It was a simple meal, and easily assembled, but very, very good.

• one 13-ounce tuna steak from Blue Moon Seafood Company in the Union Square Greenmarket (caught on Scott Rucky’s fishing vessel, ‘Dakota’), halved, rubbed with on the tops and bottoms with a mixture of a heaping tablespoon of wonderful dry Sicilian fennel seed from Buon Italia and a little crushed dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, the two having been ground together with mortar and pestle, the tuna sections also seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper before they were pan-grilled (for only a little more than a minute or so on each side) and finished on the plates with a good squeeze of the juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market and a bit of micro scallion from Two Guys from Woodbridge draped over the fish before, some olive oil drizzled on top
• eight small eggplants (a round 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 from Norwich Meadows Farm, arranged on the two plates on top of a small amount of sliced fennel from Alewife Farm (also pan grilled), drizzled with a bit of olive oil
• the wine was a French (Chinon) rosé, Jean-Maurice Raffault Chinon Rosé 2016, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was Handel’s 1712/1720 opera, ‘Radamisto’, Nicholaas McGegan conducting the Freiburger Barockorchester, with Juliana Gondek, Lisa Saffer, Dana Hanchard, Monica Frimmer, Michael Dean, Nicolas Cavallier, and Ralf Popken

I used to be puzzled by the people who get so excited about the arrival of blowfish in the local fish market (in the big piscivore picture, their numbers may not be large, but it always seemed like I was the only one who didn’t get it).

I get it now.

As I wrote last September, they taste at least a bit “like fried perch”, and so evoke one of the best foods I remember from the midwest where I grew up.

And then there was a (cool) salsa.

The side dish was put together mixing some oddments, a few herbs, and several vegetables, each in a quantity not sufficient to use by itself. As such it was something of a mongrel, but like most mixed breeds, it turned out to be a very good mix. And the colors made a great presentation.

• twelve blowfish tails (a total of 13 ounces) from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, dredged in about a quarter to a third of a cup of local North Country Farms Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour seasoned with plenty of sea salt and fresh-ground Tellicherry pepper, pan-fried in olive oil (in depth, about an eighth to a quarter of an inch) inside a very large heavy cast iron pan, turning over once (cooking about 2 minutes on each side, or until they had turned golden), served with wedges of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market, and garnished with micro scallion from Two Guys from Woodbridge,  [NOTE: the next time I make this dish I may try adding some ground mustard seed to the flour, since it had been such a great addition to this monkfish preparation]
• a bright and refreshing salsa composed of yellow tomatillo from from Oak Grove Plantation, sliced several times horizontally, one green heirloom, chopped roughly, and 6 miniature orange plum-shaped tomatoes, halved, both the heirloom and ‘cherry’ fruits from Eckerton Hill Farm, several chopped stems of a young fennel bulb – and some of the chopped fronds – from Alewife Farm, 3 small chopped spring shallots, also from Alewife Farm, chopped lovage from Keith’s Farm, a little olive oil, sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, lemon juice, a big pinch of dried fenugreek that I had obtained Nirmala Gupta’s ‘Bombay Emerald Chutney Company‘ at Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street, the mix arranged on the plates and garnished with nasturtium blossoms from Windfall Farms
• the wine was an American (New Mexico) sparkling, Gruet Brut
• the music was the last act of Handel’s 1724 opera (the 1731 version),’Tamerlano’, Riccardo Minasi conducting Il Pomo d’Oro, with Xavier Sabata in the title role (we had listened to only the first two acts during a meal last week)

These excellent chops were asking for a wine just as excellent, and that’s what we all enjoyed last night.

