“squid | skwid |

noun (plural same or squids)

an elongated, fast-swimming cephalopod mollusk with ten arms (technically, eight arms and two long tentacles), typically able to change color.

But that’s always only a part of the story.

• exactly one pound of fresh squid, mostly bodies, because someone else had just bought all the tentacles, from American Seafood Company, rinsed and very carefully dried, quickly arranged inside a large rectangular enameled cast iron pan that had been heated on top of the stove until quite hot and its the cooking surface brushed with a little olive oil once it had, sprinkled with a heaping teaspoon of super-pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, local Long Island waters sea salt from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, freshly-ground black pepper, and 4 or 5 quite small chopped aji dulce seasoning peppers from Eckerton Hill Farm, followed by a full 3 tablespoons of juice from an organic Chelsea Whole Foods California lemon and a splash of olive oil, the pan placed inside a 400º oven and the squid roasted for just 5 minutes, by which time their bodies had ballooned somewhat, removed and arranged on 2 plates and ladled with the cooking juices that had been transferred from the pan to a sauce boat
• 10 ounces of small Masquerade potatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, scrubbed, boiled unpeeled in generously-salted water until barely cooked through, drained, halved, dried in the still-warm large vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot in which they had cooked, tossed with a little olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and tossed with micro ruby red chard from Windfall Farms
• tender collards from Tamarack Hollow Farm, leaves and stems roughly cut, washed several times and drained, transferred to a smaller bowl very quickly in order to retain as much of the water clinging to them as possible, braised inside a large, heavy antique tin-lined copper pot in which 2 halved cloves of rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm had first been allowed to sweat in some olive oil, finished with salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was an Italian (Lombardy) white, Lugana, Ca’ Lojera 2018, from Astor Wines
• the music was Lully’s 1677 tragédie en musique, ‘Isis’, performed by Christophe Rousset and his Talens Lyriques

I’ve always thrown some form of capsicum in the mix with this recipe (the original recipe, and my usual preparation, included only dried red pepper flakes), but this may be the first time I’ve used fresh seasoning peppers other than habanada. While it made for a very flavorful dish, a much smaller amount than I used last night might have been more fair to (respectful of) the squid.

• exactly one pound of fresh small squid, bodies and tentacles, from American Seafood Company, rinsed and very carefully dried, quickly arranged inside a large rectangular enameled cast iron pan that had been heated on top of the stove until quite hot and its the cooking surface brushed with a little olive oil once it had, the cephalopods sprinkled with a heaping teaspoon of super-pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and 4 or 5 quite small chopped seasoning peppers from Eckerton Hill Farm (red aji dulce and yellow granada), followed by a full 3 tablespoons of juice from an organic Chelsea Whole Foods California lemon and a splash of olive oil, the pan placed inside the hot (400º) oven and the squid roasted for just 5 minutes, by which time their bodies had ballooned somewhat, after which they were removed and arranged on 2 plates and ladled with the cooking juices that had been transferred to a sauce boat

• 14 ounces of delicious medium size purple viking potatoes from Lucky Dog Organic Farm (purple skin, white flesh), scrubbed, boiled unpeeled in a good amount of generously-salted water until barely cooked through, drained, halved, dried in the still-warm large vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot in which they had cooked, tossed with a little Whole Foods Market house Portuguese olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper and tossed with scissored fresh chives, also from Phillips Farms
• a small mix of both green dandelion from Norwich Meadows Farm and its more flashy red cousin from Willow Wisp Farm, washed and drained, the last of the drained water set aside, cut into 2 or 3-inch pieces, barely wilted in a little olive oil, along with one cut clove of ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic from Alewife Farm which had been heated in the oil until fragrant, a bit of the reserved water then added to loosen the greens, seasoned with a little crushed dried dried Itria-Sirissi chili, pepperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia, salt and pepper, and drizzled with a little olive oil
• the wine was a Portuguese (Beira) white, Vinhas Velhas Branco, Luis Pato 2016, from Astor Wines

