The cod liver tasted a bit like foie gras, but without the guilt, which is to say, it was delicious.

• four ounces of Icelandic canned cod liver (Skansen) from the Schaller & Weber store, served with little more than pinches of a few condiments (freshly-ground black pepper, Sicilian wild fennel pollen from Buon Italia, fresh dill buds from Alewife Farm, sliced red scallion from Berried Treasures Farm, and slices of an organic Whole Foods Market lemon)
• slices of a Fruit & Seed Brød from Bread Alone (perhaps a mørkt rug frugt brød?)

The main course featured wild shrimp, which I believe has never shown up on this blog before. When I have cooked this delectable crustacean, it’s always been the excellent farmed shrimp that Jean Claude Frajmund raises up the Hudson, in Newburgh, New York. Eco Shrimp Garden now appears in the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturdays only, and that’s the day I normally do not appear there (mostly because of the weekend crowds of gawkers, and because we are inclined to do other stuff that afternoon.

But I do usually pay a brief visit to the Chelsea Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street, the little market which is set up less than a block from us every Saturday. This time the market’s regular seafood vender had ‘super jumbo’ shrimp that one of their boats had netted, beheaded, and quickly frozen while fishing in North Carolina waters that week.

They were almost local, or at least more local than the Gulf, and way more local than southeast Asia.

The image of the shrimp sautéing mimics that of the cucumbers I had started a few minutes earlier.

• one teaspoon of chopped, still slightly immature Rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm heated inside a very heavy 13 1/2″ cast iron pan over a very low flame until the garlic had colored nicely, followed by a pinch of Spanish saffron, one dried chipotle pepper from Northshire Farms in the Union Square Greenmarket, one crushed section of a dried orange-gold habanada pepper, and a teaspoon of freshly-ground dried cumin seed from Eataly, all of it stirred together for a minute or two before 20 ‘extra jumbo’ North Carolina shrimp were placed inside the pan (I had cut through the length of their backs, from head to tail, for ease of shelling after they were cooked and on the plates), the shrimp seasoned with salt and pepper and the heat brought up a bit, the shrimp cooked until firm while being turned twice, served on the plates with a generous squeeze of lemon, garnished with chopped parsley from Keith’s Farm
• five tiny halved green tomatoes from Campo Rosso Farm, sautéed in a little olive oil inside a small vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pan, seasoned with Maldon salt and freshly-ground black pepper, garnished with fresh dill buds from Alewife Farm

• two ‘Sikkim cucumbers’, which, to me, actually look more like Hmong Red, weighing one pound, from Norwich Meadows Farm, unpeeled, sliced into rounds 2 cm thick, sautéed in a little olive oil inside a large enameled cast iron pan over a medium-high flame, turning twice, sprinkling with salt each time, each side allowed to begin carbonizing, adding slices from the stem of a fresh bulbous shallot from Tamarack Hollow Farm more than half way through, seasoned with freshly-ground black pepper, arranged on the plates, garnished with micro red basil from Two Guys from Woodbridge, and drizzled with a little olive oil
• the wine was a California (Lodi) white, F. Stephen Millier Angels Reserve White Blend Lodi 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was from 2 albums, Dylan Mattingly’s ‘Stream of Stars’, and the International Contemporary Ensemble & George Lewis’ ‘The Will To Adorn’

We weren’t certain when, or absolutely certain where, we would be eating last night. We were invited to a friend’s birthday party, in Boerum Hill, where we celebrated earlier in the evening, and we lingered longer than we had expected to. I must however have assumed all along that I’d end up cooking dinner, since I had purchased a beautiful big section of a bluefish fillet in the Greenmarket that afternoon, and I would never have even thought about waiting untio the next day to cook it.

We always eat late, and this was the weekend, so it wasn’t entirely incredible that we wouldn’t be sitting down to eat until 12:20 in the morning. What would have been less credible was any liklihood that it would be one of my best meals ever.

We began supper at 12:20 in the morning and it was one of my best meals ever.

