The little steaks were tri-tips, already one of the most flavorful of beef cuts. These 2 were 100% grass-fed, apparently a very important distinction for many people, but one which I have not yet been able to fully grasp. I do know that they were delicious, possibly more ‘meaty’ than most we’ve had in the past, may have been more lean than we would normally have expected, and they seemed to take a bit less time to cook (ending up very slightly less rare than we would normally prefer, but definitely not a disappointment).
The diminutive size of the potatoes didn’t suggest to me they’d have much sophistication, but they turned out to be really tasty. Some of their personality may have been stimulated by the 2 forms of dried habanada pepper with the seasoned olive oil and rosemary leaves in which they were tossed before they went into the oven.
The chard was amazingly sweet and absolutely delicious. I had tasted it raw at the farmer’s stand, so I know it would have been terrific even if I hadn’t added other elements to the dish.
- two juicy tri-tip steaks (each barely 7 ounces) from Maple Avenue Farms, via Mike at the Sun Fed Beef Meats stall in the Union Square Greenmarket, brought to room temperature, dried and sprinkled generously with some freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper on both sides, pan-grilled for a few minutes, turning twice (sprinkled with sea salt the first and second time), removed to 2 plates, a little sweet local lemon juice from Fantastic Gardens of Long Island squeezed on top, sprinkled with some chopped rosemary leaves from Eataly, then drizzled with a little olive oil
- some tiny nutty fingerling potatoes from Phillips Farm, washed, scrubbed, tossed with sea salt, freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, and a little of both forms of dried habanera pepper (mostly the orange-golden), arranged on a medium Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic oven pan, roasted at 375º for about 20 minutes, tossed with some chopped lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge, stirred a bit on the pan, then arranged on the plates with a garnish of a little more lovage
- chard from Norwich Meadows Farm, wilted in a little olive oil in which one large halved garlic clove from John D. Madeira Farm and a pinch of some crushed dried dried Itria-Sirissi chili, peperoncino di Sardegna intero, from Buon Italia had been heated, finished with a squeeze of juice from the same local lemon used on the steak and a drizzle of olive oil
- the wine was a California (Sierra Foothills) red, F. Stephen Millier Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon California 2015
Maybe because the weather seemed to have finally turned (as I type this the next day, the birds are chattering like crazy outside my open window), we had a frozen dessert, probably for the first time since last summer.
- a simple scoop of Talenti Vanilla Bean Gelato (“hand-scraped [Madagascar] vanilla beans” ) from Whole Foods