I can’t explain how I ended up preparing this very untraditional dish on the American Fourth of July, but it was probably just because I ran out of time the day before and was unable to pick up a steak.

I think it was mostly an Italian meal, with a touch of Austria.

Its pleasures however were beyond nationality or occasion, and huge.

I had never cooked sliced cross-cut veal shanks before, but after being shown a small package of 2 pieces by Alex of Consider Bardwell Farm, one of my favorite meat purveyors (although primarily a producer of cow and goat cheese), I decided I wanted to give it a try.

I mostly used this very simple recipe, which was delicious. I was surprised and very pleased with how little it heated up the kitchen, and how the cook wasn’t needed at all for the last full 2 hours of the process.

The vegetable was a mix of green and yellow Romano beans (flat pole beans), and they were very sweet and extraordinarily fresh.

• two thick cross-cut sections of veal shank from Consider Bardwell Farm, dredged in seasoned local North Country Farms Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour, seared and browned on all sides in a tablespoon or more of olive oil inside a heavy medium tin-lined copper sauce pan over medium-high heat (allow 10 or 12 minutes), removed and placed on a plate, the heat reduced to medium-low, one small red onion and one small yellow onion, chopped, both from Norwich Meadows Farm, plus 2 large chopped cloves of Christopher Garlic Ranch garlic from Eataly added to the pan and sautéed until tender (about 3 or 4 minutes), the shanks returned to the pan along with any liquid which had accumulated, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-chopped Tellicherry pepper, followed by one 14-ounce can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes, 7 ounces of a good low-sodium chicken broth, and an equal amount of white wine, 1/2 teaspoon of some very pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, and 1/4 teaspoon, or a little more, of zest from an organic lemon from Whole Food Market, brought to a simmer, then covered most of the way with a flat tin-lined copper lid, and simmered on the lowest possible flame, cooking for 2 hours, no attention needed, or until the meat was very tender and beginning to fall off of the bones, arranged on 2 plates and served topped with a gremolata consisting of one tablespoon or a little more of chopped parsley from Norwich Meadows Farm, one minced garlic clove, and another 1/4 teaspoon or more of lemon zest [the dish can be prepared 3 days ahead, covered, and refrigerated, and it’s likely to taste even better than if eaten the first day; also, should there be any leftover sauce, there are many ways it could be the highlight of another meal]
• two potato dumplings [Kartoffelklöße], ‘Melle’s Best Kartoffel Knödel’, purchased frozen from Schaller & Weber, defrosted the day before, boiled for about 12 minutes in salted water, drained and arranged on the plates on top of the osso buco sauce and drizzled with some more
• a combination of green and yellow Romano beans from Norwich Meadows Farm, parboiled for a few minutes, drained, dried, reheated in butter inside a heavy tin-lined copper pan, tossed with chopped lovage from Keith’s Farm, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-chopped Tellicherry pepper, arranged on the plates and sprinkled with chopped micro fennel from Windfall Farms

There was a small cheese course.

• a bit each of ‘Danby” goat cheese and ‘Rupert’ cow cheese, both from Consider Bardwell Farm, served with a few dried cherries from Whole Foods Market

And there was the rare appearance of a proper dessert (after all, it was the Fourth, and they made a decent red/white/blue image).

• raspberries from Wicklow Orchards, some of them mashed with a little orzata, to make a self-sauce, scattered on top of a medium scoop of Lā Loos ‘Vanilla Snowflake’ goat milk ice cream from Whole Foods Market, and topped with a bit of maple candy ginger that I had purchased in the Union Square Greenmarket and keep in the freezer compartment, but I no longer know the identity of the makers

 

• the wine through the first 2 courses was an Austrian (Carnuntum) red, Blaufränkisch, Markowitsch 2015, from Astor Wine & Spirits
• the music throughout the meal (as we were thinking of America, and Americans), was Leonard Bernstein’s 1956[+] opera, ‘Candide’, a 1989 recording with the composer conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Chorus, with soloists including Adolph Green, Christa Ludwig, Nicolai Gedda, Jerry Hadley, and others

Continuing a series of minimal dinners, last night I placed one great fish and one great vegetable on the table, using a pretty light hand in preparing each.

