The swordfish itself, plus the recipe of course, and, yeah, my modest part (which was just taking it off the grill at the right moment) came together beautifully.

And then there was this incredibly good mustard. I had picked it because it would be quick and easy on a night when I didn’t have much time to put a meal together but it was much, much more than just a placeholder.

• one very fresh 16-ounce swordfish steak from Blue Moon Fish, divided into 2 pieces at home, marinated for half an hour in a mixture of olive oil, one spring red onion from N.J. Jersey Farm Produce, Inc., some chopped fresh oregano buds from Norwich Meadows Farm, and a very small amount of crushed dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, drained well, coated on both sides with some homemade dried breadcrumbs, and pan-grilled over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, removed to 2 plates, seasoned with Maldon salt, some of the juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market squeezed on top, drizzled with a little olive oil, and sprinkled with micro lemon peppercress (yes, it really is lemony, and peppery) from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• one bunch of red mustard from Keith’s Farm, wilted inside a large high-sided tin-lined copper pot in a little olive oil in which 2 halved cloves of  garlic from Lucky Dog Organic Farm had been allowed to sweat, then seasoned with sea salt, freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, and a very small amount of crushed dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, finished on the plates with a drizzle of juice from an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market and a bit of olive oil
• the wine was an Italian (Sicily) rosé, Gerbino Rosato di Nerello Mascalese 2016, from Eataly Vino
• the music was the album, ‘Sieur de Sainte-Colombe: Concerts a Deux Violes Esgales’

I would have picked a sausage from Schaller & Weber, since I love patronizing that wonderful Yorkville German food emporium, and Barry was going to be up there in the afternoon, but I was thinking of this as an Italian meal, mostly because of the puntarelle I wanted to serve, so it was the turn of our local Italian outlet, Eataly.

But then the very Germanic potato ended up as a part of the meal after all (although dressed with olive oil rather than butter).

• four links of a wild boar sausage from Eataly (the ingredients were, simply, wild boar, salt, pepper, and wine), cooked by heating them with about a quarter inch of water in the bottom of a covered heavy cast iron pan for about 15 minutes, removing the lid and allowing the liquid to evaporate (although, not wanting to overcook them, on this occasion I poured out most of the now-flavored liquid before continuing, indicating that this technique is a work in process for me), then letting the sausages brown, turning occasionally, in the fat that accumulated with the small amount of liquid that remained until they began to look just a little blistery
• one large, oddly double-spheroid, ‘yellow potato’ from from N.J. Jersey Farm Produce, Inc. in the 23rd Street Saturday farmers market, halved, making 2 rounds, scrubbed, boiled, drained, dried, mixed with a little olive oil and chopped French leeks from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm
• one small bunch (about 6 ounces) of young puntarelle from Tamarack Hollow Farm, thoroughly washed, the leaves separated and placed inside a large bowl of ice water, where they were allowed to let 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 salted Sicilian anchovies and 2 crushed cloves of garlic from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, and allowed to rest for about half an hour, also outside the refrigerator, at which time the garlic was removed from the small bowl and the puntarelle was drained and dried (using towels or a vegetable spinner), placed inside a large dry bowl and the vinegar mixture poured over it, seasoned very lightly with sea salt, one and a half tablespoons of olive oil added, along with freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, the salad mixed/tossed at the last minute and served [NOTE: the puntarelle didn’t curl up as it really should have, probably because it had not been sliced at all, and so did not up as thin as it would have had I been working with a larger bunch, or ‘head’ of this very special chicory]
• the wine was an Italian (Puglia) red, Salice Salentino DOC, from Philippe Liquors and Wine
• the music was from the album, ‘William Christie conducts Charpentier’

This was the very best artichoke-filled pasta I’ve ever had. Among its other virtues, there was no ‘ricotta extender’, so the artichoke flavors were not watered down – or buried by the heirloom tomato sauce.

The quality of those tomatoes was also a big factor in the dish’s success.

