‘midnight pasta’, but this time without the pasta

 

We had been to a holiday party, and although we had enjoyed some terrific hors d’oeuvres (Chinese-Portuguese tapas, actually), when we arrived back home we both felt we could use a little more substance. I had anticipated the probabliity by defrosting two crab cakes earlier in the day, the trusty central ingredient of one of my go-to, short-notice meals.  The whole deal probably took less time than boiling a pot of water, but it wasn’t a race, so who cares?

• two crab cakes from PE & DD Seafood (ingredients: crab, egg, flour, red & green peppers, garlic, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, milk, celery, parsley), heated in a heavy cast iron pan, 3 to 4 minutes on each side, and served on a bed of 6 Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, which were chopped and combined with salt, black pepper, one finely-chopped fresh not-so-hot red cayenne pepper from Oak Grove Plantation, and some chopped fresh oregano leaves from Stokes Farm, and then some of the liquid from the salsa drizzled over the cakes
• red watercress from Max Fish Hatchery, washed, drained, dried, and dressed with good olive oil, organic lemon juice, salt, and freshly-ground black pepper
• the wine was a California (Central Valley) white, JC van Staden Pinot Grigio 2014
• the music was that of (Johann) Michael Haydn, who was no slouch, even compared with his brilliant older brother

both German, and not so German

 

The smoked pork chops were German, but the sauce was not so much; the red cabbage was German, but the simple recipe was less so (at least in my own experience); the plain cress could have been German, but then it would have been Salat, and probably accompanied by a little fresh tomato; the applesauce actually was pretty German, but if it really were German, there would have been much more of it.

 

• a small amount of real lard (which had earlier been used in cooking veal chops and duck breast, in succession, strained, then frozen) heated inside an oval, low-sided enameled cast iron pan, two sliced small, scallion-size leeks, white portions only, the green reserved, from Lucky Dog Organic Farm (they were still growing in the open air in December!) swirled around in it, two smoked loin pork chops from Millport Dairy added, the pan covered with tin foil and kept above a very low flame (just enough to warm the chops through, as they were already fully-cooked), turning the meat once, then, near the end of the cooking time, the leek green parts set aside earlier, now also sliced, added, the pork removed, plated, brushed with garlic oregano jelly from Berkshire Berries, then covered with both the leek sections
• a little more lard, using the same source as in the above description of cooking the smoked park chops, heated to medium-high heat in an enameled cast iron pan, two very small red cabbages from Tamarack Hollow Farm, finely-sliced, and one medium roughly-chopped shallot from John D. Madura Farm added and cooked, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage had softened slightly (about 10 minutes), water added throughout, as necessary, after which some salt was added and a little lemon juice, local apple cider vinegar from Face Farm, and a sprinkling of freshly-ground black pepper, the heat then reduced and the mixture cooked 5 or 10 minutes more, or until the cabbage was wilted and the shallots softened, and when done, a few tablespoons of raisins and some red current jelly added and stirred into the pan
• red watercress from Max Fish Hatchery, washed and drain-dried, but undressed
• a very small amount of applesauce left over from an earlier meal
• the wine was an Austrian (Wachau) white, Winzer Krems Grüner Veltliner Kremser Sandgrube 2014 [and this is Winzer Krems, in all of its miscellany*]
• the music was chamber music of Roberto Gerhard

 

* A video work, ‘Hands on Tables‘, by Brazilian artist Georgia Creimer is in permanent installation at the winery

I was already pretty aware of the impact of color in food presentation, and therefore in its enjoyment, but lately it seems to have assumed even more importance in my meal planning (no, my planning area does not look like this). The most important thing still is weighing which elements best compliment the others’ flavors, second only to deciding which ingredients should be used sooner than later for freshest effect, but a consciousness of color – and texture – have become very important in determining the final mix.

So here we have arrived at the composition of this particular dinner, and I see that even long after the end of summer, it’s still difficult for me to shake the seductive color of a red tomato; thank goodness for modern agronomy (and the high tunnel).