• four 5-ounce lamb loin chops, grass-fed and organic, from Shannon Brook Farm, located in the beautiful New York Finger Lakes, dried thoroughly, cooked on a very hot enameled cast iron grill pan for a total of 10 or 12 minutes, turning twice, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper after the first time, finished with a squeeze of juice from an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market, scattered with some chopped rosemary from Keith’s Farm, and drizzled with a little olive oil

• sweet crookneck yellow summer squash from Alewife Farm, cut into 2cm sections, sautéed in a little olive oil for a few minutes with 2 sliced garlic cloves from Norwich Meadows Farm inside a high-sided heavy tin-lined copper pan before 3 fresh spring shallots from Alewife Farm, halved lengthwise, were added, the pan removed from the flame once the vegetables had begun to caramelize, its contents seasoned with sea salt and Freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, a very few very small red tomatoes from Eckerton Hill Farm stirred in with them until they had just begun to soften, everything arranged on the plates and garnished with nasturtium flower petals

• the wine, a gift from an artist acquaintance, Ryan Weston Shook, who had designed its label (and that of other wines from the same winemaker), was a California (Napa) red, 1849 Wine Company Anonymous Napa Valley Premium Red Wine Blend 2013, and it was much more than just a pretty label: It was a really wonderful wine and it a perfect pairing with the entrée.
• the music was the album, ‘Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector: Music of Terry Riley’, performed by the Kronos Quartet

[image of Saber, holding a bottle of ‘Anonymous’ and two spray cans, from #anonymousby1849winecompany medias]

Normally this would not be a meal we could enjoy in the summer, although it’s a meal we always enjoy a lot. Last night the air was relatively cool, and remembering that it’s a recipe Barry likes to call ‘comfort food’, I decided to sneak it into the last week of July.

There were potatoes,

and, in a side dish more seasonal than the entrée, excellent fennel,

and some beautiful tomatoes.

• One 15-ounce hake fillet from American Pride Seafood in Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street, prepared accordingt to a Mark Bittman recipe I found in the New York Times in 1999 [although I always use only about two thirds of the amount of olive oil it suggests], last night using these other ingredients: ‘yellow potatoes from from N.J. Jersey Farm Produce, Inc., also from the 23rd Street market; black oil-cured olives and 15 Sicilian bay leaves, both from Buon Italia
• one small fennel bulb from Alewife Farm, stems and fronds removed (the stems and most of the fronds kept for another use, some of the fronds set aside, sliced about one quarter of an inch thick crosswise, and 3 roughly-chopped fresh spring shallots, also from Alewife Farm, one crushed section of a dried golden/orange habanada pepper, and a teaspoon of Italian fennel seeds, sautéed inside a heavy high-sided tin-lined copper pan over medium high heat until the fennel had just begun to color, the heat lowered, the pan covered, the vegetables cooked for another 4 or 5 minutes, the cover removed and 7 or 8 mixed multi-colored cherry and baby plum tomatoes from Eckerton Hill Farm, halved, added, stirred, anad allowed to soften just a bit, the pan set aside until the hake was ready, divided onto the plates and garnished with the chopped fronds of the fennel
• the wine was a California (Andrus, in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta) white, Jacqueline Bahue Albarino Gomes Vineyard California 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Henricus Isaac: Nel tempo di Lorenzo de Medici & Maximilian I‘, music from the Medici and Austrian Habsburg courts, by the late 15th-century Flemish composer, performed by Jordi Savall, La Capella Real de Catalunya, and Hesperion XXI

I’m leading here with the ‘before’ picture this time because I think it’s a really good illustration of how I could have been seduced by a fillet from something called a ‘dogfish’ (NOTE: the market prefers to describe it as ‘sand shark’).

The image is of a one-pound fillet, after it had been halved, lying on our kitchen counter yesterday evening.

This is how it went a little later, sitting atop a round plate in an arrangement of a square, more circles, and what looks like a rectangle

I had never cooked sand shark/dogfish before (‘rock salmon’ in the UK, ‘saumonette’ in France, ‘Palombo’ in Italy). I’m not certain I had ever even eaten it, so when I came across some beautiful, very fresh fillets in a small bucket inside my fishmonger’s iced cases Friday afternoon, I decided it was time I started.