• the music was a Vivaldi opera first heard in Rome in 1723, ‘Ercole sul Termodonte’, Fabio Biondi conducting the Europa Galante, and the Coro da Camera ‘Santa Cecilia’ di Borgo San Lorenzo, with Rolando Villazón, Philippe Jaroussky, Romina Basso, Vivica Genaux, Topi Lehtipuu, Patrizia Ciofi, Diana Damrau, and Joyce DiDonato

[the stunning image of John Pascoe’s production of “Ercole sul Termodonte’, with tenor Zachary Stains in the title role, is gratuitous, since that what we accompanied the meal with last night, even if we have enjoyed its audio and visual delights earlier on a proper DVD]

I always imagine I’m tasting the sea itself with a fresh seafood salad prepared by the wife of one of our local fishermen.

As for the main course Wednesday night, while ‘winter cod’ isn’t a real thing, cod on a wintery night is, and that night it looked like it there really was such a thing as a winter cod.

• eight ounces of a squid and conch salad (including olive oil, parsley, red pepper, lemon juice) from P.E. & D.D. Seafood in the Union Square Greenmarket, made by Dolores Karlin, the wife of Phil Karlin, the fisherman who was the source of the bounty, the seasoning of the salad adjusted only slightly, with a fresh drizzle of juice from an organic Chelsea Whole Foods Market California lemon, before it was arranged on leaves of escarole from Windfall Farms already dressed with a good olive oil (Renieris Estate ‘Divina’, a Koroneiki varietal), local P.E. & D.D. sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a drizzle of lemon juice as well, that had been arranged as a bed for the salad
• slices of Buck Honey Rye (rye, malted buckwheat groats,oney, water, salt) from Lost Bread Co.

The entrée was assembled more or less from the same simple Mark Bittman recipe I had first used 5 years ago, and then again last December, although this time I added a little dried habanada pepper to the squash. It was at least as good as ever, and, yes, it did feel wintery.

• I used two 9 or 10-ounce cod fillets from American Seafood Company, whole wheat flour from the Blew family of Oak Grove Mills, 2 quite small honeynut squash (9 ounces each) from Alewife Farm, home-dried habanada pepper from the fresh grown by Norwich Meadows Farm, Columela Rioja 30 Year Reserva sherry vinegar, and micro purple radish from Windfall Farms as a garnish

• the wine throughout the meal was an Oregon (Willamette Valley) white, Scott Kelley Oregon Pinot Gris 2018, from Naked Wines
• the music throughout was Beethoven’s 1805-1814 opera, ‘Fidelio’, in a performance with Claudio Abbado directing the Lucerne Festival orchestra, the Arnold Schoenberg Choir, and Nina Stemme, Jonas Kaufmann, Falk Struckmann, Rachel Harnisch, Christoph Strehl, Christof Fischesser, Juan Sebastian Acosta, Levente Pall, and others

Words fail me here; I can only say it was absolutely delicious, all of it, but at least the colors can speak for themselves.

Okay, ‘juicy’. Juicy is easy to say.

• after the oven had been heated to 400º, exactly one pound of very fresh, cleaned, quite small and very tender baby squid from P.E. & D.D. Seafood Company, bodies and tentacles (at least some of the latter were from grownup cephalopods claimed by earlier customers, maybe for stuffing the bodies), were rinsed, then very carefully dried, very quickly arranged inside two large rectangular enameled cast iron pans (these little ones had a large footprint, so I needed more than one) but only after a little olive oil that had been brushed on the pan surfaces, heated until they had become quite hot, had itself become hot, the squid then immediately sprinkled with a heaping teaspoon of super-pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, some crushed peperoncino di Calabria from Buon Italia in the Chelsea Market, and a pinch of the powdered remains of some light-colored home-dried habanada pepper I had purchased fresh from Norwich Meadows Farm back in 2017 (still awesome), sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, followed by 3 full tablespoons of juice from an organic Chelsea Whole Foods Market California lemon, and a splash of olive oil, the pans placed inside the hot oven and the squid roasted for just 3 minutes, because they were smaller than the usual, which I cook for 4), by which time their bodies had ballooned somewhat, removed and arranged on 2 plates and ladled with the cooking juices from a footed glass sauce boat and sprinkled with scissored bronze fennel blossoms and buds, from Rise & Root Farm
• we used a bit of a powerful Brazil wax pepper-infused olive oil as a condiment (the fresh pepper had come from Eckerton Hill Farm
• a handful of plain, unseasoned perky and peppery red watercress from Dave’s Max Creek Hatchery in the Greenmarket

