The meal was pretty basic, assembled, except for the very fresh baby squid, from the stock of vegetables I happened to have already had on hand that evening.

Before the end of the meal however, the flavors of the 2 or 3 simply-prepared elements had combined to a wonderful and subtle effect, and, yes, there was a sturdy bread available.

• about one pound of squid, bodies and tentacles, from P.E. & D.D. Seafood in the Union Square Greenmarket, rinsed, dried, then very quickly arranged in a large enameled cast iron pan after it had been heated until hot on top of the range and its cooking surface brushed with olive oil, and, when that was also hot, the cephalopods added to the pan, quickly sprinkled with some super-pungent dried Italian oregano from Buon Italia, one crushed dried Italian pepperoncino, also from Buon Italia, and then juice from an organic lemon, and some olive oil drizzled over the top before the squid was placed in a pre-heated 400º oven and roasted for four or five minutes, removed, distributed onto 2 plates, and drizzled  with the cooking juices
• seven Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, halved and tossed with 3 chopped fresh or spring shallots (they look like scallions) from Lani’s Farm, some salt, pepper, and a little olive oil, arranged inside another, smaller ceramic pan and cooked at 400º for about 20 minutes, removed from the oven and scattered with chopped lovage from Windfall Farms, placed on the plates on top of a bed of ‘arugulion‘ which had been dressed only with a little olive oil
• slices of a rich multigrain bread form Whole Foods
• the wine was an Italian (Campania) white, Falanghina Feudi di San Gregorio 2014
• the music was discs 5 and 6 of the multi-CD set, ‘Between Noise and Silence‘, collected works and tributes in memoriam to the composer Steven M. Miller

It was all very simple, except for the part about foraging for the tasty green ‘love children’ of arugula and dandelion.

The creative hand of Franca Tantillo, of Berried Treasures, had actually managed the hard part back on her farm in the western Catskills. She was also the one who had given her somewhat sturdy, spicy green the name, ‘arugulion’. I was told on Friday that the green was some kind of unprogrammed cross between arugula and dandelion that she had just come across on a patch of ground on her farm.

Even before I heard the story, I knew I had to try it.

The very uncomplicated recipe that follows is from ‘I’m Not A Cook‘.

It was so good, we decided to skip the cheese course, and ate it all. Besides, there was half a cup of a great cheese in the dish itself.

• eight ounces of Afeltra linguine from Eataly, cooked in a large pot of salted water until barely al dente, drained, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water, returned to the pot, tossed with 3 tablespoons of butter which had been siting at room temperature for a while and a little over 2 tablespoons of juice from an organic lemon, half of a cup of grated Parmigiano Reggiano Vacche Rosse from Buon Italia tossed with the pasta (in batches, to avoid clumping), the reserved cooking water added as needed while doing so, to keep the pasta loose, 3 ounces of ‘arugulion’ added to the mix and tossed until evenly distributed (this took a little while), seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Telicherry pepper, a little extra lemon juice added, finished with a light drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was an Italian (Piedmont) white, Ferrando Erbaluce di Caluso La Torrazza 2013, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was from the recording of an October 17, 1944 performance in the Musikvereinssaal of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8, the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler

I first walked into The Meat Hook in 2009, soon after they had opened on Frost Street.  The gradual dispersion of the Williamsburg gallery scene in the years after that meant that we soon lost contact with these excellent suppliers, but last Sunday we headed over to their new shop after a visit to ‘SEVEN-ish, Seriously Funny‘, installed by ‘Seven at The Boiler’ through May 22.

We picked up 2 beautiful flatiron steaks and a pound of excellent pork secreto. We enjoyed the pork that night, and froze the beef, which they had vacuum sealed for us, for another day.

Last night, on one of the 5 personal anniversaries we share, we treated ourselves to the steaks.

• 2 flatiron steaks (totaling just under 14 ounces) from the Meat Hook, defrosted in the refrigerator, brought to room temperature, dried, pan-grilled to rare-to-medium rare, drizzled with some local Lisbon lemon from Fantastic Gardens of Long Island (this was the very last of David’s citrus), sprinkled with radish micro greens from Two Guys From Woodbridge, and drizzled with a little good olive oil
• sunchokes (12 ounces) from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, small ‘rootlings’ removed, trimmed, scrubbed, sliced very thinly (1/8 inch, but they probaly didn’t have to be that thin), tossed with barely a tablespoon of olive oil, sea salt, and freshly-ground Telicherry pepper, spread in one layer onto 2 Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic pans (a single pan wasn’t enough, since they had been cut so thinly and needed a lot of surface), roasted at 425º for about 35 minutes, or until they were brown, tender, and crispy on the edges, dusted with dried fennel pollen from Buon Italia, and shuffled around in the pans with a wooden spatula
• a dozen spears of asparagus from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, trimmed and peeled, rolled in about a tablespoon of olive oil, and a little sea salt, roasted at 425-450º for about 15 to 20 minutes, served exactly as they were, unadorned, in all their freshness and goodness
• the wine was  a California (Sonoma) red, ROX Scott Peterson All Blacks Sonoma County 2013 from Naked Wines
• the music was ‘Glass Piece (for Annea Lockwood)’, by Steven M. Miller from the set, ‘Between Noise and Silence‘, of collected works and tributes in memoriam to the composer, from Innova Recordings

Two seafood courses are a little unusual for us, but these were for cause. My fish dealer suggested I get something extra to go with the tuna steak I had just picked out, and, forgetting that a little tuna goes a long way, I yielded. I didn’t want to put them together, and when I remembered that I had some very good watercress in the crisper and also some decent bread, I knew I had the makings of a first course.

