Month: November 2010

pork chops, roots, cavalo nero

dinner, 11/29/10

I was in such a rush to get to the Greenmarket Wednesday before Thanksgiving that I forgot to bring my camera.  That means that I don’t have any notes for the vegetable’s farm sources (I normally take pictures of a stall’s sign to remember, once I get home, where things came from).  I can only say that I’m grateful for our area’s delayed full frost, since there was still a wonderful bounty of just about everything late harvest-y.

The roots gathered for this meal were terrific, the Sekt a delight, and the beautifully-cut (a rich layer of fat), very juicy Flying Pigs Farm pork chops were phenomenal!

  • grissini (Roberto)
  • wine:  German sparkling, from the Mosel (Ruwer), Eleonora Riesling Halbtrocken 2002 Kaseler Dominikanerberg (Kasel im Ruwertal) produced by Christoph von Nell, from a private tasting of wines distributed by Mosel Wine Merchant
  • pork chops from from the Flying Pigs people at the Greenmarket, seared, then oven-roasted with lemon;  accompanied by slices of roasted parsnips and celery root roasted in a hot oven and finished with chopped parsley;  and cavalo nero sauteed in oil in which whole bruised garlic had first been cooked lightly, finished with salt and pepper and a drizzle of oil
  • wine:  Spanish white, a Rueda, Shaya 2008 Verdejo old vines from 67 Wine

balsamic veal chops, pumpkin, greens

dinner, 11/3/10

  • raw wedges of Keith’s Farm classic Japanese Hakurei turnip greens from the Union Square Greenmarket
  • Veal Loin Chops with Balsamico, meaning two small seasoned natural veal rib chops from our local D’Agostino market, browned 3-4 minutes each side (once the pan and the bit of oil coating it has gotten pretty hot), over medium-high heat, the chops removed and allowed to rest five minutes, then each drizzled with a teaspoon of good Balsamic vinegar; accompanied by a savory sugar pumpkin casserole which included, in addition to the two-pound squash/fruit from the Greenmarket’s Paffenroth Gardens, one large yellow onion from Pennsylvania’s Berks County Eckerton Hill Farm, also in the Greenmarket, two eggs from Knoll Krest Farm, and 6 ounces of Patches of Star goat cheese ricotta (both ingredients from the Greenmarket); and a small serving of sauteed turnip greens (the tops of Keith’s turnip roots as well as some of their red radish tops, wilted in a bit of oil along with two small bruised and heated garlic cloves
  • wine:  Italian, Valpolicella, D.O.C. 2008 Brigaldara from Pasanella and Son