I got to the Greenmarket just in time to pick up the last of Haifa’s and Zaid’s Japanese eggplants (the last of the day, that is).

• two 7-ounce sea bass fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, dipped in a mixture of an egg from Millport Dairy and several tablespoons of chopped parsley from Norwich Meadows Farm, the fish then dredged in a local North Country Farms Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour, sautéed inside a heavy oval tin-lined copper pan for a couple minutes in a mixture of butter and olive oil, first skin side down, then turned and cooked for another 2 minutes, or until the fish was cooked through (the time will vary with the size of the fillets and the height of the flame), removed from the pan and arranged on the plates, where it was sprinkled with the juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods, and dressed with the pan juices which had been mixed with still more chaopped parsley after the fillets had been removed
• six quite small Japanese eggplants from Norwich Meadows Farm, each cut in half  lengthwise, brushed with a mixture of olive oil, finely-chopped Christopher Garlic Ranch garlic from Eataly, chopped peppermint from Lani’s Farm, sea salt, and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, the eggplant pan-grilled, turning once or more, then arranged on an oval platter, sprinkled with more chopped peppermint, and drizzled with a little olive oil
• the wine was a California (Lake County) white, Dancing Crow Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Lake County 2015, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was Vivaldi’s 1738 opera, ‘L’oracolo In Messenia’ Fabio Biondi conducting Europa Galante

A remarkably delicious meal for one so simple and easy to put together, which was the reason for my picking it last night.

It’s a classic in our home, and there’s also this equally-classic version which skips the anchovies. But it seems I hadn’t served either in some time.

• while the water for boiling 8 ounces of Afeltra spaghetti chitarra from Buon Italia was being readied in a large stainless pasta pot, 3 large garlic cloves, coarsely-chopped, were heated over a low-medium flame inside a large enameled cast iron pot until they had begun to soften and turn golden, after which 2 salted anchovies, rinsed thoroughly, filleted, and roughly chopped, were added and stirred until they had broken up, 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 (to be removed from the pot after only about 4 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, everything cooked, stirring, for another minute or two, then arranged in 2 shallow bowls, another tablespoon or two of parsley sprinkled on top of each

There had been an antipasto. I didn’t photograph it however because, still distracted by a bad cold, I hadn’t made it look pretty enough on the plates. This is what the Speck should have looked like, but it still tasted absolutely delicious.

• three ounces of La Quercia’s always wonderful ‘Speck Americano’ from Whole Foods Market, drizzled with a very good olive oil (Alce Nero DOP ‘Terra di Bari Bitonto’, from Eataly), served with a lightly-dressed salad of purple lettuce from Norwich Meadows Farm combined with arugula from Lani’s Farm, accompanied by slices of Orwasher’s ‘Grain Bread’ (8 whole grains and honey) from the 23rd Street Saturday greenmarket

 

• the wine throughout was an Italian (Ischia) white, Casa d’Ambra Ischia Bianco 2014, from Garnet Wines & Liquors
• the music throughout was Bruckner’s Symphony No. 2, Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting the Orchestre Métropolitain

We sat down to this Sunday breakfast/brunch/lunch even later than usual, but we also had more excuses than usual.

• there were eggs from Millport Dairy Farm and Echo Creek Farm; thick bacon, also from Millport Dairy Farm; Maldon salt; Tellicherry pepper; dabs of a sun-dried chilli-pepper harissa from NYShuk Pantry, micro fennel from Windfall Farms, and a bit of tarragon from Keith’s Farm, all of those on the eggs; a small amount of finely-chopped stems red spring onion stems from Alewife Farm, heated in between the eggs as they finished frying and ending up on top of the eggs once they were put on the plates; and lightly-toasted slices of a rich multigrain bread from Whole Foods Market
• the music was that of Johann Adolf Hasse, from the album, ‘Salve Regina’,  Reinhard Goebel conducting the Ensemble, Musica Antiqua Cologne

Because I was dealing with a mild fever yesterday I had stayed out of the kitchen that night (we ordered in from the Flatiron Tacombi), when the fever subsided today I was anxious to jump back into my work station, although I also thought I should still take it pretty easy.

