Month: September 2015

tuna; tomato; cucumber/arugula/husk cherries

tuna_tomato_cucumber_arugula_2

I thought, if dry fennel seed is great on a tuna steak, why not fresh?  And then I thought, maybe fresh fennel seeds would be spoiled with as much direct heat as I need to grill the surface, so I ended up sprinkling them over the steaks after they were grilled, and just before finishing them with a drizzle of olive oil.  I now think I’ll try replacing dry for fresh altogether the next time I have them available.

  • one 13-ounce tuna steak from Pura Vida Fisheries, rubbed with a mixture of fennel seed and one dried peperoncini, ground together, additionally seasoned with salt and pepper, then pan-grilled for only a minute or so on each side, finished with a good squeeze of lemon and sprinkling of fresh fennel seed from Lani’s farm and a drizzle of olive oil
  • two Pozzano plum tomatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, sliced in half, placed face down on a plate spread with salt and pepper, dried somewhat before placed on a hot grill pan, turned once, removed, finished with a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar
  • a handful of Jamaican Burr Gherkins from Norwich Meadows Farm, sliced very thinly and tossed with small farmed ‘wild’ arugula from Eckerton Hill Farm along with ten or twelve husk cherries from Oak Hill Plantation, dressed with salt, pepper, good olive oil, and fresh lemon juice
  • the wine was a New York Cabernet Franc rosé, Schneider & Bieler Rosé “le breton” 2014 from the Fingerlakes region
  • the music was Vivaldi’s ‘Atenaide’, in a performance by Modo Antiquo, conducted by Federico Maria Sardelli

pasta, fennel pollen/seed, tomato, hot pepper, mint

bucatini_tomato_hot_pepper_fennel_mint

I never thought I’d find the elusive ingredient, fresh fennel pollen, in my kitchen, but one of our creative local farmers made it possible this week. For more on the delights and the use of this extraordinary, very Italian seasoning, see this Honest-Food.net discussion of fennel in high summer.

As I write this I can still taste what the Wall Street Journal food writer called culinary ‘fairy dust’.

  • fresh bucatini pasta from Eataly (they’re sold in neat 1/3-pound ‘nests’, and it seemed to me that two of them would be inadequate if the dish was not going to include any other substantial ingredient, and that the three which I purchased might be too much; I was right, so we ended up with enough to visit this aromatic primi on another day), served with a simple sauce of olive oil heated slightly with one pretty seriously hot, but still described as Italian, pepper (unusual in its maroon color), from Oak Grove Plantation, then combined with one sliced red heirloom tomato from Berried Treasures, both fresh fennel seeds and fresh fennel pollen (from a generous-size bouquet of fennel flowers I had purchased from Lani’s Farm this week), and a bit of torn spearmint, also from Lani’s Farm
  • the wine was an Italian (Umbria) white, Orvieto Classico Superiore Castagnolo Barberani 2014
  • the music was Morton Subotnik’s ‘The Wild Bull’

pepper frittata, beet juices, garlic, shallot, oregano

bell_pepper_frittata

This is the revisit of a frittata I had put together about a year ago.  What might have made it stand out a little this time, aside from an expected variation in the peppers I chose to incorporate in it, was the fact that I also included some beet juices which remained from a salad a part of a meal prepared a few days back.  The deep red liquor meant a subtle tweaking in both the taste and the color of this otherwise very Italian ‘omelette’.

  • small multi-colored bell peppers, plus one Hungarian sweet pepper (light yellow-green in color), all from Lani’s Farm, sliced, sautéed  in a large cast-iron pan until partially caramelized, along with one sliced shallot from Phillips Farm, some sliced garlic from Berried Treasures, and half of one pretty seriously hot, but still supposedly Italian, pepper (although unusual in being maroon in color), from Oak Grove Plantation, added near the end, then 10 small-ish eggs from Millport Dairy, seasoned and fork-whipped, poured into the pan, everything sprinkled with chopped fresh oregano from Stokes Farm, then cooked on a medium flame until the eggs had begun to set halfway into the center depths of the frittata, finished under the broiler and let stand for a few minutes before serving
  • the wine was a French (Provence) rosé, Château Saint Baillon 2014 Côtes de Provence
  • the music was Mahler’s Symphony Number 5, performed by the Philadelphia orchestra under James Levine

 

We rarely have a dessert course, unless we count cheese, but this evening we enjoyed a favorite, and quite simple, treat, fresh peaches and a great gelato, for the second time in four days (yup, the little spots in the ‘ice cream’ are from the really excellent vanilla)

 

peach_and_gelato

sea robin, tapenade; haricots verts; tomatoes

sea_robin_2_tapenade_haricots_tomatoes

Note to self: This was my second outing with sea robin, and the result was even more delicious than the last time.

 

I absolutely do not understand the fact that this fish is still so unappreciated.  My memory of sea robin goes back to my first and only experience of fishing in Atlantic waters.  It was over 25 years ago, a company outing, a day trip, on a small party boat running off Long Island, and while we were hoping to haul in fluke, we were just as likely to hook a sea robin.  Sadly, or not, I think these fascinating little ‘winged’ creatures were all returned to the sea that day.  I took home the fluke.

