“A Chicken for Every Pot”

Hoover never said any such thing, although his enthusiastic supporters did include the phrase in in a 1928 campaign advertisement boasting that Republican prosperity had:

‘”..put the proverbial ‘chicken in every pot.’ And a car in every backyard, to boot.”

The Republican prosperity is history, but the attraction of chicken continues to this day, as does that of the car.

For what it’s worth, the chicken part of the phrase probably has its origins in seventeenth century France; Henry IV (le bon roi Henri) reputedly wished that each of his peasants would enjoy “a chicken in his pot every Sunday.” [encyclopedia.com]

While Barry and I don’t yearn for a car in our backyard (we live in the middle of Manhattan, so we don’t have to test our commitment to a small carbon footprint, and our backyard is a garden), but we do find a chicken, or parts of a chicken, in an occasional pot, and the occasion isn’t just a Sunday these days.

• two fresh 8-ounce New York State chicken thighs from Cascun Farms, purchased at Eataly Flatiron (in a preparation partly inspired by Mark Bittman) seasoned on both sides with a local P.E. & D.D. Seafood sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, browned well in two tablespoons or so of Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ inside a medium size oval enameled high-sided cast iron pot, then covered with aluminum foil (it needn’t be a tight seal), then cooked over medium-low heat, turning occasionally, until the internal temperature was 155-165 degrees, or the juices ran clear when pricked with a fork, which was roughly 15 minutes, transferred to a small oval platter and covered with the foil to keep warm, ideally the platter, or at least the plates, kept inside a warm oven while the sauce was completed, beginning with one shallot from Norwich Meadows Farm, 3 small seasoning peppers, one aji dulce (red) and 2 small Granada (yellow, with the flavor of a habanero, but a fraction of the heat), both from Eckerton Hill Farm were stirred in and allowed to soften a little before about a third of a cup of white wine [Matt Iaconis Napa Valley Chardonnay 2017] was added to the pot, the heat raised to medium high and the liquid boiled until reduced quite a bit, or until it was a of the consistency of a sauce, a generous amount of chopped winter savory from Stokes Farm added and stirred in, the sauce transferred to a glass sauce boat, from which some of it was poured over the chicken, which had now arranged on plates
• the remaining greens from a ‘braising mix’ (young Brassicaceae: kale, collards, mustards, escarole, and dandelion) purchased from Keith’s Farm at the Union Square Greenmarket, mixed together with the leaves left from a bunch of broccoli raab from Lani’s Farm, barely wilted in a little olive oil in which several small rocambole garlic cloves, also from Keith’sFarm, had been heated until fragrant and beginning to soften, seasoned with sea salt, and freshly-ground black pepper
• slices from a small sunflower and flax seed sourdough peasant baguette from Hawthorne Valley Farm
• the wine was a Portuguese (Dão), Niepoort Rotulo Tinto, Dão 2016, from Astor Wines
• the music was Beethoven’s ‘Musik zu Carl Meisls Gelegenheitsfestspiel’, Claudio Abbado conducting the  Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Berlin Radio Chorus

[the image of the Republican political flier is from IowaCulture.gov]

Because of what the severe weekend weather had done for local fishing, our regular Monday fishmonger, P.E. & D. D. Seafood, wasn’t at the Union Square Greenmarket that day. Since I had learned this from the list on the GrowNYC.org‎ app, and because I had plenty of vegetables on hand, I didn’t have to head for the square that day, but because I had a package of their wonderful crab cakes inside our freezer, we were still able to enjoy their bounty that evening.