The hardest part of the operation turned out to be researching how to prepare it. I settled on a recipe, described as Italian, and with an Italian name (‘Palombo al vino bianco‘), possessing one of the great virtues of that culture’s cooking tradition: a minimum number of ingredients, to keep from disguising the flavor of the best meat, fish, or vegetables available to the cook.

We were both pretty pleased with the outcome.  Barry loved it, and I have only one reservation, about whether I had sautéed the fillet just a little too much, but the recipe, which said how long to cook it, didn’t describe the thickness of the fillet it was dealing with. Since I had absolutely no experience with this fish myself, so I couldn’t draw on my own expertise.

The only way I’m ever going to know is to cook sand shark/dogfish/ground shark/etc. again. I’m sure it’s going to happen.

 

• one 17-ounce sand shark fillet from Pure Vida Seafood, brought to room temperature, halved crosswise (I’m getting very good at cutting equal halves out of even the most irregular shaped fish or meat), dusted with some 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 tin-lined copper pan above a high flame for about 5 minutes on each side, or until browned, seasoned with sea salt and Freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, the heat then turned off while a second copper pan was heated over a low to moderate flame with another tablespoon of oil before 2 fresh finely-chopped spring shallots from Alewife Farm were added and cooked until softened, stirring occasionally, followed by one small (or halved full-size) salted and rinsed Italian anchovy, at least a tablespoon of chopped Italian parsley from from Norwich Meadows Farm, and a half cup of Gruet Brut sparkling wine (from an opened bottle that remained from entertaining guests earlier in the evening), the heat increased and the liquid reduced almost completely, then a tablespoon of fresh water added, the sauce seasoned with a pinch each of 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 nasturtium flowers from Windfall Farms
• eight German Butterball potatoes from Berried Treasures boiled, drained, dried in the pan, rolled in a little olive oil, seasoned with sea salt and frshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, tossed with chopped summery savory from Stokes Farm
• two long heirloom tomatoes (‘Striped Roman’?) from Eckerton Hill Farm, halved lengthwise, the cut sides sprinkled with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, grilled face down on an enameled cast iron grill pan for 3 minutes or so, turned over and the rounded side grilled for a little less time, removed, arranged on the plates and brushed with a little balsamic vinegar

 

• the wine, after we had put aside 2 good table wines, only because they turned out to be unsuitable for the food (what is it about sand shark?), was a Spanish sherry, Lustau, ‘Papirusa’ Light Manzanilla Sherry, from Sherry Lehmann

There was a dessert.

• small oval bowls of Lā Loos ‘Vanilla Snowflake’ goat milk ice cream from Whole Foods Market, drizzled with a sauce I had made from Wilklow Orchards gooseberries

 

• the music throughout  was the album, ‘Unbound’, by the Jasper String Quartet

While I usually pull out a package of filled pasta because it simplifies making a meal choice, we also really enjoy them, and they still offer the possibility of individualizing them, sometimes with creative additions. This simple artichoke-filled ravioli was a good example.

The sauce was superb, as the picture may suggest. Most of the credit has to go to the complex flavors of the habanada pepper and the excellence of the heirloom tomatoes, plus the dried Italian wild fennel flowers!

• two chopped garlic cloves from Norwich Meadows Farm heated inside a large tin-lined high-sided copper pan in a little olive oil until pungent, most of one orange dried Habanada pepper, crushed, added to the pan and stirred over medium heat for a minute, followed by 2 heirloom tomatoes (one red, one yellow) from Stokes Farm, roughly chopped, and some chopped oregano from Norwich Meadows Farm and torn Genovese basil from Windfall Farms, then the contents of a 10-ounce package of Rana carciofi [artichoke] ravioli from Eataly (after having been boiled for barely 3 minutes) was spilled into the pan along with some of the reserved pasta cooking water, carefully mixed with the sauce over medium heat to emulsify it, sprinkled with a bit of dried Italian wild fennel flowers (more accurately, pollen) from Buon Italia, the pasta finished, once inside 2 shallow bowls, with a scattering of micro scallion from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the wine was a California (Lodi) rosé, Karen Birmingham Rose Lodi 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Trionfo d’Amore e della Morte: Florentine Music for a Medici Procession’, performed by Piffaro and the Concord Ensemble

I did it again.  I mean a recipe that was totally new to me 2 weeks ago.