During the afternoon I didn’t feel up to the longer run to the greenmarket in Union Square, and I knew I didn’t really need much in the way of supplies, so I decided to visit the small sidewalk market which is set up each Saturday, except in the winter months, just one block west from our door

I was able to get everything I needed for for an excellent meal, plus everything I didn’t yet have for a serious Sunday breakfast the following morning.

For Saturday’s dinner I opted for a couple of tuna steaks and a single side vegetable, knowing that such a meal could be put onto the table in about 15 minutes.

Moreover, no carving or boning would be necessary at any stage, from counter to table.

But this meal has virtue independent of all considerations of time, effort, shopping distance – or cost: It’s delicious. It’s also pretty inexpensive: Aside from the strands of a micro green, and the few staples involved, the total cost was under $20 for 2 people (it would have been under $10 had I used a less precious fish, say an equally-delicious 12 ounces of squid).

Incidentally, the vegetable was a gorgeous rainbow chard from Echo Creek Farm, and it may have been the best beta vulgaris, subspecies cicla, I have ever tasted, and I’ve enjoyed a lot of that vegetable, both rainbow and not.

• two 7-ounce tuna steaks from American Pride Seafood Company in Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street, rubbed, tops and bottoms,  with a mixture of a heaping tablespoon of wonderful dry Sicilian fennel seed from Buon Italia and a little crushed dried crushed dried Sicilian pepperoncino, also from Buon Italia, the two having been ground together with mortar and pestle, the tuna surfaces also seasoned with salt and freshly-ground pepper, before they were pan-grilled for only a little more than a minute or so on each side and finished with both a good squeeze of the juice of an organic lemon from Whole Food Market, aranged on the plates and garnished with a bit of micro fennel from Windfall Farms, drizzled with a bit of olive oil
• one bunch of rainbow chard from Echo Creek Farm, in Salem, NY, from their stall in Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on West 23rd Street, wilted in a little olive oil in which 2 halved Christopher Garlic Ranch garlic cloves from Eataly had been heated, finished with a squeeze of juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market, arranged on the plates and drizzled with a little olive oil
• the wine was a California (Lodi) rosé, Karen Birmingham Rosé Lodi 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was Vivaldi’s 1724 opera, ‘Il Giustino’, with Alan Curtis conducting the ensemble, Il Complesso Barocco

I had thought this meal would only be a ‘placeholder’, since I had come down with a cold the night before and on this night I was also going to have to prepare for the arrival of a new refrigerator the next morning, possibly as early as what we normally consider ‘dawn’. I had even contemplated ordering in, since the knock down operation connected to abandoning the old unit had at first looked somewhat daunting.

In the end I decided to cook a meal, knowing that in doing so I would have that much less to worry about keeping cold while switching refrigerators the next day.

Barry was happy we didn’t have to go the takeout route, especially once we had both realized what a great dinner we had on the table in front of us, and I was shocked at how good it turned out.

The sausage was superb, and, as we had learned earlier, far more spicy than anyone might expect from a Pennsylvania Amish family’s farm.  I had remembered that curiosity, and the memory was punctuated by the effect their hot pepper, even that contained in the sausage casings, had on my sinuses while they were being grilled.

I pulled out a small jar of an Italian quince confiture while the chorizo was cooking and added a dab of it to the edge of each plate.

The vegetables were also stars. They were pretty much the only ones I had on hand, but they were a perfect compliment to the sausage.

