These are some of my favorite things:  excellent Italian artisanal pasta, and, not incidentally, with a very sexy shape; Südtiroler Speck; and local ramps, those alliums of the abbreviated season; not to forget the good Italian olive oil; and grated Italian parmesan cheese.   So the dish was basically assembled out of passion, but also necessity:  I had the more perishable ingredients on hand and didn’t want to wait longer to use them;  I also didn’t have much time to cook dinner that night, and this dish would be very quick.  And it really was an improvisation.  The Speck had been in the refrigerator longer than it should have, and had just begun to dry out a bit.  No longer ideal as an antipasto, it would add great flavor to the dish I was beginning to put together in my head.

I don’t remember worrying about any recipe; I just dove right in.  One caution: separate the bulbs of the ramps from the leaves, toss them in a bit of oil before adding the Speck, heating it very briefly, then tossing in the ramp leaves.

I prepared the dish a couple weeks back, did not leave any footprints, and I also don’t remember the details, but I think the smaller ‘specks’ which appear on the pasta are chopped thyme.

• the pasta was ‘Vesuvio’, by Il Pastaio di Gragnano; the Speck from Eataly; the ramps from Lucky Dog Organic; the thyme, if that is what it was, from Eataly
• the wine was a Spanish white, Shaya old vines, verdejo Rueda 2013
• the music was Mendelssohn’s Cello Sonato No. 1, on Naxos

 

This scallops dish is a classic, at least for us, even on occasion including its accompaniments (although the details will never be quite the same).

• scallops from Blue Moon Fish Company, thoroughly dried (to ensure the grill marks), seasoned and pan-grilled briefly on both sides, finished with a squeeze of juice from a local lemon grown by Fantastic Gardens of Long Island, a sprinkling of sweet hydroponic cress from Stokes Farm, and olive oil
• Maine cherry ‘cocktail’ tomatoes from Whole Foods, pan-grilled and finished with sweet savory from Bodhitree Farm, and olive oil
• small, tender, very young, very sweet White Russian kale (‘Dwarf Siberian’?) from Rogowski Farm, chopped, wilted with olive oil in which a lightly-crushed head of ‘music garlic’ from Migliorelli Farm, cut in two, had been heated, seasoned with salt and freshly-ground pepper, and drizzled with more olive oil
• the wine was a Spanish white, La Val Albariño Rias Baixas 2013
• the music throughout was once again that of several police helicopters overhead, spending the citizenry’s hard-earned cash on aviation fuel ‘supervising’ them, (and ignoring the fact that that same citizenry is their employer)

This meal is so simple, and friendly to so many variations, that a recipe is hardly needed.  I can point to this one however, with the only advisory that the most important element, as always, is good ingredients, and, where they are called for, the freshest ingredients.  Also, it almost goes without saying, but virtually any pasta can be used here.

• the pasta was Setaro Linguine, from Buon Italia, the parsley was from Rogowski Farm, the garlic from S. & S.O. Produce Farms, the breadcrumbs I made from various artisanal loaves after they had passed their days of freshness
• the wine was an Italian white, La Cala Vermentino di Sardegna 2013 

It’s steak and potatoes, . . . also lemon, pea sprouts, thyme, and balsamic vinegar (I’m rarely able to stay on track with ‘tradition’).  By the way, I’m way behind with these blog entries; this is actually a meal prepared when the weather was still cold.

• one juicy 14-ounce aged ribeye steak from Ottomanelli & Sons Meat Market, dried very well, seared on both sides in a low-rimmed, enameled, cast iron pan, then placed in a 425º oven for about seven minutes, removed, allowed to sit a few minutes, in the pan, while being dressed with a bit of lemon juice, pea shoots from Lucky Dog Organic, and some olive oil
• German Butterball potatoes from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, sliced to about 1/2 inch, and half their weight of red onion from John D. Maderna Farm, cut into eighths down to the stems,  sautéed together in butter for about 10 to 15 minutes, then seasoned with salt and pepper, a large bunch of thyme (still on the stem) from Keith’s Farm and about a third of a cup of balsamic vinegar added to the pan, pushed about, then everything covered with foil and baked in a 400º oven for about 20-30 minutes.  The recipe is basically one found in the pages of the Rogers Gray Italian Country Cook Book.
• the wine was a California red, La Tau JC van Staden Malbec 2013

Note to self: scrumptious (the meal).

 

The flounder.  It’s a noble fish – but it’s also a great story.  They come together in this blogpost basically only because last night’s meal was far more successful than the image I took of it*.  My camera decided to act up, and gave me something with such a fulvous hue I couldn’t even make it right with my (basic) Photoshop skills.  This morning therefore I thought of another wonderful flounder which I could use as a stand-in, Günter Grass’ beautiful etching of a Baltic flatfish that appear on the cover of the creature’s eponymous novel.  I bought the copy inside the dust jacket in this picture some 35 years ago, as soon as I could get my hands on the English translation.

‘The Flounder’ is, among other things, about history, bodily obsessions, gender politics, copulation, and food, and an ocean of humor runs through it.  I thought an image of the cover would be a perfect placement here.

