Winter is icumen in

Ezra Pound

We city people have our own country ways. Haddock has arrived in our local fishers’ greenmarket stalls, and in New York City that’s almost as good a portent of wintertide‘s approach as any bellwether in the Old Farmer’s Almanac, which I bought religiously, I don’t mind saying, every year of my long sojourn in New England (always nailing the previous year’s edition to the wall inside the [inside] privy).

Also, I wasn’t to make it cleat that I myself am very fond of winter. For all I know Pound may have been as well, and only playing with the traditional English round, ‘Sumer is Icumen in‘.

• two 8-ounce haddock fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood served with an accompaniment of local mushrooms, starting with separating or chopping the individual sections of 9 ounces of oyster mushrooms from Blue Oyster Cultivation (a mix of grey and yellow), sautéing them, along with 2 different kinds and colors of finely chopped small sweet seasoning peppers, aji dulce and Granada, both from Eckerton Hill Farm, over medium-high heat in a little over 2 tablespoons of olive oil inside a vintage thick-walled tin-lined copper 14-inch oval sauté pan, stirring, until softened if not browned (I had a lot of mushrooms this time, so they were too crowded, but the taste didn’t suffer), for roughly 5 minutes, all transferred to 2 warm plates (in a warm oven, door ajar), the pan wiped dry and an additional tablespoon of olive oil added, the flame turned up to medium-high and, once the oil was shimmering, two 8-ounce haddock fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood that had been seasoned with the fisherman’s own local salt and some freshly ground black pepper, were introduced and cooked, flesh sides down, and without moving until well browned, or for about 3 minutes, when they were carefully flipped over and cooked on the skin side until the fish was just cooked through, or about 2 minutes longer, transferred onto the plates next to the mushrooms, then about three quarters of a cup of a good low-sodium vegetable stock (using Better Than Bullion, from Whole Foods Market) was added to the same pan and cooked over high heat until reduced by at least half, the pan removed from the flame, 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of Chelsea Whole Foods Market organic California lemon stirred in, the sauce seasoned to taste with salt and pepper before being poured over both the fish and the mushrooms, lemon wedges served on the side [I mostly used this Serious Eats recipe, although I substituted the fresh peppers for the author’s “chili flakes”]
• half of a bunch of very sweet green kale (with an awesome texture once heated) from Norwich Meadows farm, washed several times and roughly chopped, including the stems, wilted inside a large antique copper pot in a little olive oil in which several thinly sliced cloves of ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic from Alewife Farm had first been warmed and begun to color, the greens arranged on the plates, seasoned with salt and pepper and drizzled with a little olive oil
• the wine was a California (Sonoma County/Alexander Valley) white, Jac Cole Alexander Valley Oak Fermented Chardonnay 2018, from Naked Wines
• the music was Vivaldi’s ‘Il Teuzzone’, written in Mantua in 1719, and first produced in Venice during Carnival celebrations that year, performed by Jordi Savall and the Concert des Nations; the story is “a seething tale of family rivalries and altered wills at the ancient Chinese court“

Sometimes it all comes together when you weren’t particularly expecting it. This meal was a perfect symphony of its fairly basic elements, none of which were extraordinary on their own except for their freshness and their quality.

• one gorgeous 17-ounce section from a fillet of wild caught sockeye salmon (previously frozen), from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, halved, placed unseasoned, skin sides up, inside a heavy medium size enameled cast iron pan in which a little more than 2 tablespoons of a rich local Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ had been allowed to melt over a low to medium flame until the foam began to recede, the salmon then placed inside a 425º oven until barely cooked, meaning about 8 minutes, flipped over after 5, removed, arranged on the plates, only now seasoned, with some local Long Island sea salt (P.E. & D.D. Seafood/Phil Karlin’s own) and freshly-ground black pepper, scattered with scissored chives from Phillips Farms, allowed to rest for a couple minutes before serving, arranged on the plates and garnished on the edges with micro purple radish from Windfall Farms
• thirteen ounces of ruby crescent fingerling potatoes (which are always really delicious roasted) from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, halved lengthwise, tossed with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, the leaves from some rosemary stems, also from Phillips Farms, and a small amount of crushed golden home-dried habanada pepper, arranged cut side down on a large Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic pan, roasted at 425º for about 20 minutes
• one bunch of beautiful fresh, almost glowing, dandelion greens from Norwich Meadows Farm, washed in several changes of water, drained, the last of the drained water set aside, cut into 2 or 3-inch pieces, barely wilted in a little olive oil, along with 3 small cloves of ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic from Alewife Farm which had been heated in the oil until fragrant, a bit of the reserved water then added to loosen the greens, seasoned with a little crushed dried dried Itria-Sirissi chili, pepperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia, salt and pepper, and drizzled with a little olive oil
• the wine was a super, medium bodied Austrian (Mittelburgenland) red, Hochäcker Blaufränkisch 2015 (ours was not a magnum), from Flatiron Wines, from a district that shares its longer history with Hungary; but the story involving a more recent event, just thirty years ago, involving the Austria-Hungary border of which it is a part, is described here
• the music was a gorgeous opera composed by Vivaldi for the 1724 carnival season in Rome, ‘Il Giustino’, Ottavio Dantone conducting the Accademia Bizantina

I had put them together in this meal for other reasons, but the smoked scallops and the roasted veal seemed to somehow share a real affinity, something that was barely apparent to me until I was sitting down to the second of those courses last night.

