There was chicken in the pot last night. Well, parts of chicken.

As I tweeted last night, near the end of this delicious simple meal, that doesn’t happen here very often, and, repeating something else I wrote, meals with chicken as good as this make me question my judgment.

I worked with the simple outlines of a Mark Bittman ‘recipe’ I’d used at least once before.

• four 6-ounce chicken thighs, the Cascun Farms‘ Cornish Cross breed, from Eataly Flatiron, rinsed, patted dry, and seasoned with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a pinch or 2 of crushed dried habanada pepper, browned well on both sides in two tablespoons or so of Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ inside a heavy antique high-sided copper pot, the pot covered and cooked over medium-low heat, turning occasionally, until the internal temperature was 155-165 degrees, or the juices run clear, this time taking slightly less than 15 minutes, transferred to plates resting inside my 1934 Magic Chef at the ‘slow oven’ setting, the door wedged ajar with the bamboo toast tongs that rest next to it, one minced ‘yellow shallot’ from Norwich Meadows Farm and about a fourth of a cup of white wine introduced to the pot, the heat raised to medium high and the liquid reduced until it had become a sauce, then more than a dozen chopped tarragon leaves from Flatiron Eataly added and stirred in, the sauce transferred to a glass sauce boat, from which some of it was poured over the chicken

• one bunch of sweet, absolutely delicious, slightly purple flat kale from Norwich Meadows Farm wilted inside a large enameled cast iron pot in a little olive oil in which 2 halved and slightly bruised cloves of Windfall Farms ‘music’ garlic had first been allowed to sweat and begin to brown, the greens seasoned with salt, pepper, and a little more olive oil
• slices of ‘table bread’ from Lost Bread Company

There was a cheese course.

 

This time I mean it: Chicken, really good chicken like this, responsibly raised chicken, will show up on our table and on this blog more frequently in the future.

This one was was really delicious.

The excellent, very simple – and simply-outlined – ‘recipe‘ I used is from Mark Bittman.

• two 10-ounce chicken thighs, Cascun Farms‘ Cornish Cross breed, from Eataly Flatiron, browned well in two tablespoons or so of Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ inside an oval enameled high-sided cast iron pot, then covered and cooked over medium-low heat, turning occasionally, until the internal temperature is 155-165 degrees, or the juices run clear, 15 to 20 minutes, transferred to plates resting on top of the hot oven (mine is a 1934 Magic Chef, with the oven above and to the left of the 4 burners, and so very useful for the purpose), one minced Camelot shallot from Quarton Farm and about a third of a cup of white wine added to the pot, the heat raised to medium high and the liquid reduced a little, and more than a dozen tarragon leaves form Stokes Farm, chopped, added and stirred in before the sauce was transferred to a glass sauce boat, from which some of it was poured over the chicken

• most of a small, very sweet ‘conehead’ cabbage (also known as ‘caraflex’ or ‘arrowhead’ cabbage) from Alewife Farm, washed, drained, and sliced crosswise into 1/2″ ribbons, sautéed in little more than a tablespoon of olive oil inside a large antique, high-sided heavy copper pot in a little olive oil along with two halved and chopped small to medium size leeks from from Hawthorne Valley Farm, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage had wilted but was still crunchy, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, adding also a little more than a teaspoon of toasted cumin seed and half of a teaspoon of Columela Rioja 30 Year Reserva sherry vinegar, the mix stirred and cooked for another couple minutes

• twelve ounces of small dragon carrots from Tamarack Hollow Farm, scrubbed, dried, halved lengthwise, tossed inside a bowl with a little olive oil, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, a teaspoon of ground Italian fennel seed and a bit of crushed orange/gold dried habanada pepper, arranged, not touching, on a medium size ceramic Pampered Chef oven pan, roasted at 400º for about 20 minutes, or until tender, arranged on the plates and garnished with a spray of long-stemmed pea shoots from Echo Creek Farm in the Saturday Chelsea Farmers Market

After the main course, there was a taste of a single very interesting cheese, one we’d never before experienced; it was delicious.

• Bobolink Dairy & Bakehouse’s cow’s milk Baudolino, with a seasonal twist, having been cured in pinot noir grape must
• a bit of Organic Valley butter
• thin slices of Bobolink’s ‘Flax Seed Armadillo’

 

 

• the wine throughout the meal was a California red, Sin Fronteras El Mechon California Red Blend 2017, from Naked Wines
• the music throughout was Michel Pignolet de Montéclair’s 1732  tragédie en musique, or tragédie biblique, ‘Jephté’, performed by William Christie and the Choir and Orchestra of Les Arts Florissants

So it was just chicken, but it seemed to me it would be a very good chicken. I also had the help of some wonderful foraged mushrooms.

It was very good chicken.

And there was excellent wine.

I had bought the wild mushrooms at the Union Square Greenmarket. I knew I wouldn’t be able to use them that night, but I hadn’t thought about what I would cook them with the next day until after I had left the square and was approaching 23rd Street. I realized I didn’t have anything suitable at home, but I was already some distance from the farmers’ market, so I checked out my local Flatiron district Eataly, where I found they had product, new to me, that it seemed a perfect candidate.

The peppers were also pretty special.