• two crab cakes from PE & DD Seafood (crab, egg, flour, red & green peppers, garlic, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, milk, celery, and parsley) that I had been storing inside the freezer, defrosted before I began heating them above a low to medium flame, with a drizzle of olive oil, inside a small cast iron pan, 3 to 4 minutes to each side, served on a fresh salsa composed of 9 small green tomatoes from Keith’s Farm cut into thick slices, a finely chopped section of a small stalk of celery and most of one one small thinly sliced red onion, both from Norwich Meadows Farm, 2 different kinds and colors of finely chopped small sweet seasoning peppers, aji dulce and Granada, both from Eckerton Hill Farm, torn Thai mint from Lani’s Farm, all moistened with a little olive oil
• roughly 12 ounces of la Ratte potatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, boiled with a generous amount of salt until barely cooked through, drained, halved, dried while inside the large, still-warm vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware glass pot in which they had cooked, a tablespoon or so of olive oil added, seasoned with local P.E. & D.D. sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, tossed with purple micro radish from Windfall Farms

There was a cheese course.

• a bit of Riverine Ranch water buffalo milk washed rind cheese and the same amount of an Ardith Mae Farmstead mixed goat and cow milk camembert
• toasts from slices of a miche from Runner & Stone Bakery

• the wine throughout was a Spanish (Penedès) white, Azimut blanc, from Foragers Wine
• the music throughout was the 1805 opera, ‘Lenore’, Leonore, Beethoven’s first version of the 1815 ‘Fidelio’, performed by René Jacobs and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra

I joked about this dinner mimicking the classical New York steak house selection, grilled rib and creamed spinach, except there was no grill, and no rib, and the ‘spinach’ was an asian green, pleased to hold the cream.

And the beef came from Connecticut.

My timing for a reverse seared steak was a little ragged once again, because I hadn’t done my homework after the first time out, but I think I’ve finally gotten it down: I’m going with 275º for somewhere between 45 and 60 minutes, knowing that the ultimate arbiter will be my trusty instant read thermometer.

In any event, once again the process meant that the steak was delicious, but the credit has to start with the people who brought it to us. I had been seduced when I caught site of a beautifully marbled strip steak sitting on ice at their stand in Union Square the previous week. It was my first purchase from Ox Hollow Farm, which is fairly new to the Union Square Greenmarket.

• one beautifully marbled black angus boneless strip steak (.84 lbs) from Ox Hollow Farm brought to room temperature, seasoned on all sides with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, placed on a rack in a 275º oven for somewhere between 45 and 60 minutes (I lost track of the timing), or until medium rare, meaning a thermometer reading of 120º, then placed over high heat, on the surface of a heavy oval enameled cast iron pan that had been coated with then a very small amount of cooking oil, one with a higher smoke point than olive oil (I used Mac Nut macademia nut oil from Whole Foods Market), and, noting that the steak was already fully cooked, so the it only needed to be inside the pan long enough just long enough to impart color, seared briefly on all sides  lingering just a bit longer on the top, fat-covered side, making sure to immediately apply pressure in the center with a wooden spoon when it was lying on its side, to keep the middle area from rising above the surface of the pan, removed from the heat, cut into 2 sections, and allowed to rest for up to 10 minutes while covered loosely with foil, arranged on 2 warm plates, some juice from an organic Whole Foods Market California lemon squeezed on top, sprinkled with chopped fresh rosemary from Keith’s Farm, and drizzled with a Whole Foods Market Portuguese house olive oil

• an Asian broccoli raab, otherwise unidentified, from Lani’s Farm, washed, drained, and braised very lightly in a heavy pot in which two halved rocambole garlic cloves from Keith’s Farm had been allowed to sweat in some olive oil, the dish finished with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil
• slices of a really excellent miche from Runner & Stone Bakery
• the wine was a French (Languedoc-Roussillon) red, Domaine Des Sauvaire – Mas Sauvaire Rouge 2016,from Foragers Wine
• continuing a French theme, the music was Jean-Baptiste Lully’s 1680 tragédie lyrique, ‘Proserpine’, Hervé Niquet conducting the choir and orchestra of Le Concert Spirituel

There was a dessert. The idea was to serve it after the Thanksgiving dinner, but by that time we couldn’t share much enthusiasm for another course.

