It was delicious, not innovative, but a take on a classic. Think steak house, a good cut of beef, maybe onions, fries, and probably creamed spinach, only here it’s a reverse seared very good local NY strip steak, topped with spring garlic; oven frites, but including celery root and some seasoning peppers; and the green is kale, simply wilted, no dairy.

I’m trying something a little different with this post. Instead of composing a text specifically for this post, I’m going to copy and paste the recipe narrative I used to prepare the meal, clipped above the counter last night.

This way, if anyone reading this post wanted to reproduce any or all of the meal, everything is laid out exactly for the taking.

STEAK, CELERIAC/POTATO FRITES, KALE

reverse-seared steak

one 15-ounce NY strip steak from Ox Hollow Farm brought to room temperature, seasoned on all sides with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, 

reverse seared, meaning it was positioned on a small metal rack inside an oval La Chamba pan and placed inside a 250º oven for about 35 to 45 minutes*, or until an instant thermometer poked into the center read only about 115º-120º, to arrive at a medium rare in the end, noting that the steak finish cooking inside a skillet and continue to increase in temperature,

removed, allowed to wait on a warm plate, covered with tin foil (where it could be left safely for about 45 minutes, which helps in juggling the cooking of any accompanying vegetables, in this case oven roasted frites of celeriac and potatoes, for which the temperature of the oven was greatly increased),

then seared briefly on all sides (the steak was already fully cooked, so left on the surface just long enough to impart color), inside a dry oval heavy cast iron pan, after first placing on the surface a little cooking oil with a higher smoke point than olive oil (I used Mac Nut macademia nut oil from Whole Foods Market) and immediately applying pressure in the center with a wooden spoon, to keep its middle surface from rising from the surface of the pan, 

removed from the heat, cut into 2 sections, and allowed to rest for up to 10 minutes while covered loosely with foil, arranged on 2 warm plates, some lemon juice squeezed on top, sprinkled with chopped spring garlic, white and green section, and drizzled with a Whole Foods Market Portuguese house olive oil

*they  should be checked with an instant thermometer after about 25 minutes

celeriac and potato frites  

eight ounces of scrubbed and peeled celeriac from Norwich Meadows Farm and about the same weight in scrubbed, but not peeled, “Upstate NY Abundance” and “Pan Ready Fingerlings” potatoes, also from Norwich Meadows Farm, this time the roots all cut into crescent wedges, tossed inside a large bowl with very little olive oil, a half teaspoon of Spanish paprika picante, a small crushed section of dried aji dulce pepper, some sea salt, and freshly-ground black pepper, then spread onto 2 Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic pans (2, to keep them spaced from each other, helping the crispiness quotient), roasted at 400º until brown, crispy on the edges, and cooked through, garnished with a little chopped parsley

wilted kale with garlic

some sweet ‘red’ kale (read very deep purple) from Norwich Meadows Farm, stems removed, roughly cut, washed several times and drained, quickly transferred to a smaller bowl to retain some of the water clinging to them,

braised inside a large heavy antique tin-lined copper pot in which 2 halved garlic cloves had first been allowed to sweat in some olive oil, finished with salt and pepper, drizzled with a bit more olive oil

Chicken in our pot, to hail the eve of the eve of the new year.

Wonder of wonders, we were still able to include fresh local tomatoes in the celebration (and they were not to be the last).