• Four 3-ounce links of a wonderful spicy chorizo sausage from Millport Dairy Farm, pan grilled for a few minutes over a medium flame until heated through, served with an Italian quince confiture from Westside Market, Lazzaris’ Salsa di Mele Cotogne
• one bunch of spring onions from Alewife Farm, trimmed, although with much of their green stems still attached, placed with a tablespoon of butter and a quarter cup of water inside a heavy tin-lined copper pan, brought to a boil, covered, the heat reduced and the onions simmered until the bulbs were almost tender, about 10 minutes, uncovered and cooked a few minutes longer, turning the onions occasionally, until bulbs are completely tender and the liquid mostly evaporated, removed from the heat and 2 tablespoons stirred in, tossed with a generous amount of chopped epazote from Windfall Farms
• two chopped red spring onions from Alewife Farm warmed with a little olive oil until softened inside a large, high-sided tin-lined copper pan, one head of radicchio from Campo Rosso Farm, roughly-chopped, added to the pan with some sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper and stirred until the chicory had almost wilted, finished with barely a splash of balsamic vinegar and arranged on the plates
• the wine was a California (Lodi) red, Sharon Weeks Cattoo Lodi Malbec 2015, from Naked Wines
• the music was  Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s 1810 opera, ‘Mathilde von Guise’, Didier Talpain conducting the Solamente Naturali

The first cauliflower of the season, and the 4th swordfish dinner of the year. Each was a treat, even before I started cooking!

I could see that the cauliflower was tinged with purple, even before I separated it into florets..

from an earlier encounter with them, I knew about the slightly curious orange-red hue of these tomatoes..

and this time the micro green was actually green.

• one halved 18 and a half ounce swordfish steak from Blue Moon Fish Company (more fish than I would prefer to take home, but it was the last steak and I didn’t want to ask the folks to cut off a piece from it), marinated for half an hour in a mixture of olive oil, part of a finely-chopped shallot from Berried Treasures, some super-pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, and a very small amount of crushed dried Sicilian pepperoncino from Buon Italia, the steaks then 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 sea salt, drizzled with the juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market, then with a little olive oil, served on 2 plates garnished with micro fennel from Windfall Farms
• florets of a cauliflower from Eckerton Hill Farm sautéed in a pan in which 3 roughly-sliced green garlic cloves from Lani’s Farm, some crushed dried Itria-Sirissi chili, and more than a teaspoon of Italian fennel seeds had first been heated, the cauliflower braised for a few minutes until beginning to soften, at which time it was joined by 5 ounces of halved and seeded orange-red cherry tomatoes from Neversink Organic Farm, the cooking continued, gently, until the tomatoes had been heated and had become a full partner in the mix, finished by stirring in some chopped peppermint from Lani’s Farm
• the wine was an Italian (Marche) white, Sant’ Isidoro Verdicchio Matelica Pié di Colle 2015, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was Mendelssohn’s Symphonies No. 1 and 3, from a recording of Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting the Chamber Orchestra of Europe

While I was putting this dish together I imagined it as a simple pasta with a Mexican touch, or at least a West Coast touch, for the very specific herb, the hot pepper, and the two sweet vegetables.

• one whole dried Cayenne pepper from Oak Grove Plantation, stirred over low to medium heat for a minute or two in a tablespoon or so of olive oil inside a heavy enameled cast iron pot, followed by 2 fairly-thinly-sliced medium-size Walla Walla onions, including most of their stems, from Windfall Farms, which were sautéed until beginning to soften, after which 8 ounces of Afeltra linguine from Eataly, cooked in a large pot of salted water until barely al dente, then drained (reserving 1 cup of the cooking water), was added to the pot and mixed in, the reserved cooking water also added as needed to emulsify the liquid, a generous amount of chopped epazote from Windfall Farms tossed in, served in shallow bowls with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkled with homemade breadcrumbs which had first been browned in a little olive oil with a pinch of sea salt
• the wine was an excellent Italian (Campania) white, Fiano Kràtos “Paestum” Maffini 2016, from Astor Wines & Spirits
• the music was the album, ‘Le Journal Du Printemps’, music of Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer performed by the Freiburger Barockorchester [Fischer (c. 1656 – 27 August 1746) was a German (Bohemia) baroque composer, “responsible for bringing the French influence to German music”, although his work is little known today

 

I feel that I’ve already said almost all I can on these pages about Porgy, so I’ll only mention that last night I tried a new approach to cooking it, one which mostly followed a simple Gordon Ramsay recipe. It was very easy, pretty stress-free, really delicious, and the results were more photogenic than they had sometimes been in the past.