The first time it was so terrific I knew I’d be back soon. I did it again on Wednesday.

I thought it turned out very well, but although I had followed all procedures pretty much the same as I had the first time, there was a suggestion within our small dinner party that I could have left the monkfish over the flame a wee bit longer.

Still, …

• ‘monkfish with caper butter’ prepared following this great recipe, starting off with 4 monkfish tails (16 ounces total) from Blue Moon Seafood Company, sliced through once horizontally to reduce their thickness for quick cooking, and continuing with local North Country Farms Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour seasoned with salt, pepper, and ground mustard seed; Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’; shallots from Trader Joe’s Market; Sicilian salted capers, thoroughly rinsed; the juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market; and chopped tarragon leaves from Keith’s Farm
• eight small orange ‘Turkish’, and an equal number of purple (aubergine) ‘Patio Baby’ eggplants, from Norwich Meadows Farm, each cut horizontally into 2 or 3 slices, mixed with a little olive oil, a little finely-chopped garlic clove from Norwich Meadows Farm, sea salt, and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, pan-grilled on a large iron plate over brisk flames on 2 burners, turning once, sprinkled with torn basil leaves from Stokes Farm, arranged on the plates and drizzled with a bit of olive oil
• the wine was an Oregon (Willamette Valley) white, Scott Kelley Pinot Gris Willamette 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was the 2010 Earl Brown album, ‘Synergy’ 

The meal was something of a break from the at least relative intensity of some of those that have appeared on our table recently; it really was a very simple, totally unstressful construction.

It mostly included things already in the larder, but I added a small fennel bulb, because it was there, and because I knew that it wouldn’t have gotten any fresher by the time I figured out what I might do with it otherwise.

I skipped the anchovies, which would normally be a part of this classic pasta, thinking that to do so would keep it lighter, but the dish would probably have been even more interesting if I had not.

• while the water for boiling 8 ounces of Setaro spaghetti chitarra from Buon Italia was being readied in a large stainless pasta pot, one small fennel bulb, halved and sliced thinly crosswise, was heated with a little olive oil over a low-medium flame inside a large enameled cast iron pot until it had barely begun to soften, then 2 fat garlic cloves from Norwich Meadows Farm, coarsely-chopped, were added, along with an additional quarter cup of olive oil, the flame turned down, the garlic gently heated until it had softened and begun to turn golden, followed by part of a dried Sicilian pepperoncino from Buon Italia, crushed, a tablespoon or two of roughly-chopped parsley from Phillips Farm and about a quarter cup of the pasta cooking water, the mix then allowed to simmer and reduce slightly, while the pasta finished cooking (removed from the pot after only about 6 minutes, while still a little chewy in the center), at which time the spaghetti was drained, tossed into the pot with the sauce, and, the heat turned up slightly, cooked further, stirring, for another minute or two, then arranged in 2 shallow bowls with another tablespoon or two of parsley sprinkled on top

There was a cheese course.

• a blue (still unnamed) goat cheese and ‘Manchester’ goat cheese from Consider Bardwell Farm
• thin toasts of a French-style organic whole wheat and whole spelt miche from Bread Alone

 

• the wine throughout was an Italian (Campania) white, Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina 2015, from Philippe Wine and Spirits
• the music was 4 of Michael Haydn’s Symphonies, Nos. 15, 16, 19, and 21 (all composed in the 1780s), the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Pardubice conducted by Patrick Gallois

 

It was one of those times when I left the meal without a decent image of it. I still wanted to write something, so I decided to upload images of the 2 main ingredients that I might find on line, as a fallback, something I had occasionally done in the past. Then I learned that one of our guests had snapped a picture of the more unusual course, a whelk salad, and this is what you see above.