• three quarters of a pound of baby squid, bodies and tentacles, from Blue Moon Fish Company, rinsed, dried, very quickly arranged in an enameled cast iron pan after its cooking surface had been brushed with olive oil and heated on top of the range until very hot, sprinkled with some super-pungent dried Italian oregano from Buon Italia and one crushed dried pepperoncino, also from Buon Italia, then a good squeeze of lemon juice and some olive oil drizzled over the top, and placed in a pre-heated 400º oven, roasted for four or five minutes
• six Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, halved, combined in a small ceramic baking dish with one sliced fresh green garlic from Lani’s Farm, a little olive oil, half of a teaspoon of chopped thyme from Hawthorne Valley Farm, salt, and freshly-ground black pepper, placed in a 400º oven for about 20 minutes, removed, sprinkled with more thyme and some chopped parsley from Paffenroth Farm
• red mustard greens from Keith’s Farm, wilted with oil which had already warmed one large clove of bruised Rocambole garlic, also from Keith’s Farm, quartered, then seasoned with salt, and pepper, and finished with a drizzle of oil
• the wine was a Spanish (eastern Galicia) white, Pazzo de Monterrey Godello 2014
• the music was Carlos Chavez, his Symphony No.3

This is another example of the stock Italian guy’s ‘midnight pasta’, or spaghettata di mezzanotte, but I’m thinking more and more that it’s not just a dude thing, and not even just an Italian thing. Everyone needs a go-to, at-home dinner concept, and this is a pretty good one.

This is one version, published by the Times in its ‘NYT Cooking Recipe Box’.

My description is directly below; it’s what I served the two of us last night at my own dude’s suggestion.

• approximately 10 ounces of Setaro spaghetti chitarra from Buon Italia boiled, but only until pretty firmly al dente, then tossed with a sauce made of 4 plump rocambole garlic cloves from Keith’s Farm, roughly chopped, cooked in about a third of a cup of olive oil over low-medium heat until softened and beginning to brown, before adding to the pan 3 salted anchovies, well-rinsed, and mashing them with a wooden spoon, plus half of one dried Itria-Sirissi chili (peperoncino di Sardegna intero) from Buon Italia, several tablespoons of chopped parsley from Paffenroth Farms, and a little of the pasta water, all simmered for a few minutes while the sauce was slightly reduced, the entire mix distributed in bowls and sprinkled with another few tablespoons of parsley
• the wine was an Italian (Veneto) white, Boirá Veneto IGT Pinot Grigio 2014 from Flat Iron Wines & Spirits
• the music was several pieces by Bruno Maderna, beginning with the magnificent ‘Concerto per due pianoforti e strumenti‘ (1947–48)

looks like a holiday pastry

 

It may look a bit like a holiday treat, but it’s totally savory.  The tuna is ‘paved’ with crushed fennel seed and peperoncino, not colored sugar, and the red and green comes from the Chinese brassica and the most modern expression of the ancient Andean/Mexican cherry tomato.

• one 12-ounce tuna steak from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, halved, rubbed with a mixture of dry fennel seed and one dried Itria-Sirissi chili, peperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia, both ground together, additionally seasoned with salt and pepper, then pan-grilled for little a little more than a minute and a half on each side, finished with a good squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil
• one bunch of yu choy sum (‘flowering bok choy’) from Lani’s Farm (where it was probably grown in one of her magic high tunnels), roughly chopped, added to a heavy enameled cast iron pan where one very large bruised and quartered Rocambole (Calabrian) garlic clove from Keith’s Farm had been heated until beginning to brown, the greens stirred until tender along with a little of the water which the greens had shed after being washed, arranged on plates and drizzled with olive oil and drops of lemon juice
• two Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, halved, seasoned with salt and pepper, pan-grilled, then placed on the plates with a mixture of one very cosmopolitan green garlic from Lani’s Farm, sliced, one Mexican poblano pepper from Oak Grove Plantation, also sliced, both of which had been sautéed in olive oil and seasoned
• the wine was a Spanish (Rioja) rosé, Muga Rosado 2014 
• the music was entirely from Counterstream radio