• one 21-ounce bluefish from Pura vida Seafood, rinsed, cut into 2 sections, rubbed with olive oil and a little Columela Rioja 30 Year Reserva sherry vinegar, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, placed inside a vintage oval tin-lined copper au gratin pan, sprinkled liberally with a very pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia and a bit of dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi, also from Buon Italia, then covered/layered with thin slices of one small red onion, thin slices of one ripe medium heirloom red tomato, and more than a tablespoon of chopped fresh oregano buds, all from Norwich Meadows Farm; plus 8 or 9 pitted and halved Gaeta olives from Eataly; and several thin slices of a Whole Foods Market organic lemon, the pan placed inside a 425º and baked for just under 20 minutes (rather than the usual 15 minutes, because the fish was thicker than those I had cooked in the past), arranged on the plates and garnished with micro bronze fennel from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• romano beans from Berried Treasures Farm, parboiled for a few minutes, drained, dried, reheated in olive oil inside a heavy seasoned vintage cast iron pan, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, tossed with fresh dill buds from Alewife Farm, arranged on the plates, more dill and a drizzle of olive oil added
• the wine was a California (Mendocino and Lake counties) white, Scott Peterson Rumpus California Sauvignon Blanc 2017, from Naked Wines

There was a sweet, and it seemed made to follow this Mediterranean entrée.

• an unadorned scoop or so of incredibly delicious Old Mother Hubbert Dairy lemon basil gelato (ingredients: non fat dry milk, lemon juice, orange juice, fresh basil, lemon zest), produced at the Back to the Future Farm, near Middletown, NY, that I had picked up at Rose Hubbert‘s stand at the Union Square Greenmarket

 

• the music throughout was Jean-Baptiste Lully’s 1685 opera, ‘Roland’, Christophe Rousset conducting Les Talens Lyriques and the Lausanne Opera Chorus

It had been a tough day, with both of us at home again, trying to not stress out while a handful of guys were busy both inside the apartment and on the roof garden just outside, installing a split-system AC system [yes!]. Although they were finished and gone by the end of the afternoon, it was late in the evening before I had returned to its place each item that had been moved to accommodate their labors and the size of the boxes they had brought in the day before. There was also a lot of vacuuming and spraying of roof pavers.

At this point the suggestion that we order pizza was made, but I decided I’d prefer to cook, and would actually be up to doing so, something easy, especially something that would incorporate a green we had prized the day before, since there was still some remaining in the crisper, already washed but not dressed.

I was shocked by my ambition, under the circumstances, and Barry even more so, but it really was easy, and it really was delicious.

• two maturing Rocambole garlic cloves from Keith’s Farm and one small whole dried pepperoncino Calabresi secchi, from Buon Italia, heated together inside an antique, high-sided copper pot until the garlic had softened and become pungent, then several handfuls of thinly-sliced puntarelle leaves from Tamarack Hill Farm that had been washed (and ice-water chilled, the day before) were gradually added, while stirring over a low-to-moderate flame, after which 8 ounces of some of Brooklyn’s own pasta, in this case an emmer reginetti, aka, mafaldine (‘little queens’) from Sfoglini Pasta Shop in the Union Square Greenmarket, that had been cooked al dente, were introduced, along with almost 2 tablespoons of Sicilian salted capers from Buon Italia that had first been rinsed thoroughly and dried on a piece of paper towel, and some organic Whole Foods Market lemon juice, before gradually pouring into the pot at least half of a cup of reserved pasta water while stirring, until the sauce was emulsified, the pasta seasoned with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, arranged in 2 shallow bowls, a good olive oil drizzled around the circumference, and shavings of some Parmigiano Reggiano Hombre from Whole Foods Market scattered on top
• the wine was an Italian (Marche) white, Le Salse, Verdicchio di Matelica, 2016, from Flatiron Wines

There was a dessert.

• segments of an Asian/Korean melon from Norwich Meadows Farm, served with segments of lime from Whole Foods Market and a bit of Maldon Salt

 

• the music was at least the second time we had heard Vivaldi’s 1738 opera/pastiche, ‘L’oracolo In Messenia’, Fabio Biondi conducting Europa Galante

The excellent swordfish and the luscious tomatoes were terrific side dishes for the puntarelle, a huge hit with both Barry and myself last night; it was probably the best we’d ever had at home.