• four tiny tartlets (pecan, squash, pumpkin, and custard, from Baker’s Bounty, in the Union Square Greenmarket

It was the first morning of December, so of course we enjoyed local tomatoes with our breakfast.

The 2 that I used in this meal, saving the rest for a dinner the next day, came from a small stash that I thought at the time would be the last of a long season, but at the Greenmarket 3 days later I picked up 2 medium heirloom tomatoes and a basket of heirloom cherry tomatoes from a Pennsylvania farmer located further to the south (roughly 60 miles further) than the New York farm where these had been grown.

• our breakfast, a little simpler than usual, included 4 slices of thick bacon from pastured pigs and 6 fresh eggs from pastured chickens, all from the Amish family-run Millport Dairy Farm stand in the Union Square Greenmarket, the eggs seasoned with a local Long Island sea salt (from P.E. & D.D. Seafood), freshly ground black pepper, and sprinkled with torn leaves off of a live basil plant from Stokes Farm, garnished on the side with a little purple micro radish from Windfall Farms; there was a small assembly of slices of small green tomatoes that had been warmed in a little olive oil inside a small copper skillet along with a few chopped seasoning peppers (aji dulce (red) and Granada, both from Eckerton Hill Farm, served on a few leaves from a small head of radicchio variegato di Castelfranco from Campo Rosso Farm; a rich local butter (Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ from Chelsea Whole Foods, and slices, untoasted, of Homadama bread (wheat, corn, water, maple syrup, salt, slaked lime) from Lost Bread Co.
• the music was Francesco Bartolomeo Conti’s 1715 ‘Missa Sancti Pauli’, György Vashegyi conducting the Orfeo Orchestra and the Purcell Choir

It was another of those double take reactions, when the fish monger quotes you the price after you’ve chose your fish of the day: $3.50? Only $3.50, for enough excellent whole fresh fish for 2 diners?

Yup.

And very nicely cleaned, as well.

They were easily and quickly prepared, and delicious; also, the bones were no problem.

So many reasons why it’s hard to persuade ourselves we should go out to dinner.

• six fresh whiting (16 ounces altogether), from P.E. & D. D. Seafood, heads already removed, stomach cavities cleaned, and, at home on the kitchen counter, all the fins cut off as best as possible, washed and drained, sprinkled with about a teaspoon, or maybe a little more, of Moroccan Fish Spice* and a little bit of salt, coated lightly with about a fourth of a cup of Union Square Greenmarket-purchased whole wheat flour from The Blew family of Oak Grove Plantation in Pittstown, N.J., arranged in a single layer on a large platter, and then about a third of a cup of olive oil was poured into a large enameled cast iron pan, fully coating the bottom, the pan heated for 2 or 3 minutes over medium heat before the whiting were placed inside without crowding, and fried, turning only once, until light to medium golden on both sides, adding a little more oil if needed (these 3-ounce whiting took 7 to 8 minutes on each side), transferred to a plate lined with paper towels to drain, arranged on the plates and served with lemon eighths

*Moroccan Fish Spice (amounts produce 3 teaspoons of spice)

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

• half a pound, maybe more, of scrubbed unpeeled red thumb potatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, boiled, drained, dried inside the still-warm vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot in which they had cooked, halved, rolled inside the pan with a little olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, tossed with purple micro radish from Windfall Farms, served garnished with more tiny radish
• purple tomatillos (10 ounces) from Norwich Meadows Farm, chopped, tossed in a little olive oil along with one very  small sliced red onion from Norwich Meadows Farm, fresh chopped oregano from from Rise & Root Farm, fresh basil off of a live plant from Stokes Farm, organic California lemon zest and juice from Whole Foods Market, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a generous pinch of fenugreek
• the wine was an Italian (Piedmont) white, Arneis ‘Moda Veja’, Gallino 2016, from Astor Wines
• the music was by Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville (1711-1772), his 1742 pastorale héroïque in 5 acts and a prologue, ‘Isbé’, György Vashegyiby conducting the Orfeo Orchestra and the Purcell Choir