• two sliced garlic cloves from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, heated in a little olive oil over medium heat inside a large tin-lined high-sided copper pot until the garlic was pungent, joined just before that moment by part of a dried Habanada pepper, crushed, which was stirred for a minute inside the pot, followed by 2 heirloom tomatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm (one a deep red, the other a mottled orange), roughly chopped, and some chopped fresh oregano flower buds, also from Norwich Meadows Farm, the mix stirred a little before 10 or 12 ounces of house-made carciofi-filled ravioli, boiled for barely 3 minutes before being drained, were tossed into the pot with some reserved pasta cooking water, the pasta carefully stirred with the sauce over medium heat for a while to emulsify it, and when ready, served inside 2 shallow bowls, a bit of olive oil drizzled around the edges [the pasta filling was composed of artichokes; olive oil; cacio de roma, a semi-soft sheep’s milk cheese made in the Roman countryside; parmigiano; anchovy; tomato; parsley; and basil]
• the wine was a California (Clarksburg) white, Richard Bruno Clarksburg Chenin Blanc 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was from the Deutsche Grammophon/DGG album, ‘haydn, “sturm” und “drang”, paris & london symphonies’, the pieces performed by the  Orchestra Of The Age Of the Enlightenment, and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Frans Brüggen conducting both

The entrée was going to be a pasta or or a frittata, and then I saw the wild salmon inside the display case.

• one fresh (unfrozen ) 8-ounce wild Coho salmon fillet from Whole Foods Market, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, the broader two surfaces pressed with a mixture of ground coriander seeds, ground cloves, ground cumin, and grated nutmeg, sautéed over medium-high heat for a few minutes on each side in an enameled, cast iron oval pan, finished on the plate with a little squeeze of organic lemon from Whole Foods Market and a drizzle of a good olive oil
• wild watercress from Dave Harris’s Max Creek Hatchery in the Union Square Greenmarket, drizzled with a good olive oil, Alce Nero DOP ‘Terra di Bari Bitonto’ from Eataly

The bowl of tomatillos had been resting inside the refrigerator under a paper towel for a while; this seemed the perfect time to break them out. They were still crunchy, and deliciously bittersweet.

• a decent amount of tomatillo from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, chopped, tossed in a little olive oil with one sliced spring red onion from N.J. Jersey Farm Produce, Inc. in the 23rd Street Saturday Farmers Market; lovage from Keith’s Farm; oregano blossoms from Norwich Meadows Farm; organic lemon zest and juice from Whole Foods Market; sea salt; freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper; and a generous pinch of fenugreek
• the wine was a California (Sonoma) red, ROX Scott Peterson Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast, from Naked Wines
• the music was Yle streaming

There were to be guests, and there would be 3 courses. The only other instructions I gave myself were to serve local seafood, and to see that everything could be prepared easily enough for me to be a part of the conversation, and their first visit to/tour of our apartment.

We began the evening nibbling on some breadsticks, walking around with glasses of a sparkling wine part of the time.

• rustic Italian breadsticks, Mario Fongo grissini integrali, from Buon Italia
• the wine was a California sparkling white, Keith Hock Exit 43 California Bollicine in Bianco 2015, from Naked Wines

 

The antipasto was an insalata Caprese

• the salad was assembled with sliced heirloom tomatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, arranged on 4 plates, alternating on each with slices of some very fresh ‘mozzarella classica’ from Eataly and leaves of fresh basil plants 100 feet away from the kitchen, inside the garden of our own Chelsea Gardens (can’t get much more ‘local’, but I should have picked a little more this time), sprinkled with Maldon salt and coarsely-ground Tellicherry pepper, drizzled with a great Puglian olive oil, Alce Nero DOP ‘Terra di Bari Bitonto’ from Eataly
• slices of Rustica Classica from Eataly

 

The main course was dominated (barely, because of the great vegetable with which I was able to accompany it) by some of the freshest and most beautiful tuna steak I had ever put onto the table.

In preparing the tuna I did the same thing I normally do: It’s a recipe would intrude little on the taste of the steaks themselves, and it meant the entire course could be assembled and cooked in about 10 minutes (the vegetables could be done ahead).

• four 6-ounce tuna steaks from Pura Vida Seafood in the Union Square Greenmarket, rubbed, tops and bottoms, with a mixture of a wonderful dry Sicilian fennel seed from Buon Italia that had been crushed in a mortar and pestle along with a little dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, the tuna also seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper before the steaks were pan-grilled above a medium-high flame (for only a little more than a minute or so on each side), finished on the plates with a good squeeze of the juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market, and seved with a bit of micro fennel from Windfall Farms, some olive oil drizzled on top of both the fish and the fennel

 

The vegetables could be, and were, prepared ahead of time – including the grilling  (they taste at least as good at room temperature as they do warm).