Green asparagus spears were even a more familiar sight on this blog, and in their case, so was the recipe I used.

• a salsa for the fish prepared by heating, inside a small lined copper pan over a gentle flame in 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 5 ounces of halved red cherry tomatoes from Stokes Farm and 2 ounces or so of pitted whole Kalamata olives from Whole Foods Market, seasoning the mix with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, stirring for 1 or 2 minutes, then setting the pan aside while chopping a certain amount of lovage from Keith’s Farm and an equal volume of leaves off of a basil plant from Stokes Farm, torn (together ending up as several tablespoons), adding the herbs to the salsa, but reserving some for garnish, stirring to combine, then introducing the juice of half of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market (Ramsey suggests rolling a whole lemon on  board “to soften and release the juices”, but individual circumstances may not always permit that step), once again stirring, the salsa once again set aside to allow the flavors to infuse while preparing the fish
• four 4-ounce porgy fillets from P.E & D.D. Seafood, their skin slashed with a very sharp knife in 2 or 3 places each, then a bit of olive oil added to a large enameled rectangular cast iron pan over high heat, the porgy added, skin side down, as soon as the oil had become very hot, the fish seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, cooked for 2 or 3 minutes “until the fish is dark golden and the skin is crisp” (mine did not get crisp, which may mean I was too timid about the intensity of the heat), the fillets turned over (always the risky part), cooked on the other side for 1 minute, basting with the oil in the pan, if any, until just cooked through, finally arranged on the plates in what seems at that moment to be the most natural and aesthetic manner [Ramsey suggests arranging the porgy on the plates on top of the salsa, but, this time at least, I didn’t want to hide its beauties]
• fourteen thick spears of asparagus from John D. Madura Farm, trimmed, the stems peeled, tossed in a couple of tablespoons of butter and about a tablespoon of olive oil, plus a few branches of thyme from Lani’s Farm, inside a second large enameled rectangular cast iron pan (I’m definitely ‘kitchen pan-rich’), then sautéed over medium high heat while frequently rolling or turning them until they were beginning to brown (about 15 minutes), finished with a sprinkling of Maldon salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry peppercorns
• the wine was a French (Chinon) rosé, Domaine Jean-Maurice Raffault Chinon Rosé 2016, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was the album, ‘Bernhard Henrik Crusell: Concertante Wind Works’, with Osmo Vänskä conducting the Tapiola Sinfonietta

The eggs were small; I presume they were pullet eggs, “..from chickens who are just getting the hang of laying eggs.”, but they were quite tasty, rich, sweet, and very fresh, as was everything else about this breakfast.

• its elements were: 6 small eggs from Alex’s Tomato Farm, Mullica Hill, NJ, scattered with tarragon and lovage, both chopped, from Keith’s Farm; Maldon salt flakes and Tellicherry peppercorns; thick-cut smoked bacon from Millport Dairy Farm; a few Ontario Province orange cherry tomatoes from Whole Foods Market, with torn leaves from a basil plant from Stokes Farm; part of a stem of green garlic from Lani’s Farm, chopped; purple micro radish from Windfall Farms; tarragon blossoms from Windfall Farms; and toast from a loaf of a Balthazar rye boule from Schaller & Weber Market
• the music was that of the Lisbon-born Portuguese/Brazilian composer, Marcos António da Fonseca Portugal, his 1811 ‘Matinos Do Natal’ (Christmas Eve prayers), performed by Ensemble Turicum