If the plate looks a little spare, it’s because it is a little spare. I now know that 12 ounces of raw whelks do not equal 12 ounces after they are cooked. Four days earlier I had assembled ingredients similar to the ones I used here, purchasing 5 ounces, enough for two servings, but using whelks already cooked. Yesterday I had started with 12 ounces, thinking that would be enough for 4, but unaware of the shrinkage that would give me far less than the equivalent serving of the mollusks after I had cooked them.

Next time I’ll be better prepared, and there will definitely be a next time; this is a great dish, and I’m going to want to find other ways to use a shellfish so under-appreciated in its own natural environment.

The main course was a dish I’ve prepared many times, although it never seem to look or taste the same. The recipe is a bit tricky when you have to cook enough for 4 people (especially if when I bring home a little more fish than I actually have to). I solved the immediate problem of the limited area of the largest enameled pan I had by cutting each half of the 2 fillets in half crosswise. It worked perfectly; it also made turning and transferring the delicate flounder much easier.

last night’s version of ‘flounder with tomato butter’ was as delicious as it was beautiful to look at: The fish was perfectly golden, and the mixed-size tomatoes were very colorful, giving me more reason to regret my failure behind the camera.

Still, there is compensation: I get to use this extraordinary 1978 Günther Grass etching, ‘Mann im Butt‘ (Man in Flounder), in lieu of some dumb photo. [cf. ‘sautéed flounder; asparagus, ramps; potato, savory‘]

The flounder wasn’t on its own: There were tomatoes.

The meal began with some Mario Fongo whole wheat and black rice grissini from Buon Italia.

• the wine with the breadsticks was a California (Sonoma) sparkling white, W. Donaldson Rose 2014, from Naked Wines

The first course was a conch salad.

• twelve ounces of raw channel whelks (3) from P.E. & D.D. Seafood (a mollusk which is described here), boiled slowly in unsalted water for 2 hours (I’m not convinced they had to be cooked that long, but that’s what I was told), removed, drained, the 3 operculum removed, cooled, sliced thinly, mixed in a bowl with some finely-sliced fresh spring shallots from Alewife Farm, minced garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm, crushed dried pepperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, olive oil, juice from an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market, a bit of Columela Rioja 30 Year Reserva sherry vinegar, a few chopped stems of baby fennel bulbs from Alewife Farm, chopped mint and summer savory from Stokes Farm, chopped parsley from Norwich Meadows Farm, tarragon from Keith’s Farm, a bit of sea salt, and Freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, the served on flat plates on top of leaves of two kinds of purple-leaf salad lettuce, a purple frizzy oak leaf lettuce from Norwich Meadows Farm and a bibb lettuce purple leaf lettuce from Eckerton Hill Farm, everything finished with a drizzle of olive oil
• accompanied by slices of a French-style organic whole wheat and whole spelt miche from Bread Alone in the Union Square Greenmarket

• the wine with the whelk salad was a beautiful French (Savoy) white, Philippe & Sylvain Ravier Vin de Savoie Les Abymes 2015, from Chelsea Wine Vault

The main course followed, after a decent interval determined entirely by the labors of the cook in the kitchen.