 

• two thick 7.5-ounce swordfish steaks from American Seafood Company in the Union Square Greenmarket, halved, marinated for more than half an hour in a mixture of a couple tablespoons of olive oil, a bit of a pungent dried Sicilian oregano, sold still on the stems at Buon Italia, a small amount of crushed, dried pepperoncino Calabresi secchi, also from Buon Italia, about the same bit of a piece of crushed dried golden/orange habanada pepper, and a thinly-sliced section of a small early, scallion-like red onion from Berried Treasures Farm, after which they were drained, covered on both sides with a coating of homemade dried breadcrumbs, pan-grilled over medium-high heat for 4 minutes on each side, or until barely cooked all of the way through, removed, arranged on the plates, seasoned with a little Maldon salt, drizzled with some tomato water that remained from an earlier meal, a bit of juice from a Whole Foods Market organic lemon squeezed on top, sprinkled with a bit of onion that had been preserved, drizzled with a little olive oil, finished with a garnish of micro bronze fennel from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• four ripe heirloom tomatoes, of different colors, sizes and shapes, and from 2 different local fields, those of Norwich Meadows Farm and Eckerton Hill Farm, halved, sprinkled with a small amount of sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, briefly placed inside the grill pan just as the swordfish was being removed, turned over once, then arranged on the plates, drizzled with a little olive oil and garnished with chopped thyme from Campo Rosso Farm
• only a part of a generous tied bundle of puntarelle from Tamarack Hollow Farm, thoroughly washed, the leaves separated and placed inside a large bowl of ice water, where they were allowed to sit outside the refrigerator for about one hour, while, half an hour later, three quarters of a tablespoon of red wine vinegar was placed inside a small bowl with 2 well-rinsed, finely-chopped large Agostino Recca salted Sicilian anchovies and 2 crushed Rocambole garlic cloves from Keith’s Farm, also allowed to rest, for this time for only about half an hour, and also outside the refrigerator, at which time the garlic was removed from the small bowl and the puntarelle was drained and dried (using a kitchen towel), placed inside a large bowl, the vinegar mixture poured over it, the greens seasoned very lightly with sea salt, and one and a half tablespoons of olive oil added, along with freshly-ground black pepper, and then the salad mixed or tossed at the last minute and served [the puntarelle I have always prepared appears to be a leaf-only version of Cicoria Cataglogna, I’ve never seen the form with the juicy edible shoots, or sweet, hollow inner stalks, in our own local greenmarket; there’s more information here]
• the wine was a  wonderful Spanish (Galicia) white, Valdesil, Godello Sobre Lias, 2015, from Flatiron Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Ramon Llull: Temps de conquestes, de diàleg i desconhort’, Jordi Savall conducting Hespérion XXI and La Capella Reial de Catalunya

They may not be cucumbers, and they look like micro watermelon, but they sure taste like cucumbers, albeit slightly sour cucumbers, with an added, and very distinctive, ‘pop’ when bitten into.

• a simple sauced pasta which began with a couple tablespoons of olive oil inside a high-sided tin-lined copper pot gently heating more than half a pound of halved ‘Mexican gherkins’ (not actually cucumbers, but ‘pepquinos’, or ‘Melothria scabra‘) along with a little crushed dried habanada pepper, after which 8 ounces of an al dente-cooked Setaro Torre Annunziata penne rigatoni were mixed in, and also about half a cup of reserved pasta cooking water, the mix stirred in the pot until the liquid had emulsified, the zest and juice of a Whole Foods organic lemon squeezed added, the pasta seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground pepper, placed in 2 shallow bowls, topped with a pinch of fenugreek and garnished with purple micro basil and drizzled with a little olive oil
• the wine was an Italian (Sicily) white, Valle dell’Acate, Grillo “Zagra”, 2017, from Flatiron Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Night Of The Mayas – Music Of Silvestre Revueltas’

The fish was brilliant, even more delicious than it had been the first time I reeled it in from the surface of the range, probably because it was cooked more à point this time. I’m not going to think about the cost, although I have to say that it set me back a full $6 [yeah] for the one-pound filet that we shared; that’s less that what 2 filet-o-fish would have cost us, were we of the golden arches persuasion.

Karl Karlin, when he sold the filet to me earlier in the day from his Riverhead, Long Island family‘s stall in the Union Square Greenmarket, prefers to call it ‘summer shark’, which is a name I don’t see on line, where it’s more frequently dubbed, ‘dogfish’, ‘spiny dogfish’, ‘mud shark’, or ‘sand shark’. Sometimes, in Europe, the name it goes by alludes to ‘salmon’, which is a very different creature that bears no relationship to this fish other than color.