• eight small eggplants (5 different kinds, including an orange ‘Turkish’ variety from Norwich Meadows Farm, the others from Alewife Farm), each cut horizontally into 2 or 3 slices, mixed with a little olive oil, a 2 finely-chopped garlic cloves from Norwich Meadows Farm, sea salt, and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, pan-grilled on an enameled cast iron ribbed pan over a brisk flame, turning once or twice, sprinkled with chopped peppermint leaves, again from Norwich Meadows Farm, drizzled with a bit of olive oil

 

• the wine through the first and second courses was an Italian (Sicily) white, Corvo Bianco 2015, from Philippe Liquors and Wine

 

The dessert course was the simplest of all, especially because the really good local (Brooklyn) ice cream was store-bought, and I had made the sauce some days before.

• Bluemarble Brooklyn Ice Cream organic vanilla from Whole Foods Market, topped with a gooseberry sauce with included a bit of Toschi Orzata Orgeat syrup, making the gooseberries even more Italian than they might have otherwise been regarded

It’s a wonderful fish; they all are, at least those we’ve figured out make good eating (but, yes, all of the others are wonderful as well).

I had served dolphin 4 times before; each time the fish seemed more delicious than before, and so it was last Wednesday (August 16).

I love cucumbers in any form. This time they were sautéed.

Just about halfway through the meal, there was some unplanned excitement: a stack of 2 large mixing bowls and a sugar bowl came crashing down from the top of the refrigerator. But Barry was saved!  He had been standing directly at the site, fetching cold water, and so he incurred a few minor bruises and cuts on his lower limbs.

After we dressed his wounds, we both recovered and finished a really good meal, waiting until afterwards to clean up the mess.

But dinner really was good.

• two fillets of local dolphinfish, or orata, or dorade [it appears on this list of local ‘exotics’ with the Hawaiian name, ‘Mahi-Mahi’], about 15 ounces altogether, from Blue Moon Fish, dry-marinated for 30 minutes or so with more than half a tablespoon of zest from an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market, an equal amount of chopped thyme leaves from Stokes Farm, sea salt, and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, seared inside a hot heavy, oval copper fish pan for about 3 minutes, skin side up, then turned over, the second side seared for about the same length of time, the heat lowered and the pan loosely covered for a very few minutes with aluminum foil, which was then removed and some thin-ish slices of very small French Leeks from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm and a bit of dried golden-orange habanada pepper were introduced and very briefly sautéed along with the fish before it was removed along with the alliums and the pepper onto 2 plates, the now richly-savory pan juices poured over the top of the fish, a sliced small orange-red heirloom tomato from Norwich Meadows Farm placed as a garnish on each side of each of the fillets
• white-fleshed ‘Boothby’ cucumbers from Willow Wisp Farm, cut lengthwise, sautéed inside a large seasoned heavy cast iron pan with a little olive oil, over a medium-high flame, turning the cucumbers twice and adding one sliced small spring red onion from N.J. Jersey Farm Produce, Inc., in the 23rd Street Saturday Greenmarket, near the end, sprinkling the cucumbers with sea salt each time they were turned, removed once the cucumbers had begun to carbonize on each side successively, a pinch of fenugreek added just before they were placed on the plates, where they were sprinkled with lovage from Keith’s Farm
• the wine was a California (Lodi) white, David Akiyoshi Reserve Chardonnay 2015, from Naked Wines
• the music was from the same album enjoyed the night before, the Deutsche Grammophon/DGG album, ‘haydn, “sturm” und “drang”, paris & london symphonies’, the works performed by the  Orchestra Of The Age Of the Enlightenment, and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Frans Brüggen conducting both; this time the works were Haydn’s Symphonies No. 49, 50, and 43

Thinking about what might be the best way to use the extra, cardoons I had prepared but not used in this meal on Monday, the answer seemed simple: Pasta!

I was concerned about the bitterness of the [thistle stems], as I mentioned in the post describing that meal; I suspected the pasta would dilute most, if not all of it, and it did. And it was good.