• two flounder fillets (totaling 25 ounces) from P.E. & D. D. Seafood, lightly seasoned, the halves of each each separated and each of those cut in half crosswise, making 8 pieces in all, cooked over high heat with the flesh side down for several minutes (4?) in a mixture of olive oil and butter inside a heavy enameled rectangular cast iron pan, turning once and continuing for another 2 minutes or so, arranged on the plates, a couple of spoonfuls of  ‘tomato butter’ [see below] arranged mostly between the 2 sections of fish, finished with a garnish of micro nasturtiums leaves from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• tomato butter, begun by cooking one finely-chopped small fresh shallot from Alewife Farm inside a small pan with 3 or 4 tablespoons of melted butter until the shallot was slightly soft and fragrant, the flavored butter cool slightly before poured over 6 or 7 ounces of a mix in size and color of miniature tomatoes, some left whole, others cut in halves or thirds, adding 2 tablespoons of genoves basil from Windfall Farms, a few drops of good Spanish Rioja wine vinegar, the mix seasoned with salt, set aside and kept warm until ready to be arranged on the flounder
• a combination of green and yellow Romano beans from Norwich Meadows Farm, parboiled for a few minutes, drained, dried, reheated in olive oil (butter would be an alternative) inside a heavy tin-lined copper pan, tossed with chopped lovage from Central Valley Farm, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-chopped Tellicherry pepper, arranged on the plates and sprinkled with some chopped fronds from the baby fennel stems used with the salad

• the wine with the flounder was a California (Central Coast) white, Rick Boyer Coastal White Blend 2016, from Naked Wines

There was a dessert (no image)

• a good portion of a pint of gooseberries from Wilklow Orchards, gently heated in a small high-sided pot with a few drops of fresh water and a few tablespoons of turbinado sugar until the berries had softened and the sugar dissolved into their juices, spooned over scoops (one for each serving) of Lā Loos ‘Vanilla Snowflake’ goat milk ice cream from Whole Foods Market that had themselves been centered on the top of 2 slices a delicious ‘cream cheese pound cake’ from Wilklow Orchards, the farm which had also been the source of the berries

[the first image is from one of our guests; the second is from the de Young Museum/Legion of Honor]

Everything looks great together, but it all tasted even better, and actually this is one of the easiest imaginable entrées to prepare. Virtually no skill required – other than a modest talent for food shopping.

I’ve written before that I think the approach I used here, and have used many times before, may be the best way to treat a good pork chop, or 2 pork chops (hopefully there will always be at least 2 for dinner), and, as with the best recipes, its simplicity makes it possible to invent any number of variations.

This time however, there were no twists, not even some fresh or dried habanada pepper or a last-minute fresh herb, although there was a micro green on the side. Very basic ‘slow food’, chez Hoggard / Wagner.

The tomatoes were perfect to begin with, and the simple addition of 2 herbs only crowned that perfection.

• two thick 10-ounce pork chops from Flying Pigs Farm, thoroughly dried, seasoned with sea salt and a generous amount of freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, seared quickly on both sides inside a very hot, heavy oval enameled cast-iron pan, half of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market squeezed over them both, after which the lemon was left on the surface between the chops, the pan placed in a 425º oven for about 14 minutes (flipped halfway through, the lemon squeezed over the top once again, and replaced in the pan), the finished chops removed from the oven and arranged on 2 plates, some of the pan juices poured over the top of the chops, the remainder poured into a sauce boat for use at the table, the pork garnished with micro nasturtium leaves from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• three ripe heirloom tomatoes from Eckerton Hill Farm, chosen for their bright primary colors (a fourth, which can be seen on the far left in the second picture above, had been purchased at the same time, but, of a more ambiguous red-purple, it remained on the windowsill for another day), halved through the middle, the cut sides sprinkled with chopped fresh oregano from Norwich Meadows Farm and chopped thyme from Keith’s Farm. drizzled with olive oil, placed on a hot enameled grill pan which had been brushed with a little oil, grilled cut side up for 3 or 4 minutes, turned over and the cut side grilled for another minute, or minute and a half, arranged on the plates and sprinkled with additional oregano and thyme, maybe a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a California (Sonoma) white, Jac Cole Unoaked Chardonnay Alexander Valley Sonoma County 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was Handel’s 1724 opera (the 1731 version),’Tamerlano’, Riccardo Minasi conducting Il Pomo d’Oro, with Xavier Sabata in the title role