After a certain amount of experience in various cities – and countries – including both good and less good experience with the meats available at local farmers’ markets, I’ve come to the conclusion that the amount of satisfaction that comes from cooking any cut of meat depends very much on the excellence of the butcher. These particular two chops were as beautiful to look at – both before and after grilling – as they were delicious to eat.

 

• 2 thick lamb loin chops, produced by Van Well Family Farms, in Watertown, SD, from Eataly, cooked on a very hot grill pan for about 6 minutes on each side, seasoned with salt and pepper after they were first turned over, finished with lemon, chopped lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• nutty ozette potatoes from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, halved lengthwise, with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary leaves from Phillips Farm, roasted at 450º for about 20-25 minutes, sprinkled, as soon as they emerged from the oven, with wild garlic from Lani’s Farm, and then some chopped parsley from Eataly
• tender collard greens from Norwich Meadows Farm, washed, drained, and braised very lightly in a heavy pot in which one halved garlic clove from Norwich Meadows Farm had been allowed to sweat in some olive oil, the dish finished with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a California (North Coast) red, Fleur de California North Coast Petite Sirah 2013
• the music was from the album,  ‘[Johann Heinrich] Schmelzer, [Johann Joseph] Fux: [Barok] Music at the Habsburg Court‘ (great fun)

Since we would be heading out to the Jewish Museum afterward, I suppose this hearty Sunday breakfast could be called ‘unorthodox’, in light of the title of the museum’s current show of that title.  That same afternoon we were also able to visit some of the rooms of the permanent exhibition, which I can heartily recommend to anyone.

• the thick bacon from the Amish farmers in Pennsylvania, Millport Dairy was fried very slowly over a very low flame
• the eggs were also from Millport Dairy, fried in the bit of fat rendered earlier by the bacon, but only after a little butter had been added to the pan, then enriched with condiments which included, Maldon salt, some ground highly-pungent ‘India Special Extra Bold’ Tellicherry peppercorns, wild garlic from Lani’s Farm, a bit of dried Itria-Sirissi chili (peperoncino di Sardegna intero) from Buon Italia, and, after the photo above was taken, a very wonderful aromatic seasoning blend called L’eKama
• the tomatoes were halved Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, briefly sautéed in the pan in which the bacon and eggs had cooked, then sprinkled with Maldon salt, with fresh oregano from Stokes Farm which I had been keeping alive since last fall [yup.]
• the bread for the toast was ‘rustic classic’ from Eataly

looking a bit like emeralds mounted on silver, but much more rewarding

 

I’ve prepared John Dory, which I’ve described as “aka le Poisson de St.Pierre, Pesce San Pietro, Petersfisch, Heringskőnig, Zeus Faber, or ‘the-funny-shiny-one with-the-sourpuss-face'”, at least 3 times since initiating this blog. Each time I assembled it a little differently, but the fish itself has always retained its distinctive flavor and texture, a flavor and texture quite unlike other white fish.

And it’s delicious.

This time, as always, the formula was adjusted for the season, and for what I had on hand.

• John Dory fillets from Pura Vida Fisheries, arranged in a lightly-buttered copper au gratin pan, sprinkled with a few (3?) tablespoons of lemon juice, seasoned with salt, and pepper, the skin side spread with half of a mixture of 1-2 tablespoons of softened ‘Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter‘, chopped lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge and finely-chopped wild garlic from Lani’s Farm, baked in a 350º oven, skin-side down for 5 minutes, turned over, the other side spread with the remaining mixture and the pan returned to the oven for another 10 minutes, served with both chopped lovage and parsley sprigs from Eataly (this is the recipe, except for my substitution of the herbs it suggests) [the smooth silver skin can be eaten or easily removed, and I’ve done both]
• a mix of greens, mostly mustard, from Norwich Meadows Farm, wilted in a little oil which had already warmed one halved clove of bruised garlic from John D. Madura Farm, seasoned with salt and pepper, finished with a drizzle of oil
• the wine was an Austrian (Kemptal) white, Schlosskellerei Gobelsburg Kamptal Grüner Veltliner 2014
• the music was Peter Maxwell Davies, Symphony No. 2, the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Maxwell Davies

The pasta itself was the star here. It was fresh cavatelli, from Eataly, where its making was overseen by Luca Donofrio, Eataly’s pastaio.

The recipe for the sauce, in this combination a rich and complex complement to a surprisingly earthy plain pasta, was a slight re-imagining of Mark Bittman’s ‘Pasta With Garlic, Tomatoes and Anchovies‘.

• two roughly-chopped spring garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm placed in a copper skillet over medium heat along with some dried Itria-Sirissi chili (peperoncino di Sardegna intero) from Buon Italia, cooked until the garlic was somewhat tender, 2 small serrano peppers from Forager’s and 7 salted anchovies from Buon Italia, filleted, added and heated until the anchovies had fallen apart, followed by over a cup of halved Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, and then the chopped green sections of the fresh garlic, everything cooked until the mix had become ‘saucy’ (about 5 minutes), salt and pepper added, tossed with 12 ounces of just-boiled hand-made fresh cavatelli from Eataly, and served with grated ‘Organic Parmigiana Reggiani Hombre’, from Whole Foods, and chopped parsley, also from Whole Foods
• the wine was an Italian (Sardinia) white, La Cala Vermentino di Sardegna 2013
• the music was Peter Maxwell Davies’ “..sprawling, elemental work, ..wind-swept and rain-lashed..” Symphony No. 3, the composer conducting the BBC Philharmonic

I could say the meal was all about micro ‘Bull’s Blood’ beet greens, but that wouldn’t be quite accurate.

 

In fact I had decided on the two pollock fillets first, and then I spotted the purple ‘greens’ across the way.

 

Whatever. But the plate sure was pretty.

• two 8-ounce pollock fillets from from American Seafood, seasoned on both sides with salt and pepper, placed in a buttered copper au gratin pan, spread with a mixture of soft butter, zest from a local Lemon grown by Fantastic Gardens of Long Island, and some finely-scissored tiny wild garlic bulbs and stems from Lani’s Farm, baked 12 to 15 minutes at 350º, removed to 2 plates, drizzled with the cooking juices, sprinkled with a small number of salted capers which had been rinsed, drained, dried, and briefly heated in a little hot olive oil (the oil in that pan also drizzled over the fish), finished with micro ‘Bull’s Blood’ beet greens from Windfall Farms
• frisée-like mustard greens from Lani’s Farm, wilted in a little oil which had already warmed a halved clove of bruised garlic from John D. Madura Farm, seasoned with salt and pepper, finished with a drizzle of oil
• the wine was an Oregon (Willamette) white, Kings Ridge Oregon Pinot Gris 2014
• the music was early Peter Maxwell-Davies chamber works, from this album