I like ‘summer shark’ very much, both the name and the delicacy.

Oh, and it’s as pleasing to look at, both before and after cooking, as it is savoring it once it’s been set on the table.

• *one ‘summer shark’ fillet weighing one pound from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, brought to room temperature, halved crosswise, dusted with some lightly-seasoned local North Country Farms Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour, shaking off the excess, sautéed in a little over one tablespoon of olive oil inside a large heavy oval antique copper pan above a high flame for about 5 minutes on each side, or until browned, the heat then turned off while a second pan, a medium size vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot, was heated over a low to moderate flame with another tablespoon of oil before 2 fresh finely-chopped scallions from Lani’s Farm were added and cooked until softened, stirring occasionally, followed by one medium salted and rinsed Italian anchovy, more than a tablespoon of chopped Italian parsley from Keith’s Farm, and a half cup of wine, an Oregon (Williamette Valley) white, Scott Kelley Pinot Gris Willamette 2017, from Naked Wines, the heat increased and the liquid reduced almost completely before a tablespoon of fresh water added, the sauce seasoned with a pinch of both salt and pepper and poured over the top of the fillet halves, the pan heated over a low flame for a minute or two, the fish served on the plates with a sprinkling of purple micro basil from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• a mix of 2 heirloom tomatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm and a few small red tomatoes from Alewife Farm, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a little bit of fresh thyme from Campo Rosso Farm and marjoram buds from  Stokes Farm, both chopped, grilled briefly on a small enameled cast iron pan, arranged on the plates, where they were drizzled with a little olive oil and scattered with more of the herbs
• seven ounces of haricots verts from Norwich Meadows Farm, left whole, blanched, drained and dried in the same pan over low-medium heat, shaking, then set aside in a bowl until the fish was cooking, at which time they were reheated in a little oil inside a heavy well-seasoned cast iron pan, finished with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and mixed with dill flowers from Alewife Farm
• the wine was a California (Central Coast/Santa Ynez Valley) white, Rick Boyer Santa Ynez Valley Dry White Blend 2017, from Naked Wines
  by Rick Boyer
• the music was the album, ‘Aaron Jay Kernis: Colored Field, Still Movement With Hymn‘

I had a pound or so of heirloom tomatoes, less than a third of which were super ripe (which is good, when it comes to heirlooms). I was determined to use them in Sunday night’s meal, but the amount wasn’t going to be enough to serve with the pasta I had in mind to prepare. The remaining tomato was pretty big, but I couldn’t include just some of it, so the dish ended up less like a ravioli con tomate and more like a ravioli en brodo.

• two sliced fresh garlic cloves from Alex’s Tomato Farm and a thinly-sliced section of a stem of a flowering spring shallot from Keith’s Farm heated together in a little olive oil over medium heat inside a large tin-lined high-sided copper pot until the alliums were pungent, and just before that moment part of a dried Habanada pepper, crushed, was introduced into and the pot and stirred for a minute, then several heirloom tomatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, roughly chopped, and some chopped fresh marjoram flower buds, also from Norwich Meadows Farm, were added to the the mix and stirred a little before a 10-ounce package of Rana artichoke-filled ravioli from Eataly Flatiron that had been boiled for barely 3 minutes before being drained was tossed into the pot, the pasta carefully stirred over medium heat for a while to reduce somewhat what was basically tomato liquid, and served, when ready, inside 2 shallow bowls, additional marjoram buds tossed on top
• the wine was an Italian (Calabria) white, Scala, Ciro Bianco, 2017, from Flatiron Wines

There was a dessert, basically the one we didn’t get to at dinner the previous evening.

• a scoop of Talenti Vanilla Bean Gelato from Whole Foods Market dropped into a hollowed-out deseeded core of half of an Asian/Korean melon from Norwich Meadows Farm, some raspberries from Berried Treasures Farm scattered over the top, and finished with some of the berries, mashed with a little turbinado sugar and a splash of Toschi Orzata Orgeat syrup

 

• the music was the album, ‘Mark-Anthony Turnage, ‘On All Fours‘

I feel like I cheated with this picture. Most of its interest is supplied by the purple micro basil. Although it definitely adds something to the flavor of a dish, it’s the delicate shape, and especially the color, that makes it sing, and demands that it be ‘heard’.

