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  • crabcakes on tomatoes; roasted radicchio; romanesco

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      The dinner was something of a improvisation for that evening, using ingredients I had just found hanging around the kitchen (except perhaps for one very deliberate move, ahead of time, to defrost some frozen crab cakes).  That may explain why, in the end, there was a lot going on with this entrée, but it was pretty tasty nevertheless.…

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  • all grilled: mackerel (caper-tomato salsa); eggplant; fennel

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      We’re both very fond of Mackerel, even when we are unable to bring it home.  It’s become a very popular fish on our table, so popular that I’m going to have to come up with more alternatives to this excellent, and very simple Sicilian-inspired recipe from Michael White.   ten small Boston mackerel fillets from Blue…

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  • penne, romanesco, capers, anchovy, olives, chiles

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    I’ve decided to call it, or at least file it under ‘broccoli’, rather than ‘cauliflower’, but it doesn’t really matter what I call it. Romanesco is very beautiful, and very tasty. I think most people, when they first come across a head of this vegetable, have trouble believing it’s actually a natural form (in this…

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  • fiori di zucca ravioli, yum yum peppers, oregano

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    I love zucchini flowers, but I refuse to do any deep frying at home, so most of the time I have to sit on the sidelines when I encounter the ingredient in a market.  That’s why I was so excited last week when I came across Luca Donofrio latest fresh pasta innovation at Eataly, fiori di zucca-filled ravioli. I…

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  • grilled fresh shrimp; roasted fennel; bell peppers

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    Our prawns may not have come dressed in elegant long claws, but they had excellent taste. I expected the shrimp would taste very fresh, and they definitely did.  On the other hand, I expected that, because of the circumstances of their origin, they might lack the complicated flavors of shrimp harvested in the wild.  I was wrong; these jumbo Hudson Valley shrimp from Eco…

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  • anguilla alla luciana/eel, bay leaves; roots; cabbage

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    No one should have to wait to enjoy eel until christmas, especially if she or he isn’t really Italian, and doesn’t believe in christmas.  I was almost beside myself when I spotted eel at the Pura Vida Fisheries stand in the Union Square Greenmarket today.  It had been so long since I had last prepared it…

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  • duck, tarragon; turnips, leek; cabbage, balsamic

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    It looks like winter. I had no misgivings tonight about lighting the oven to roast the turnips, in spite of the fact that earlier, while we were walking around the far west side near the Hudson, I had complained about mugginess. Cool evenings: They’re one of the perks of the season. This meal almost duplicated one I…

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  • oysters, pea crab; swordfish, tomato, radish greens

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    Because I already had enough vegetables on hand already, almost my only purpose in heading for the Union Square Greenmarket that day was to secure a seafood entrée for dinner.  It had only occurred to me to also pick up oysters because, while still abed, I had seen the Blue Moon Fish Company retweet of a tweet about their…

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  • only dessert: brebis blanc, barden blue, bosc, trucio

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    The entrée was simply a bowl of the dish of spaghetti, red onion, savoy cabbage, and sweet Italian sausage left over from two nights before, heated and sprinkled with some chopped parsley from Stokes Farm, so I’m only uploading an image of the dessert cheese course. ‘Brebis Blanc’ soft sheep cheese from 3-Corner Field Farm, and…

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  • flounder with tomato-tarragon butter, arugula salad

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    Because flounder, or any of several related species found within New York waters, is such a great dining fish, because it’s so freely available, extraordinarily fresh, from our local fishermen, but also because, for many months of the year, we’re also fortunate to live with a huge bounty of tomatoes, I end up rearranging this basic recipe over and over…

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