Everything here was at the peak of its flavor, and, since the prep was pretty simple all the way around, I would have found it pretty hard to mess up anything.

Technically the triad included two cruciferous vegetables, but they were different enough from each other to be treated as two distinct ‘greens’, and they were a terrific accompaniment to the fish.

The swordfish steak was buttery, lemony, and herbal, the Brussels sprouts crispy and nutty, and the kale was sweet and almost chewy before it almost melted in the mouth.  There wasn’t a great deal of color in this entrée, but I remember that’s pretty much the deal once fall arrives.

The swordfish recipe came from a ‘Bon Appetit’ in 20015.  The treatment of the Brussels sprouts and the kale is my own.

• one 9-ounce swordfish steak from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, cut into two pieces, dried, sprinkled with salt and a mix of different peppercorns, coarsely ground, browned in olive oil on one side (about 3 minutes) inside an enameled cast iron pan, then turned over and transferred to a 400º oven for maybe about 7 or 8 minutes, or until barely cooked, placed on warm plates while a seasoned butter (2 tablespoons of softened butter, a mix of ground pepper, a bit of salt, some finely-chopped garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm, and chopped parsley from John D. Madura Farm) was added to the pan and, over medium heat, and scraped together with the cooking juices to collect the brown bits from the bottom before the sauce was poured over the steaks
• Brussels sprouts from S. & S.O. Farms, tossed with salt, pepper, and some olive oil, and roasted in a 400º oven for about half an hour, finished with a squeeze of lemon and some more olive oil
• loose curly purple kale leaves from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, wilted with olive oil in which two slightly-crushed Calabrian Rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm had been allowed to heat until pungent, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of fresh olive oil
• the wine was a Spanish (Rioja) white, Monopole Cune white Rioja wine 2014
• the music was a profound performance of Sibelius, Symphony No.4, by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein, and it was played twice!