• two partially-boned Cascun Farm chicken thighs (a total of one pound) from Eataly, browned on both sides inside a heavy oval cast iron enameled pot (one with a secure cover) just large enough for the chicken in some olive oil, removed and set aside, a little butter added and melted, 3 whole Rocambole garlic cloves from Keith’s Farm; one small red onion from Norwich Meadows Farm, halved and broken up a bit; and some crushed dried dark habanada pepper added to the pot and heated over a moderate flame until the alliums had softened and colored, then nearly 4 ounces of foraged Wine-cap mushrooms [Stropharia rugosoannulata] from Windfall Farms, roughly chopped, tossed in, stirred, and allowed to soften, the chicken returned to the pot, about 1/4 cup of a proper white wine added (Quinta da Aveleda Vinho Verde 2016, which we have been enjoying as an aperitif) and brought to a boil, the heat lowered to a steady simmer, the pot covered and the chicken and the other ingredients cooked until all were tender, or about 40 minutes, served on a crusty slice of ’12 Grain & Seed Bread’ (organic wheat and whole wheat with 12 cracked grains and seeds) from Bread Alone, the chicken garnished with chopped lovage from Keith’s Farm [the recipe which inspired this, from ‘Chicken Parts, 12 Ways‘, one suggests spreading the softened garlic onto the bread before placing the chicken and the rest of the sauce on top, but I forgot]
• some ‘Mars’ (sweet, citrusy) French heirloom peppers from Campo Rosso Farm, cut once lengthwise, the seeds and membranes removed, sautéed over a high flame until slightly caramelized, one sliced Japanese scallion, a chopped section from a small Calabrian medium hot cherry pepper from Alewife Farm, and a pinch of crushed dark dried habanada pepper added near the end, the mix tossed with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper and sprinkled with some chopped summer savory from Ryder Farm, served with a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a terrific French (Chinon) red, Bernard Baudry ‘Les Grézeaux’ Chinon 2011, the gift of some wonderful friends
• the music was Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s 1693 tragédie mise en musique, ‘Médée’, composed with a libretto by Corneille, in a performance by William Christie and Les Arts Florissants

Chicken has probably never made an appearance in this site, except in the form of eggs, and I almost never eat chicken out, but I’ve recently become belatedly aware of an excellent source for safe, conscionably-raised – and delicious – poultry lying right under my vegetable-loving nose, so to speak.   We have been enjoying the produce of Zaid and Haifa Kurdieh’s Norwich Meadows Farm for years, and they are definitely the real thing.  I’m now a fan of their poultry and their eggs.

• a simple braise or ‘stew’ of chicken thighs, described by Mark Bittman, using Norwich Meadows Farm browned in a cast iron enameled Dutch oven, with two full heads of garlic, unpeeled, a generous amount of chopped parsley from Paffentoth Gardens and about a third of a cup of white wine, salt and pepper added, then everything brought to a boil and covered, simmered for about 45 minutes, the garlic removed and spread onto crusty bread when finished, the chicken finished with chopped parsley or, in this case, lovage from Windfall Farms, and turned onto the edges of the slices of garlic bread
• a mix of collards from Lucky Dog Organic and mustard greens from Lani’s Farm, braised with a bit of garlic from Berried Treasures, seasoned, then finished with olive oil
• the wine was a New Zealand red, Marlborough Opawa Pinot Noir 2012

it seems Barry couldn’t wait to start, but it had been some time since lunch

 

It was the 25th of December, and so it was an almost perfect excuse for a feast.

• 3 ounces of smoked wild Alaskan black cod (sable) from Blue Hill Bay Smoked Seafood, via The Lobster Place, brought to room temperature and served with a sauce of créme Fraîche from Ronnybrook Farms stirred with zest and juice from an unidentified small citrus fruit from Fantastic Gardens (it looked and tasted a bit like a ripe, small yellow lime), 5 whole tiny chive plants from Rogowski Farm, scissored from the bottom all the way into the green tops, and a little chopped tarragon from Stokes Farm, with cress from Max Creek Hatchery, dressed with good olive oil and more lemon/line juice, and some Grand Daisy Pugliese toasts on the side
• the wine was a German (Pfalz) white, Becker Family Pinot Blanc, 2013, which Appellation Wines was kind enough to special order for us when we asked them to

Pigeon. These weren’t wood pigeons, which are smaller, leaner, tastier, but wild, and therefore cannot be sold inside the U.S., but these domestic squab were almost as delicious, and at least there were no worries about biting into shot.

• 2 air-chilled California squab from D’Artagnan, via O. Ottomanelli & Sons Meat Market, seasoned with salt and pepper inside and out, cooked, breast side down, in rendered goose fat (gifted from our hosts the night before), turning a few times, until richly browned all over (about 12  minutes), before being transferred to a tin-lined copper au gratin pan, the cavities rubbed with 2 tablespoons of softened butter which had been mixed with 2 teaspoons of crushed juniper berries, each bird covered with a round of sliced guanciale (also from O. Ottomanelli & Sons), then surrounded in the pan by nearly a cup of seedless California white grapes from Whole Foods, placed in the upper third of a 450º oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until the thickest part of the thighs had been cooked to medium-rare, removed and let rest for about 5 minutes
• Japanese sweet potatoes from Lani’s Farm, unpeeled, but washed thoroughly, cut as french fries, tossed in a bowl with olive oil, salt, and pepper, than roasted above 400º in my trusty well-seasoned Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic oven pan for about 35-40 minutes
• red collard greens from Tamarack Hollow Farm, cut in a rough chiffonade, then braised in a heavy pot in which one halved rocambole garlic head from Keith’s Farm had been allowed to sweat in some olive oil, the dish finished with salt, pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of juice from the same lemon/lime described above
• the wine was an Italian (Sicily) white, Benanti Etna Rosso, Rosso di Verzella 2013, from Flatiron Wines & Spirits

 

If I retain any Christmas traditions from any of my past lives, struffoli is one of them, and it can always make me smile.

• the struffoli was from Buon Italia
• the music was a continuation of  WQXR‘s annual 10-day, year-end Bach Festival, streaming until midnight, New Years Eve