• eight slices (4 ounces) of duck bacon from Hudson Valley Duck Company in the Union Square Greenmarket, cut into 1/4 inch segments, sautéed in a little olive oil inside a large, heavy, high-sided, tin-lined copper pot until the fat began to render, removed, set aside, and replaced in the pot by 2 thick scallions from Alex’s Tomato Farm, in the 23rd Street Saturday farmers market, and a section of a dried orange/gold habanada pepper, heated until the onion had softened, followed by a couple handfuls of cardoons that had been boiled and drained on Monday and placed in the refrigerator, the cardoons sautéed until beginning to caramelize, at which time 9 ounces of Sfoglini red fife blend zucca, cooked al dente, was tossed into the pot, with some of the reserved pasta cooking water, stirred over medium heat until the sauce had been emulsified, chopped peppermint from from Phillips Farms added and mixed into the pasta, which was then arranged inside low bowls, sprinkled with a little more chopped mint, drizzled with olive oil, and finished with a generous amount of freshly-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Vache Rosse from Eataly
• the wine was a California (grapes from 3 regions, North Coast, Lodi and Clarksburg) rosé, Evangelos Bagias California Rosé 2016, from Naked Wines

There was also a cheese course.

• three cheeses from Consider Bardwell Farm: a blue goat; ‘Manchester’, also goat; and ‘Pawlet’, a cow cheese
• thin toasts from 2 different several-days-old breads, a small Pugliese roll and a classic French baguette, both from Whole Foods Market
• the wine with the cheese was a California (Lodi) white, F. Stephen Millier Angels Reserve Pinot Grigio Lodi 2016, also from Naked Wines

 

• the music throughout the meal was from the Deutsche Grammophon/DGG album, ‘haydn, “sturm” und “drang”, paris & london symphonies’, the pieces performed by the  Orchestra Of The Age Of the Enlightenment, and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Frans Brüggen conducting both; the symphonies we listened to were Nos. 47, 46, and 26

I was pretty excited to find cardoons in the Greenmarket on Monday. The excitement continued all the way through its several cooking processes – even while working inside a very warm and humid kitchen – and it survived the entire meal.

Barry, who is crazy about artichokes, which are related to cardoons (both are thistles) was less enthusiastic, because he thought they were too bitter, even after some extended boiling and sautéing (“a bit like eating only the outermost leaves of an artichoke”). I think I have a higher tolerance for weird, medicinal, or bitter flavors (it’s why Barry is almost always the one who tests the wine).

The recipe I used asked for mushrooms. I didn’t have any, although had I known I could have easily brought some home from Union Square. I was reasonably confident I could do without them, and with most recipes that would be possible, but here their presence would probably have moderated some of the acidity. The other recipes for these ‘artichoke thistles’ all seemed to involve either an oven or some deep frying, and I wanted to avoid both expedients.

I think I’ll know better what to expect next time, and there will definitely be a next time. I’ve assembled several new recipes even since preparing last night’s dinner.

There were herbs (there area almost always herbs), sage and parsley for the hake, peppermint for the cardoons.

• two hake fillets (a total of one pound), from P.E. & D. D. Seafood, dredged in local North Country Farms Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour seasoned with plenty of sea salt and fresh-ground Tellicherry pepper, dipped in a shallow bowl in which one egg from Millport Dairy and about a tablespoon of Trickling Springs Creamery 2% milk had been beaten together with a fork, sautéed in 2 tablespoons of Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’, along with 3 very large fresh sage leaves from Phillips Farms, inside a heavy tin-lined oval copper pan for about 7 minutes, turning the sections half of the way through, then sprinkled with organic lemon juice from Whole Foods Market and the small amount of pan juices that remained, arranged on 2 plates, garnished with chopped parsley from Keith’s Farm, served with lemon wedges on the side
• one stalk of cardoons form Alewife Farm, trimmed, cut into one-inch lengths, prepared (including blanching for about 20 or 25 minutes), along the lines of these instructions, placed without crowding too much, over medium heat inside a large heavy cast iron well-seasoned pan after several tablespoons of the same Organic Valley butter had been placed in it, had melted, and the had foam subsided, the flame reduced to medium-low, the vegetables sautéed, stirring occasionally, until they took on a bit of color, or for about 10 to 12 minutes, followed by one section of an orange/gold dried habanada pepper and one large clove of Rocambole garlic, chopped, from Keith’s Farm, cooked for a very few minutes, or until the garlic was tender, and finally about half a cup of fresh bread crumbs (a white baguette from Whole Foods Market baked a day or two before) and a pinch of salt, the heat turned up to medium-high, and the contents of the pan cooked, stirring occasionally, until the crumbs browned a bit and the cardoons fully tender (and, ideally, sweet), or about 5 minutes longer, the dish seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, arranged on the plates, a bit of lemon juice and some chopped peppermint from Phillips Farm sprinkled over the top
• the wine was a California (Clarksburg) white, Richard Bruno Clarksburg Chenin Blanc 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Ligeti, Murail and Benjamin: Musica Viva Vol 22’, George Benjamin conducting the Bavarian RSO and Pierre-Laurent Aimard