• four fresh 6-ounce thighs of their Cornish Cross breed from Cascun Farms, purchased at Eataly Flatiron, seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, browned well in two tablespoons or so of butter inside a medium size oval enameled high-sided cast iron pot, then covered with aluminum foil (it needn’t be a tight seal) and cooked over medium-low heat, turning occasionally, until the internal temperature was 155-165 degrees, or until the juices ran clear when pricked with a fork, which turned out to be roughly 12 minutes, then transferred to a small oval platter, ideally warm, and covered with the foil again to keep warm while the sauce was completed, beginning with one shallot [from Norwich Meadows Farm and 2 small aji dulce seasoning peppers from Eckerton Hill Farm stirred into the pan and allowed to soften a little before about a third of a cup of good chicken stock was added, the heat raised to medium high, the liquid boiled and reduced quite a bit, or until it was the desired consistency of a sauce, when a generous amount of chopped winter savory from Stokes Farm was added and stirred in, the ‘gravy’ transferred to a glass sauce boat, from which some of it was poured over the chicken, which had been just been arranged onto warm plates

• ten or 12 twelve ounces of la Ratte potatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, scrubbed, halved lengthwise, tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, a pinch or two of crushed dried habanada pepper, arranged on a large well-seasoned unglazed ceramic Pampered Chef oven pan, roasted in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes at 400º, removed, arranged on the plates and garnished with chopped parsley from Phillips Farms

• two heirloom tomatoes from Eckerton Hill Farm halved through the middle, the cut sides sprinkled with salt, pepper, and chopped fresh marjoram leaves from Willow Wisp Farm, drizzled with a little olive oil, placed cut side up on a hot enameled grill pan which had been brushed with a little oil, grilled for 3 or 4 minutes, turned over and the cut side grilled for another minute, or a minute and a half, arranged on the plates and sprinkled with additional marjoram and a drop or two more of olive oil
• the wine was a California (Russian River) red, DRG Daryl Groom Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2018, from Naked Wines 
• the music was more of the 2019 WKCR-FM Bachfestival, streaming

It was a beautiful Sunday dinner, pretty minimal for all of its luxuriousness.

The first course began with a delicious fresh spreadable local chèvre.

• chèvre from Lynnhaven Farm mixed with a little chopped  lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge, drizzled with a bit of Greek olive oil, a terrific seasoning salt (the gift of a friend who had been given the recipe, whose ingredients included sea salt, 5 different seasoning peppers, plus dehydrated vanilla, lemon and lime, by a chef in Baden-Baden), and freshly ground black pepper, spread on toasts of slices from a Bread Alone San Francisco sourdough
• a spray on the side of what I was told by the guys at the Norwich Meadows Farm Union Square Greenmarket stand was “London kale” (I think I need some enlightenment here, since they were delicious, but I can’t find anything with that name on line) dressed, dressed with the Greek olive oil, plus some local P.E. & D.D. Seafood Long Island sea salt, pepper, and drops of Rioja vinegar
• a small cup of delicious Mama Lil’s Oregon peppers, on the side, the gift of a  friend

• two small (8-ounce Peking duck breasts from Quattro’s Game and Poultry Farm, the fatty, skin sides scored in tight cross hatching with a very sharp knife, the breasts both rubbed, top and bottom with a mixture of sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a little turbinado sugar, left standing on the counter for about 45 minutes to an hour, then pan-fried, fatty side down first, turning once, inside a small oval enameled cast iron pan over medium heat for a total of about 8 minutes, since they were small, or perhaps until an instant read thermometer (which I never use with duck breasts) shows 135º, draining the oil after the first few minutes (the fat, strained, can be used in cooking at another time, if desired), removed when medium rare, left to sit for several minutes, covered loosely with tin foil, before they were drizzled with a little juice from an organic California lemon and some house Portuguese olive oil, both from our Chelsea Whole Foods Market, garnished with micro ‘Hong Vit‘ Asian radish greens from Windfall Farms
• Brussels sprouts from Migliorelli Farm, washed, trimmed, dried, tossed with olive oil, sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, this time also with several whole unpeeled Rocambole garlic cloves from Keith’s Farm, roasted in a 425º oven in a large unglazed Pampered Chef oven pan until they were browned and crisp on the outside, or for a total of aabout 15 minutes
• the wine was a French (Bordeaux/Saint Emilion) red, from a maker described on the web site of our favorite so-much-more-than-just-a-distributor as “a Saint Emilion Garagiste”, Jonathan Maltus Garagiste Bordeaux Supérieur 2017, from Naked Wines
• he music throughout the meal continued as the 2019 WKCR-FM  Bachfestival, streaming

It was a very special dinner. It was Christmas, but it wasn’t a Christmas dinner.