• six smoked scallops (a total of 8 ounces) from Pura Vida Seafood Company arranged on a shallow bed of greens (mesclun from Windfall Farms, along with red dandelion from Wilow Wisp Farm, and Radicchio Variegato di Castelfranco from Campo Rosso Farm) dressed with a good olive oil, a bit of Columela Rioja 30 Year Reserva sherry vinegar, local P.E. & D.D. Seafood sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper
• slices of an enkir (aka einkorn, or farro piccolo) baguette from Eataly Flatiron (it’s an ancient grain that first appeared in the Middle East 12,000 years ago, here using Mulino Marino Organic Artisan Enkir Farro Flour)
• the wine was a California (Clarksburg) white, Miriam Alexandra California Chenin Blanc 2018, from Naked Wines

I wanted to keep the main course more abbreviated, but, mostly for aesthetic reasons, I couldn’t resist including the 2 remaining red potatoes potatoes I had in the larder

• two veal rib chops (12 ounces each) from Consider Bardwell Farm, seasoned with sea salt and black pepper, placed inside a ceramic oven pan to marinate for about a half hour in a mixture of one tablespoon of olive oil, the zest from more than one organic Whole Foods Market California lemon, one small chopped fresh habanada pepper from Alewife Farm, and one tablespoon of thyme leaves, removed from the oven pan then seared in a combination of 2 or 3 tablespoons of melted butter and one tablespoon of olive oil inside an oval enameled cast iron pan over a high flame until darkened, the chops removed, the fat discarded and the pan wiped with paper towels, the veal returned to the pan, another tablespoon, or a little  more, of butter over them, seasoned well, the pan placed inside a400º oven for 15 minutes or possibly a little more, until done, served with a salsa verde (whose assembly is described in the same volume, but I used parsley, winter savory, oregano, olive oil, garlic, capers, anchovy, Dijon mustard, and red wine vinegar)
• two medium red potatoes from Willow Wisp Farm scrubbed, boiled unpeeled in generously-salted water until barely cooked through, drained, halved, dried in the still-warm small vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot in which they had cooked, halved, mixed with a little Trader Joe’s house Portuguese olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and tossed with scissored fresh chives from Phillips Farms
• some greens from an unidentified variety of turnip (they had been torn off and left on the farmers’ table by a customer) from Norwich Meadows Farm, washed in several changes of water, wilted in olive oil along with 4 small ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic from Alewife Farm which had been lightly-browned in the oil just before, seasoned, and drizzled with olive oil
• the wine was an Italian (Campania) red, Mastro Aglianico Campania IGT Mastroberardino 2017, from Philippe Wines

• the music throughout was Bedřich Smetana’s 1868 opera, ‘Dalibor’, with Jiří Bělohlávek
  conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Singers

Tautog is good.

It’s not Provençal.

And yet, except for the origin story of the fish (and the green vegetable too), this dinner could almost be Provençal, which is always good.

• two blackfish/Tautog fillets (one pound) from Pura Vida Seafood Company prepared following a recipe by Melissa Clark published in the New York Times 5 years ago, seasoned with salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a few pinches of Aleppo pepper (Morton & Bassett dried, from Westside Market), placed in a large heavy antique oval copper skillet over a medium-low flame, a quarter cup of Niçoise olives from Chelsea’s Fairway Market (pitted with great difficulty, over more than half an hour, because of their extremely small size), scattered around the fish, cooked for about 4 minutes, flipped and cooked for another 4 minutes, and near the end of that time, roughly 10 ounces of tiny ‘wild Mexican tomatoes’ (since they were cultivated, the ‘wild tomatoes’ were not, technically wild anymore) from Eckerton Hill Farm were tossed into the pan, moved around a bit and allowed to almost break down, the fish and the olives transferred to 2 plates when done, the tomatoes spooned around the fillets and everything sprinkled with chopped fresh oregano from Rise & Root Farm, topped with a drizzle of good olive oil

• a few handfuls of broccolini (a modern hybrid, a cross between broccoli and Gai Lan, aka Chinese broccoli)  from Willow Wisp Organic Farm in the Union Square Greenmarket, washed and drained in fresh cold water, chopped very roughly, sautéed/wilted over a low flame by being gradually added to a large antique copper pot in which 3 halved cloves of ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic from Alewife Farm had been heated in a little olive oil until softened and fragrant
• the wine was an Italian (Piedmont) white, Ferrando, Cariola’ Erbaluce di Caluso 2016, from Flatiron Wines
• the music was Monteverdi’s 1607 opera, ‘L’Orfeo’, performed by Jordi Savall directing Le Concert des Nations, La Capella Reial de Catalunya, and soloists

I always imagine I’m tasting the sea itself with a fresh seafood salad prepared by the wife of one of our local fishermen.