• four small-to-medium scallops from Pura Vida Fisheries, washed, drained and very thoroughly dried on paper towels (twice), generously seasoned with salt and pepper, pan grilled for about 90 seconds on each side, finished with a squeeze of a local Lisbon lemon juice from Fantastic Gardens of Long Island, and a drizzle of good olive oil, then scattered with some sumac I had acquired that day for the first time ever, from Berried Treasures
• the last of a bunch of watercress from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, washed, dried in a rolled kitchen towel, and dressed with good olive oil, and juice from the same Lisbon lemon, salt, and pepper
• slices of a small baguette from Whole Foods

 

I then ‘gilded’ my favorite tuna recipe with some of the seductive vetch which remained in the refrigerator even after having already been a part of several meals. Because we had gotten home so late from Jersey City after a brilliant gallery show opening, and the thick asparagus I had brought home from the Greenmarket that afternoon would take some time and attention to prepare, and because I had half a dozen maturing potatoes of a certain delicious strain, I decided to accompany the fish with the tubers and a couple other spring elements, fresh scallion-like shallots and lovage.

 

• one 13-ounce tuna steak from Pura Vida Fisheries, halved, the tops an bottoms rubbed with a mix of a generous amount of dry fennel seed and one crushed medium dried Itria-Sirissi chili, peperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia, ground together, additionally seasoned with salt and pepper, then pan-grilled (a little longer than I would normally wish, which would be only a little more than a minute and a half on each side), finished with a good squeeze of a Lemon grown locally by Fantastic Gardens of Long Island, and a drizzle of good olive oil [the recipe is from Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers, found in ‘Italian Easy’; Recipes from the London River Cafe‘]
• red thumb potatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, boiled in salted water until tender, drained, dried in the same pot in which they had cooked, a little olive oil poured in, the pan returned to the heat and the whole stirred with some chopped spring shallots (looking like scallions, but with a little rouge blush) from Lani’s Farm, divided onto the plates, finished with lovage from WIndfall Farms, and garnished with some chopped shallot leaves
• the wine was an Austrian (Wagram) rosé, Fritsch Rosé Zweigelt vom Donaulöss 2015, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was the first two of the six CDs which make up the set, ‘Between Noise and Silence‘, collected works and tributes, in memoriam Steven M. Miller, from Innova Recordings

What to say about this simple assemblage? It was improvised, and almost anyone could have put it together. There was however, one exceptional ingredient, and it made the dish itself exceptional.

I was in Chelsea Market yesterday, browsing the platforms and shelves of Buon Italia, one of my favorite food shops anywhere. Counterintuitively, inside this emporium of Italian cookery I had actually been looking, with no success, for mace, preferably whole blade mace (it sounds like I know what I’m talking about, but that’s not altogether true).

Then I spotted it. The small plastic container was one of about a dozen arranged on a shelf some distance from all of the other dry herbs and spices, and the label read, in part, “Organic Wild Fennel Flowers”. I live in Manhattan, which would seem to make it as likely as also impossible to come across it; in any event, I had never expected to be able include this almost legendary ingredient in my modest home larder.

It was pretty pricey, but I bought one.

I think it’s going to change my life.

But first of all, I want to correct the misconception that this very precious herb can be described as fennel flowers. What I brought home, in spite of the print on the label, is fennel pollen, hand-collected in Italy from common wild fennel.  Second, I’m putting myself on notice right now, in the range of anyone able to read this post, that I will resist the temptation going forward of incorporating a pinch in every dish I put together.

• eight ounces of Afeltra spaghetti chitarra, cooked al dente, mixed with a quickly-prepared sauce composed of a little olive oil, 3 bruised garlic cloves from Trader Joe’s, one whole dried Itria-Sirissi chili, peperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia, 4 or 5 ramps from Lucky Dog Organic Farm (the roughly-chopped bulbs tossed in first, the leaves, sliced lengthwise, following later), 8 halved Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, chopped fresh peppermint from Lani’s Farm, and a pinch or two of dry organic wild fennel pollen from Buon Italia, both during the cooking and as a ‘topping’ once the pasta had been divided into shallow bowls
• the wine was an Italian (Alba) white, Vigneto Masera Stefano Massone Gavi 2014
• the music was the entire album, ‘Yarn​/​Wire​/​Currents Vol. 1‘, which was one of 3 we purchased tonight after that awesome ensemble‘s magnificent performance of Michael Gordon’s ‘Material’ at Miller Theatre