Yesterday was one of our anniversaries, and I was hoping the meal I cooked would be worthy.  I sent a text to Barry from the Union Square Greenmarket, showing him the choice of seafood available that day, and he picked the flounder.  He already had a super Rhineland Pinot Blanc picked out, and that evening I came up with what I thought would be recipes for the fish and vegetable accompaniment that would make a sympathetic pairing with the wine. The results were, well, . . .  very good.  The fish was superb, subtle, sweet, and succulent, and my almost serendipitous combining of ramps and asparagus (I had been surprised to find the latter in the market so early in the season, so I had to bring some home) offered a gentle, woody foil for it.  A few small boiled potatoes also showed up, for texture and for a mild savory contrast (also for tradition).

I was surprised that the fillets were, for the first time in my experience, very easy to turn over, and eventually remove from the pan each in one piece.  There was also virtually no browning, and yet the fish was perfectly done, and even sweeter, juicier than I ever remember experiencing with flounder.  I may have used a bit more oil (and butter) than I usually do, and I know that I didn’t have the heat up very high when I first placed the fillets in the pan.  Either or both of those conditions might explain that success.  Oh, there was also the incredibly wonderful – and surprisingly distinctive – flavor of our local lemon, which was responsible for much of the flavor of the sauce.

We began with champagne, and the evening got even better as it advanced.

• flounder fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, washed, dried, brushed with a bit of good white wine vinegar and salt, floured, sautéed briefly in olive oil and a touch of butter, removed to warm plates, the pan wiped with paper towels (or not), then butter, juice of a lemon from Fantastic Gardens of Long Island and parsley from Rogowski Farms added quickly and briefly heated, the resulting sauce poured over the fillets
• asparagus from Phillips Farms, boiled until barely tender, tossed with thinly-sliced ramps from Lucky Dog Organic which had been briefly sautéed in butter, the leaves of the ramps, cut as a chiffonade, then mixed in the pan, all seasoned with salt and pepper (the simple recipe is from The Experimental Gourmand, but I think I might try grilling the asparagus next time, for a slightly-carbonized flavor and more crunchy texture
• smallish German Butterball potatoes from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, parboiled in salted water until nearly cooked through, drained, steamed dry, halved, tossed with a little butter and chopped winter savory from Whole Foods
• the wine was a German white, a Pfalz , Friedrich Becker Family Pinot Blanc 2013, ordered from Appellation Wines
• the music was Symphoniae of Nicolaus à Kempis

 

* This is the somewhat-off-color image of the meal:

This is another of my favorite placeholders, in the sense that a package of very good filled pasta kept frozen in the refrigerator can substitute for a more ambitious meal when time is short.  Tonight my excuse was our presence at Momenta Art’s 2015 Spring Benefit. A dinner assembled around a prepared fresh pasta is like a night off from the kitchen, and it may seem almost a trifle, but it can be delicious nevertheless.

The sauces I add to the pasta are usually pretty much improvised each time, from among the ingredients I may have on hand, and that was certainly the case here, although they happened to include some of my favorite flavors, celery, tarragon, and any form of spring allium, not to mention a good aged Parmesan.

• a package of Rana mushroom-filled ravioli from Eataly, sauced simply with a combination of chopped celery from Whole Foods and sliced spring garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm, both sautéed, then some freshly-ground black pepper and minced tarragon from Whole Foods added, the shallow bowls sprinkled with freshly-gratesd Parmesan cheese from Buon Italia
• the wine was a California white, Stephen Millier Angel’s Reserve Pinot Grigio 2014 Lodi
• the music, or at least some of it, was Hans Werner Henze’s, ‘I Sentimenti di Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’

This room temperature main course salad is one of our safe dishes, meaning that it’s one of the ways we still get to eat healthily at home, even if we return to the apartment very late (last night it was the Henry Kaiser/Weasel Walter Large Ensemble at JACK). It’s another one of Mark Bittman’s 111 Quick Meals , entrées which can be prepared – optimistically – in ten minutes or less.  Two months ago I wrote about what I could describe as our most popular winter choice from among the list.  In fact however, either meal is suitable for any season, and each is as delicious as it is quick and easy.

The better the beans, and the oil-packed tuna, the better the salad; I’ve used many different brands of beans, but this time I used Whole Foods’ ‘365’.  The tuna was from Tonnino tuna (I don’t remember where I had picked up the jar).  I also used onions from John D. Madura Farm, and rosemary from Phillips Farm.

The New York Times kitchen wizard would almost certainly approve of any sensitive alteration, even if it might add a minute or two to the timetable.  That could mean including some salad greens placed under or tossed with the bean-tuna mixture, and I’ve occasionally added dried red pepper flakes, or halved ripe cherry tomatoes.  This time I passed on greens, chiles, or tomatoes, and I saved us a couple of minutes.

