Tag: Maxwell’s Farm

dinner, November 21, 2009

Red_Chard_Lani

Purple_Peruvian_Potatoes

When it includes meat or fish I usually serve the main course of a meal with only one, possibly two vegetables, both for simplicity and to concentrate attention on complementary choices I hope I’d chosen judiciously.

On Saturday night however, I had a larder slightly swollen after a splurge with the bounty of the late fall Union Square Greenmarket.  To accompany a small 10 oz. Newport steak from Citarella which would serve both of us, I found I had some Purple Peruvian Potatoes from the stall of Paffenroth Gardens, a bouquet of what we learned was some very sweet red chard from that of Lani’s Farm (formerly known as Yuno’s Farm), and some late-season San Marzano tomatoes from, I think, Bill Maxwell’s farm, which had finally ripened sufficiently on our north windowsill.

They all came together to make one of the most vibrantly-colorful plates I’d ever seen, in a “one-dish meal” that was also totally delicious.

  • Italian oil-cured black olives and Roberto Torinese breadsticks, both from Garden of Eden
  • Newport steak pan-grilled and finished with oil and a squirt of lemon; accompanied by Purple Peruvian Potatoes baked in the oven with oil, sprigs of rosemary and plenty of sea salt; braised red chard finished with oil and lemon; and grilled seasoned halves of plum tomatoes finished with Balsamic vinegar
  • wine:   Obra Prima, Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2005 from Mendoza, Argentinia, Familia Cassone, the generous gift of a friend, from Chelsea Wine Vault

dinner, May 14, 2009

  • roasted chickpeas accompanied by mixed Spanish olives
  • grilled lamb steak (Whole Foods) finished with oil, chopped thyme and lemon;  accompanied by roasted potato “chips” (Biintje, from Bill Maxwell’s farm at the Union Square Greenmarket) tossed first with oil, crushed oregano and dried thyme;  and grilled red spring onions finished with drops of balsamic vinegar
  • wine:  Chateau la Fagotte Haut-Medoc 2005, gift of a friend
  • kumquats