Also, this was not a reindeer.

The special part was that it was the feast of winter, which goes by many names all over the world, but which is always observed at around the time of the winter solstice.

The featured guest was deer, red deer, and it came, not from anywhere near a real or fantasy north pole, but from New Zealand, arguably today the source of the highest-quality farmed venison This is at least partly attributable to a wholly temperate climate that allows deer to be raised on excellent pastures all year round (I’ve always thought of New Zealand as Scotland without the interesting complications, but definitely a welcoming environment for game, so long as you weren’t of the persuasion of the hunted).

Deer are not native to New Zealand; for that we have to thank nineteenth-century New Zealand settlers.  In the 1850’s and 1860’s they imported eight different species, but mostly Red deer, releasing them into the wild for sport hunting. The animals thrived in the mild climate and the predator-free environment, and their numbers were soon causing severe damage to the native forests, so in the 1930s professional hunters were called in to reduce the population.

Decades later, or some fifty years ago, entrepreneurs began sharing the culled animals with Europe, where there had always been a big market for venison, and soon after that, with demand outpacing the supply, the first farms were established, many of them with huge open pastures, fenced – ironically, because of the history – from hunters.

The meat began to be marketed in the U.S. in 1975, and I think I’ve been cooking it almost since that time.

The excellent recipe I followed on December 25th comes from a feast held at the painter Marc Séguin’s farm in Hemmingford, Quebec, and described in the New York Times in 2008., but I did not include the carrots or the onions, since I had other plans for a vegetables accompaniment.

It may have been the best venison I have ever had.

Don’t be afraid of the generous maple syrup element, as once it’s combined with the other ingredients, and fully cooked, the sauce had gone way beyond its origins and become just a rich complex game sauce.

• a 35-ounce loin roast of New Zealand red deer (cervus elaphus) purchased from Frank, the brother who specializes in game at O. Ottomanelli’s & Sons on Bleecker Street in the Village, seasoned generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, rubbed with a little olive oil and allowed to rest at room temperature while the oven was lit, its thermostat set for 400º, and a braising liquid prepared by combining in a medium saucepan 3/4 cup of David Marvin Vermont Family Heirloom Organic Maple Syrup, ‘Medium Amber Grade A’ (I donlt know where I purchased it or how long I’ve had it, but just opened it that day, and it’s wonderful), one cup of good chicken stock (I used low-sodium Better Than Bouillon chicken base, 5 sprigs of thyme (Uncle Vinny’s) from the West Side Market on 23rd Street, one bay leaf (also Uncle Vinny’s), 5 peppercorns, 1 large peeled clove of Keith’s Farm rocambole garlic, gently boiling the mix until it had reduced by half, a medium enameled cast iron roasting pan set over medium-high heat with one tablespoon of butter and, when hot, the small roast browned on all sides and transferred to a plate while the maple-stock reduction was transferred into that pan, the brown bits on the bottom of the pan scraped with a wooden spoon and the venison returned to the pan, meat-side up, its contents seasoned with salt, placed inside the oven and cooked for 10 minutes, basting with the liquid twice, the meat flipped and the roasting continued, continuing to baste, for maybe 10 to 20 minutes more, or until the roast was rare to medium rare, (otherwise, when an instant thermometer inserted in the center registered 130 degrees), and when done, transferred to a cutting board and allowed to rest for 10 minutes, while the sauce was strained into a saucepan and simmered until reduced to the desired thickness, the seasoning corrected with salt and pepper, and the venison separated into four sections by cutting through the chine and served with the sauce (there were leftovers)

quince chutney [not yet on the plate when it was photographed], mostly using this recipe, but substituting a mix of raisins for dried cherries, and candied slices of ginger for fresh ginger