I’m not even going to dwell on the fact that a generous serving for two will set you back little more than $5, or the fact that it is one of the easiest fish to prepare.  I’m thinking of the taste and the texture, and, as always, the aesthetics of its appearance on a plate.

My next assignment is to come up with alternative preparations for this delicious fish, since I’m certain we will be enjoying it again and again.

Oh, the thyme branch sticking up out of one of the tomato slices? A momentary absence of mind as I rushed from counter to table, since it had nothing to do with the tomatoes, and everything to do with the tapenade, where it should properly have been planted.

  • eight quite small sea robin ‘tails’ from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, rinsed, pat dry, then placed in a pan of sizzling olive oil and sautéed over medium-high heat for barely 2 minutes on each side, transferred to two plates, a little lemon squeezed on top and a bit of a tapenade sauce spread over the fillets, which were then garnished with fresh buds of basil plants given to us by a friend with a garden in Garrison, New York [the tapenade was prepared by hand rather than a blender, chopping the ingredients, which included Gaeta olives from Buon Italia, a little Rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm, one rinsed chopped anchovy, also from Buon Italia, salted rinsed capers from Buon Italia, ground black pepper, olive oil, and fresh thyme from Phillips Farm]
  • tiny, very tender haricots verts from Norwich Meadows Farm, blanched in salted water, dried and reheated in butter which had warmed a little bit of chopped shallot from Keith’s Farm, some ramp fruits from Berried Treasures, dill flowers from Crock & Jar/Rise & Root, and parsley from Paffenroth Farms
  • two heirloom tomatoes from Berried Treasures, sliced, drizzled with good olive oil, sprinkled with Maldon salt, and tossed with some torn basil leaves clipped from a Full Bloom Market Garden plant in a south window, which had originated in Massachusetts and arrived in our rooms via Whole Foods
  • slices of a small sourdough baguette from Barbara Olson of Buon Pane
  • the wine was a New Zealand white, Tablelands Sauvignon Blanc Martinborough 2014
  • the music was the symphonies Number 2 and 4 of Robert Schumann, conducted by Roger Norrrington

 

SeaRobin_LongIslandSound1

 

the sea robin, out of water, “Caught in New Haven Harbor”

 

[the image at the bottom is from Wikimedia Commons]

spaghetti, leek, tomato, prosciutto, red pepper

spaghetti_leaks_prosciutto_tomatoes

Lately it looks more and more like I’m trying to break ethnic cooking traditions.  At least until recently, I seemed to be entertained enough by (mostly) observing formulas which had been honored by generations immersed in a single tradition. I’m not sure what, if anything my loosening up might portend, but I’m going to be watching any developments.

I have always liked working with restraints in areas in which I have never had formal instruction, partly because I’m a perfectionist. Along those lines, I’ve never designed or built a new house, but I know the huge pleasure which comes from carefully and fully restoring one.

In the kitchen, I’ve very slowly become more confident about some very modest talents, and I’ve always done some improvising, so maybe my cooking is just becoming a little more free-range than it has been until now.

First it was about fooling around with a fine fish fillet and its contorni; then it was about playing with most of a classic German plate; this time it’s about tampering with spaghetti, an particularly iconic element of Italian cooking.

 

 

It was to be a simple pasta dish which would be assembled from some ingredients I had lying around the kitchen.  Normally it would be a simple Italian-ish dish, meaning the list of separate ingredients, if not the ‘recipe’, would at least sound Italian, but I ended up slipping out of the tradition, just a bit.

I included the small amount of red amaranth microgreens I still had sitting on the counter, and also a drizzle of an aromatic seasoning blend with the proprietary name, L’eKama, which would be pretty exotic in any Italian kitchen.  The amaranth got in largely because it was there, but also because it would work as another finishing herb, and because it’s so beautiful.  The oil and spice mix was added because the fresh red Italian pepper I included turned out to be so mild it had almost had almost disappeared when I tasted the finished dish; it gave a depth to the taste of the dish way out of proportion to the amount I added.

  • three small leeks from Ryder Farm, sliced into half-inch sections, sautéed in olive oil until softened, one chopped fresh red Italian ‘roaster pepper’ from from Oak Grove Plantation added near the end, the mix combined, when partially cooled, with sectioned ripe Maine cherry ‘cocktail’ tomatoes from Whole Foods and shopped slices of Colameco’s prosciutto, additional olive oil added, the sauce then tossed with spaghetti, and a little warm cooking water, placed in bowls, and sprinkled with parsley from Paffenroth Farms and a tiny amount of amaranth microgreens from Radicle Farm (the last drops from a tiny jar of L’eKama aromatic seasoning was added to the bowls when they were on the table)
  • the wine was an Italian (Umbria) white, Melini Orvieto Classico 2014
  • the music was streamed from Q2 music, and it included Huang Ruo’s Violin Concerto No. 1, ‘Omnipresence’