Otherwise this was a fairly routine Sunday breakfast-and-we’re-not-going-to-need-lunch meal.

• It included Milport Dairy Farm Americauna chicken eggs with blue shells and the same Lancaster County Amish farm’s thick bacon, Maldon Salt, some coarsely-ground black pepper, a bit of a bit of a homemade Basque  piment d’Espellate we purchased in a small town north of Baie-Comeau, Quebec from the French producer’s daughter, a pinch or two of fenugreek dried fenugreek from Bombay Emerald Chutney Company that I had purchased at the Saturday Chelsea Farmers Market, thinly-sliced pieces from the stem of a flowering spring shallot from Keith’s Farm that were heated in a little olive oil until they were softened, softly-toasted slices of 2 different ‘second-or-third-day’ breads, She Wolf Bakery’s Toasted Sesame Wheat, and a polenta boule from Bread Alone
• it was a beautiful morning early afternoon, the breakfast room windows were open, and the music was the album, ‘Afternoon Ragas Rotterdam 1970‘, with Nikhil Banerjee, sitar, and Kanai Dutta, tabla (it was so rich that it occasionally sounded like a larger ensemble)

Late this past Friday we had invited a visitor from far outside New York, who was only going to be here for another week, to join us for dinner the next evening. I calculated that I had enough vegetables, and fruit, for 3, but the next day I would have to go down the street to Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market, only one block east of us, to pick up a fish entrée. When I arrived there I found that the fishers’ stall wasn’t there.

The storm of the day before may have kept the boats in the harbor on the east end of Long Island, I surmised.

Although there would be 3 fish stalls at the Union Square Greenmarket, and that market was less than a mile away, I didn’t want to hazard it on a Saturday. I rarely do go on that day anymore, even though it’s when there are the largest number of farmer, baker, and fisher stalls. It’s also when there are the largest number of shoppers  – and numbers of dawdling tourists, many holding hands and generally slowing down the serious cooks, as they do in our neighborhood Chelsea Market.

When I do go on a Saturday, it’s often to show my happy place to friends visiting from out of town, or out of country, which means I become a part of the problem I’m complaining about (although I swear I don’t hold any hands).

The little dinner party was rescued by the presence in the 23rd Street market of one of my favorite meat purveyors, Sun Fed Beef, whom I had asked to set aside enough of a certain favorite cut of steak for 2, frozen, which I would use on some day in the future. I was to pick it up that afternoon, and when I got there I asked for an additional piece, to be sure there would be enough for 3. Fortunately Gabe had a small reserve.

I was saved from the happy mobs, and dinner was going to happen.

• we started the evening with some Fiori di Puglia Taralli al Peperoncino from Buon Italia and garlic/thyme Firehook Baked Crackers from Gourmet Garage.
• the wine was a California sparkling rosé, Keith Hock California Sparkling Rosê 2016, from Naked Wines

The sit-down meal began with a simple vegetable first course (it would probably have been some form of charcuterie had the entrée not been switched from seafood to meat).

• some very small yellow summer squash from Willow Wisp Farm, washed, dried, halved lengthwise, tossed with a little olive oil, sea salt, and freshly-ground black pepper, arranged, uncrowded on a well-seasoned 2-burner cast iron grill above two fairly high flames, cooked until softened and slightly charred, turning once, arranged on the plates, scattered with torn leaves of some Gotham Greens Rooftop packaged basil from Whole Foods Market, drizzled with a little olive oil, served at room temperature
• slices of a polenta boule from Bread Alone Bakery, in the Union Square Greenmarket
• the wine was an Oregon (Williamette Valley) white, Scott Kelley Pinot Gris Willamette 2017, from Naked Wines

The light appetizer didn’t even begin to hint at the rich flavors that were to follow with the main course.