• one 16-ounce celery root (or celeriac) from from Migliorelli Farm, scrubbed, peeled, and cut into the size and shape of potato frites, each about 1/4″ in cross section, tossed inside a bowl with olive oil, a half teaspoon of Safinter Pimenton de la Vera smoked picante paprika, sea salt, and a little freshly-ground black pepper, spread onto a large seasoned Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic pan, and roasted at 425º until brown and cooked through, or for about 30 to 35 minutes, removed to the plates, and sprinkled with chopped fresh thyme, again, from West Side Market
• one small Napa cabbage (probably Red Dragon), from Norwich Meadows Farm, washed, quartered, cored, sliced into one to one-half-inch ribbons, sautéed in a scant tablespoon of olive oil inside a medium heavy, tin-lined copper pot, stirring occasionally, until wilted but still crunchy, a little more than a teaspoon of toasted cumin seed mixed in, finished with half a teaspoon of Columela Rioja 30 Year Reserva sherry vinegar, the mix stirred and seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, cooked another couple of minutes
• the wine was a superb French (Northern Rhone) red, Benoit Roseau, Saint-Joseph Patagone, 2017  , from Flatiron Wines
• the music was the 2019 WKCR-FM  Bachfestival, streaming

A very sturdy winter dinner, with a few juicy sweet peppers to point out just how sturdy and wintry it was.

• four 4-ounce artisanal porcini, Parmesan cheese, and black garlic fresh sausages (pork, white wine, salt, Parmesan cheese, black garlic, porcini, and shiitake mushrooms, black pepper, natural casings) from Hudson Vally Charcuterie  at Raven & Boar farm, seared in a little olive oil inside an oval enameled cast iron oval pan, turning frequently, until colored on all sides, arranged on the 2 plates, garnished with micro red Russian kale from Windfall Farms and accompanied by 4 mustards, including a rich shallot, garlic, paprika and turmeric mustard, also from Hudson Valley Charcuterie
• [three different kinds of potatoes that I already had on hand, but none of them would have been sufficient by itself to serve as a side, all unpeeled, scrubbed and cut into approximately 3/4″ pieces (one large Kennebec potato from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, which turned out to be a natural for this roasting treatment; one large Japanese sweet potato from Race Farm; and 2 medium-size ‘Magic Marley’ purple fingerlings from Norwich Meadows Farm, plus 2 large halved ‘yellow shallots’ from Norwich Meadows Farm, all tossed together in a bowl with less than two tablespoons of olive oil; sea salt; freshly-ground black pepper; one crushed piece of a mahogany-colored home-dried dark, dried heatless Habanada pepper acquired 2 summers before as fresh peppers from Norwich Meadows Farm; a really tiny dusting of a dried hickory smoked Jamaican Scotch bonnet peppers from Eckerton Hill Farm; and the leaves from several sprigs of rosemary from Eataly, everything arranged, without touching, on a large, well-seasoned Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic pan and roasted in a 400º oven for about 35 minutes, divided onto 2 plates, garnished with micro ruby red chard from Windfall Farms
• bright red ripe shishito peppers from Norwich Meadows Farm, halved lengthwise, pith and seeds removed, sautéed in a little olive oil inside a large antique copper pot over a medium high flame until slightly carbonized, the flame reduced, a smal amount of chopped green celery stem and several quite small chopped scallions added and heated until softened, seasoned with salt and pepper and tossed with a bit of chopped winter savory from Stokes Farm
• the wine was a French (Roussillon) red, Benjamin Darnault Roussillon Villages 2018, from Naked Wines
• the music was Johann Georg Conradi’s 1691 opera, ‘Die Schöne und Getreue Ariadne’, the Boston Early Music Festival Chorus & Orchestra, with artistic co-directors Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs