It was June 12, our first full day back from Los Angelos, and I’m just now getting around to posting about it and the next five days of meals, mostly because of time constraints, but also because my hold host sort of collapsed, and I’m still not familiar with how the new one works. These meal descriptions will probably be more abreviated than unusual since I have only sketchy notes and a sketchy memory.

• the appetizer included part of a package of sweet soppressata from Buon Italia and some wild dandelion from Berried Treasures Farm that had survived our absence in terrific shape, the greens sprinkled with Maldon salt and freshly-ground pepper, and both drizzled with juice from an organic Whole Foods Market lemon, accompnaied by a few freshly-pitted Kalamata olives, also from Whole Foods Market
• slices of a an absolutely wonderful, if non-traditional style, baguette, ‘Mediterraneo’ from Eataly (whole wheat, rye flours, pumpkin, sesame, poppy, sunflower, and flax seeds, millet, farro)

The main course was a pasta, a fresh ravioli which began its life that same day only 2 blocks east of us.

• thirteen ounces of an artichoke-filled (with a little anchovy!) fresh ravioli from Luca Donofrio‘s fresh pasta shop inside Eataly’s Flatiron store, boiled carefully until barely cooked through inside a large stainless steel pot in a large amount of well-salted water, drained, some of the pasta water retained, then slipped into a large antique high-sided tin-lined copper pot in which a tablespoon or two of olive oil had softened a bit of chopped spring garlic from Berried Treasures Farm over a medium flame, tossed a bit before being joined by 8 or 10 halved grape tomatoes from Kernan Farms, seasoned with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, the mix stirred, along with some reserved pasta cooking water, until the liquids had emulsified, followed by the addition of chopped lovage from Berried Treasures Farm, arranged inside shallow bowls, sprinkled with toasted home-made breadcrumbs, and scattered with a bit more lovage

 

• the wine througout the meal was an Italian (Campania) white, Feudi di San Gregorio Greco di Tufo 2016, from Garnet Wine 
• the music was the album, ‘Joseph Bodin de Boismortier: Sonates pour basses‘, with Le Concert Spirituel directed by Hervé Niquet