• five medium (they’re a small breed), Turkish eggplants, 17 ounces total, from Norwich Meadows Farm, each cut horizontally into 4 slices, mixed with a little olive oil, one large chopped ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic clove from Alewife Farm, sea salt, and black pepper, pan-grilled on an enameled cast iron ribbed pan over 2 burners above a brisk flame, turning once or twice, then tossed inside a bowl with some torn peppermint leaves from Lani’s Farm and arranged on the plates, drizzled with a bit of olive oil, garnished with more mint
• the wine was an Italian (Sardinia/Sassari) white, Vigne Surau Vermentino di Gallura DOCG 2018, from Philippe Wines
• the music was the 2009 surrealistic chamber opera, ‘Döbeln’, by the Finnish composer Sebastian Fagerlund (we’re now both fans), performed by the Kokkola Opera Festival Orchestra, conducted by Sakari Oramo

Both were definitely local, but If the ‘wild tomatoes’ were not, technically wild anymore, the seafood really was, even if it had been domesticated by the fisherman (by bringing it home) and the fisherman’s wife (by preparing the salad at home).

• eight ounces of a squid and conch salad (including olive oil, parsley, red pepper, lemon juice) from P.E. & D.D. Seafood in the Union Square Greenmarket, made by Dolores Karlin, the wife of Phil Karlin, the fisherman himself, arranged on a thin bed of arugula from Norwich Meadows Farm, the seasoning of the salad adjusted only slightly, including a drizzle of juice from an organic California lemon from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, arranged on leaves of  a head of Roxy purple leaf lettuce from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, dressed with a good olive oil, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a drizzle lemon juice too, arranged as a bed for the salad
• slices of an organic multigrain baguette from Bread Alone

The main, or pasta course, included a scion of the ur-tomato, called the ‘wild Mexican tomato’, here grown on Eckerton Hill Farm, boasting the sophisticated flavors expected of a member of an ancient lineage.

• a very simple pasta sauce begun by heating and softening in a little olive oil inside a large antique copper pot over a medium flame, one and a half garlic scapes, cut into very short lengths, from Phillips Farms, adding some crushed dried espelette pepper from Alewife Farm, the mix tossed with 9 ounces of an Afeltra pasta artigianale di Gragnano I.G.P. 100% grano Italiano biologico that had been cooked al dente and drained, almost an entire cup of its cooking water also added, everything stirred over a high flame until the liquid had emulsified, then 4 ounces of fantastic, sweet tiny ‘wild’ Mexican tomatoes from Eckerton Hill Farm were stirred in, followed by a mix of chopped lovage from Keith’s Farm, chopped parsley from Jersey Farm Produce Inc. in the Saturday 23rd Street farmers market, and torn peppermint leaves from Alex’s Tomato Farm, also in the Saturday market, and finished with more herbs and a little olive oil drizzled around the edges

• the wine throughout was a Portuguese (Douro) white, Quevedo Family Alvarinho 2018, from Naked Wines
• the music throughout was Pier Francesoc Cavalli’s 1640 opera, ‘Gli Amori D’apollo E Di Dafne’, Gabriel Garrido conducting the Elyma Ensemble