggs and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl to a thick batter. Add spinach mixture and mix well.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. For each cake, drop 2 or 3 tablespoonsful spinach mixture into pan and flatten to form a cake. Fry about 2 minutes or until golden brown on each side. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Stir batter from time to time and add oil to pan if needed. Serve hot. Makes about 6 appetizer servings.