• this is Bittman’s recipe, number 8 from his addendum to his original list of 101, exactly as he published it in 2007:  8 Bean-and-tuna salad: Good, olive-oil packed tuna is a must here: Combine two cups of cannellini beans, drained, with a minced red onion, a can of tuna, olive oil and salt and pepper as needed. Chopped sage is great in this, as are rosemary and basil.  
• the wine was a Spanish white, Shaya old vines, verdejo Rueda 2013
• the music was David Matthews’ ‘Music for Solo Violin, Volume One, ‘Fifteen Fugues’

Note to self:  The dinner and wine were both delicious, but the music was extraordinary, plus a huge surprise, since I had thought, as a huge fan of Hans Werner Henze for well over half a century, I was familiar with virtually all the recorded heterogeneous work of this awesome leftist, queer musical and theatrical genius.

 

The fisher folk were not at the Union Square Greenmarket on Monday (possibly because of the storm).  I had been looking forward to a seafood meal, so I was fortunate to have some frozen crab cakes which I keep on hand for such emergencies.  The introduction of some cured pork (prosciutto in this case) to the greens, making the meal a queer ‘surf  ‘n’ turf’, added an additional sturdiness on a stormy night.

• two crab cakes from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, (ingredients: crab, egg, flour, red & green peppers, garlic, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, milk, celery, parsley), heated in a heavy iron pan, four minutes to each side, then placed on a bed of greens (collard and some kale), chopped Applegate Naturals prosciutto from Whole Foods, sliced spring garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm, some juice of a lemon from Fantastic Gardens of Long Island, in a procedure mostly following the vegetable portion of Emma Ribiero’s recipe.
• ’18K Gold Nugget’ (actually, ‘Nicola’ in this batch) potatoes from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, boiled in salted water, drained and steamed dry, rolled with a small amount of olive oil and freshly-ground black pepper and chopped winter savory from Whole Foods
• the wine was a South African white, De Wets Excelsior Chardonnay 2014
• the music was an magnificent performance of Hans Werner Henze’s incredible, ‘Il Vitalino Raddoppiato’  (exceptionally for us during a meal, we hardly said a word through the almost-half-hour duration of the piece)

This is the second time I’ve prepared sea perch, and I’m already growing very fond of it.  Although supposedly not related to the freshwater fish of the same name, it tastes remarkably similar to the species I grew up with on the Great Lakes, and that’s a very good thing.  Also, in Michigan and Wisconsin our perch were never red.

I used a different recipe for the fish this time; it’s ‘Perch with Anchovy Sauce’, like the last one, is from Mark Bittman’s ‘Fish: The Complete Guide to Buying and Cooking‘.  I can’t say which I prefer, since I’m very fond of both herbs and anchovies.  Right, the anchovies!  Certainly a good reason to distinguish sea perch from freshwater perch:  I mean, would I use anchovy with lake perch?

• four fillets of red sea perch (15 ounces total) from American Seafood Company, brushed with olive oil and minced ‘music garlic’ from Migliorelli Farm, seasoned, then broiled until the skin is crisp and the fish cooked through, sauced with olive oil heated with rinsed, filleted salted anchovies from Buon Italia until they fell apart, finished with chopped parsley from Rogowski Farm
• very young and very sweet greens (they tasted like a great dish of Tuscan bietole ), which Ron of Rogowski Farm told me Cheryl had said were White Russian kale, chopped, wilted with olive oil in which one lightly-crushed head of ‘music garlic’ from Migliorelli Farm, cut in two, had been heated, then seasoned with salt and freshly-ground pepper, and drizzled with more olive oil
• cherry tomatoes from Toigo Orchards, heated with olive oil, one hopped baby leek from Rogowski Farm, and chopped thyme from Eataly
• accompanied by whole wheat bread, ‘Integrale’ from Eataly, a wonderful addition for savoring the mix of juices or sauces
• the wine was a California white, Franc Dusak White Wine Mendocino 2014
• the music was Beethoven’s piano sonata No. 4, Op. 7, played by Soheil Nasseri

I think if I had to choose to cook and serve but one kind of red meat going forward, I might choose duck breast, and this is a wonderful (and very simple and easy) way to prepare it. I’ve done it many times, usually varying the finishing touches with various herbs, or alliium.  This time I had some winter savory, a good stand-in for the almost-classic rosemary.

• a small duck breast (11 ounces) from Pat LaFrieda at Eataly, the fatty side scored, covered with salt, pepper and a bit of turbinato sugar infused over time with a vanilla bean, then left standing for about half an hour before it was pan-fried, finished with Long Island lemon from Fantastic Gardens in the Union Square Greenamarket, chopped winter savory from Whole Foods, and a bit of olive oil
• collard greens from Rogowski Farm, cut in a rough chiffonade, braised in a heavy pot in which crushed garlic garlic from S. & S.O. Produce Farms had been allowed to sweat with a bit of olive oil, finished with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil
• boiled German Butterball potatoes from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, boiled in salted water, drained, steamed dry, rolled with a small amount of olive oil, freshly-ground black pepper, and pea sprouts from from Lucky Dog Organic
• the wine was a French red, Anne de Joyeuse Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
• the music was an extraordinary piece, ‘Suikinkutsu’ [water-zither-cave], by ethnomusicologist Steven Feld