Fred Plotkin is the author of this simple pasta concept. It was one of several excellent very minimal recipes that appeared in an article, ‘Pasta From the Provinces’, which I tore out of the May, 1986 issue of ‘GQ’. The magazine’s pages have frayed and torn (they were printed before many of our friends had even been born), but the recipe has not; in fact it only gets better as its competition becomes increasingly complex in this increasingly complex age.

Fred writes that the recipe came from Signora Francesca Santonocito, “..an excellent Sicilian cook whose recipes I have come to know through her daughter, Luciana.” (it seems that most recipes, or at least the very best, are only restatements of ones created earlier, which were most likely themselves restatements).

I’ve made this dish a number of times, beginning inside my Broad and Water streets loft weeks after I cut it out of the magazine, but tonight, when Barry requested it, I realized we had not enjoyed it since I began writing this food blog in 2009.

Spaghetti with fried zucchini.

The only change I made to this classic last night was the addition of some fresh thyme.

• two round zucchini from Alewife Farm (10 or 11 ounces). sliced very thinly (approximately 1//16th of an inch), sautéed, without crowding, in 2 batches, turning once, inside a very large heavy cast iron oiled pan over a relatively hot flame until they had almost caramelized, scattered with chopped thyme leaves from Stokes Farm, before the squash was joined and mixed inside its pan by 8 ounces of Afeltra Pasta di Gragnano Spaghetto from Eataly, cooked al dente, and a little of the reserved pasta cooking water (to emulsify the sauce), seasoned with freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper and arranged in 2 low bowls, some Sicilian olive oil drizzled around the edges of the pasta, and a modest amount of freshly-grated Fulvi Pecorino Romano DOP, from Eataly, distributed over the top
• the wine throughout was an Italian (Sicily) white, Corvo Bianco 2015, from Philippe Liquors and Wines
• the music throughout was a recording of Beethoven’s three Razumovsky [or Rasumovsky] string quartets, opus 59, performed by the Alexander String Quartet

There were several internationally-sourced ‘spicy’ elements, broadly understood, in this breakfast, including Indian black pepper, a heatless Cornel habañero, peppery Connecticut nasturtium leaves, and a Basque piment powder.

Otherwise it was mostly bacon and eggs and toast.

• There were six pastured chicken eggs from John Stoltzfoos’ Millport Dairy Farm stall in the Union Square Greenmarket, fried sunny side up; Millport Dairy thick bacon, toasts from two different sturdy breads, a multigrain baguette (unbleached wheat flour, whole wheat dark rye, white starter, honey, sugar grain mix {millet, sunflower, coarse rye, oats, flax seed, sesame) from She Wolf Bakery, and a loaf of Balthazar Bakery sourdough rye from Schaller & Weber; stems of some baby French Leeks from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm; Maldon Salt, freshly-ground Tellicherrry pepper, pinches of a homemade French Basque piment d’Espellate purchased in a small town north of Baie-Comeau, Quebec 3 and a half years ago from the producer’s daughter; more of the same mix of herbs assembled for the dinner of two days before , and for the tomato salad last night as well (a combination of peppermint, bush basil, and oregano from Norwich Meadows Farm, summer savory and thyme from Stokes Farm, fennel frond from Alewife Farm, and dill flowers from Eckerton Hill Farm); a little Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’, for the toasts that were too rigid for dipping into the egg yolks; and micro nasturtium leaves from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the music, which we listened to while we sat at the breakfast room window open to the garden, was ‘Olivier Messiaen: Complete Bird Music For Piano Solo’, performed by  Carl-Axel Dominique, in 3 CD discs (3 hours, 29 minutes)