• three culotte steaks (called ‘culotte’ here, ‘coulotte’ in France, ‘picanha’ in Brazil), totaling almost 28 ounces, from Gabe, of Sun Fed Beef (Maple Avenue Farms) in the farm’s stall at Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market, brought to room temperature, weighing a little over 9 ounces each, seasoned on all sides with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, seared briefly on the top, or thick, fat-covered side inside an oval enameled heavy cast iron pan, the 2 long sides cooked for 3 or 4 minutes each, then the ends and the narrow bottom side seared, each very briefly, the steaks removed from the pan, at the moment they had become perfectly medium-rare, drizzled with some tomato water that remained from an earlier meal and scattered with a bit of the stem of a flowering spring shallot from Keith’s Farm, sliced thinly and heated in a little olive oil until softened, then some chopped summer savory from Alewife Farm, finished with a drizzle of Whole Foods Market house Portuguese olive oil, and allowed to rest for about 4 minutes
• small Japanese eggplants from Alewife Farm, each cut in half lengthwise and brushed with a mixture of olive oil, finely-chopped maturing Rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm, chopped fresh spicy oregano from Windfall Farms, plus some very pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, sea, sea salt, and freshly-ground black pepper, the eggplant pan-grilled, turning once, arranged on the plates, sprinkled with roughly chopped marjoram blossoms from Stokes Farm, and drizzled with a little olive oil, served more or less at room temperature

• a couple handfuls of small mixed-colored tomatoes, each punctured with a trussing needle, and several slightly larger plum-shaped green tomatoes, sliced into 3 sections, all from Alewife Farm, thrown onto the hot grill pan after the eggplant had been removed, rolled about a little until they had softened just a bit and taken on a smoky flavor, removed to a vintage medium size Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot with a little olive oil, reheated over a gentle flame after the steak had been cooked
• the wines were two Spanish (Rioja) reds, Pecina, Rioja Crianza, 2013, from Flatiron Wines,
• and CVNE (Cune), Rioja Crianza “Vina Real”, 2014, both from Flatiron Wines (the second survived well into the next course)

There was a small cheese course, which I neglected to photograph.

• basically, little more than samples of a water buffalo brie from Riverine Ranch in the Union Square Greenmarket, and a goat milk cheese, ‘Manchester’, from Consider Bardwell Farm, served with tiny mounds of cut marjoram blossoms from Stokes Farm and chopped summer savory from Alewife Farm (plus pinches of crushed golden dried habanada pepper, because our guest wanted to know what it tasted like, and I hadn’t cooked with it that night)
• a bit of rich unsalted Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ from Whole Foods Market and thin toasts of days-old She Wolf Bakery ‘Toasted Sesame Wheat Bread’

There would have been a sweet course, with input from a Korean melon, vanilla bean gelato, and fresh local raspberries, but we just ran out of time.

 

• the music throughout the evening was from 3 very different Nonesuch recordings, Bill Frisell’s ‘Disfarmer‘, ‘Mexico: Fiestas of Chiapas and Oaxaca‘, and ‘The President: Miracle Mile‘ by Wayne Horvitz

It’s not the best image I’ve captured of this terrific dish, which has appeared on this blog often, but it was nearly midnight when I finally set the plate on the table, and we had been enjoying a certain amount of sparkling wine with some great friends over the previous few hours.

I wasn’t even going to bother publishing the meal this time, but the canned San Marzano tomatoes I used turned out to be the best I’ve ever come across, and I wanted to document them.

• two 8-ounce monkfish tails from Pura Vida Seafood, prepared using a David Pasternak recipe, but  reducing the proportions, using two thirds of a cup of Tunisian M’hamsa Couscous and 2 tablspoons of Portuguese olive oil, both from Whole Foods in Chelsea, 2 sliced cloves of maturing Rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm, one and a half 400-gram cans of fantastically-rich and-tasty Italian Gustarosso canned pomodoro San Marzano delle Agro Sarnese-Nocerino from Eataly Flatiron (by the way, for some dishes, there is nothing like very good canned tomatoes, at any time of the year), some cracked green olives, from the Chelsea Whole Foods Market, and 2 small whole dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia

• two medium spring fennel bulbs from Alewife Farm, washed, the stems removed, trimmed of their fronds (the finest of which were set aside), cut into wedges, sautéed for a few minutes in a little olive oil inside a very wide seasoned cast iron pan over medium high heat, adding, after the vegetable had begun to color, a little more of the ‘maturing garlic’, roughly-chopped, and a bit of dried golden habanada pepper, the heat lowered and the pan covered, cooked for another 10 minutes or so, the fronds, now chopped, tossed in and mixed with the fennel, arranged on the plates and garnished with micro scallion from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the wine was an Italian (Marche) white, Le Salse, Verdicchio di Matelica, 2016, from Flatiron Wines

• the music was Ann Southam‘s 1999 album, ‘Glass Houses‘