As for the main course Wednesday night, while ‘winter cod’ isn’t a real thing, cod on a wintery night is, and that night it looked like it there really was such a thing as a winter cod.

• eight ounces of a squid and conch salad (including olive oil, parsley, red pepper, lemon juice) from P.E. & D.D. Seafood in the Union Square Greenmarket, made by Dolores Karlin, the wife of Phil Karlin, the fisherman who was the source of the bounty, the seasoning of the salad adjusted only slightly, with a fresh drizzle of juice from an organic Chelsea Whole Foods Market California lemon, before it was arranged on leaves of escarole from Windfall Farms already dressed with a good olive oil (Renieris Estate ‘Divina’, a Koroneiki varietal), local P.E. & D.D. sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a drizzle of lemon juice as well, that had been arranged as a bed for the salad
• slices of Buck Honey Rye (rye, malted buckwheat groats,oney, water, salt) from Lost Bread Co.

The entrée was assembled more or less from the same simple Mark Bittman recipe I had first used 5 years ago, and then again last December, although this time I added a little dried habanada pepper to the squash. It was at least as good as ever, and, yes, it did feel wintery.

• I used two 9 or 10-ounce cod fillets from American Seafood Company, whole wheat flour from the Blew family of Oak Grove Mills, 2 quite small honeynut squash (9 ounces each) from Alewife Farm, home-dried habanada pepper from the fresh grown by Norwich Meadows Farm, Columela Rioja 30 Year Reserva sherry vinegar, and micro purple radish from Windfall Farms as a garnish

• the wine throughout the meal was an Oregon (Willamette Valley) white, Scott Kelley Oregon Pinot Gris 2018, from Naked Wines
• the music throughout was Beethoven’s 1805-1814 opera, ‘Fidelio’, in a performance with Claudio Abbado directing the Lucerne Festival orchestra, the Arnold Schoenberg Choir, and Nina Stemme, Jonas Kaufmann, Falk Struckmann, Rachel Harnisch, Christoph Strehl, Christof Fischesser, Juan Sebastian Acosta, Levente Pall, and others

They look like felafel, but they’re carrots, roasted carrots, more-or-less-round roasted carrots. They’re a 19th-century French heirloom variety, so not just a new fancy, not just cute, but really delicious.

The foods that share the plate are familiar enough on this blog, but were no less tasty Tuesday night.

• one 14-ounce duck breast from Hudson River Duck Farm, the fatty, skin side scored in tight cross hatching with a very sharp knife, the entire breast rubbed, top and bottom with a mixture of local sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a little turbinado sugar, left standing on the counter for about 45 minutes to an hour, then pan-fried, fatty side down first, inside a small oval enameled cast iron pan over medium heat for a total of about 10 minutes, draining the oil after the first few minutes (the fat strained can be used in cooking at another time, if desired), turned over once, removed when medium rare, cut crosswise into 2 portions and checked for the right doneness in the center, which means definitely no more than medium rare, and maybe even a bit less, left to sit for several minutes before it was drizzled with a little juice from an organic California lemon and some house Portuguese olive oil, both from Whole Foods Market, garnished with scissored chives from Phillips Farms

• ten ounces of so of small round heirloom Atlas or Parisisan Market carrots from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, scrubbed, stem ends trimmed, dried, cut into discs 1/4 inch thick, tossed inside a bowl with a little olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, more than half a teaspoon of crushed Sicilian wild fennel seed (Semi di Finocchietto Ibleo from Eataly Flatiron), and a bit of crushed dried habanada pepper, placed, bot crowding, inside a large unglazed ceramic Pampered Chef oven pan, roasted at 400º for about 30 minutes, arranged on the plates and garnished with parsley from Phillips Farms

• one 8-ounce head of treviso from Campo Rosso Farm, rinsed, drained and wiped off, cut lengthwise into 6 sections, arranged one cut side up on a medium Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic oven pan after first securing the leaves of each with a toothpick, covered with thyme branches from Phillips Farms, seasoned generously with salt and black pepper, drizzled with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, baked in a 400º oven for 18 minutes or so, turned over more than halfway through onto another cut side, arranged on the plates and drizzled with a very small amount of balsamic vinegar
• the wine was a Portuguese (Douro) red, Mateus Nicolau de Almeida, Trans Douro Express ‘Baixo Corgo’ 2015, from Flatiron Wines   
• the music was an album of some amazing chamber works by the Swiss composer Jürg Frey (b. 1953), (some information on Frey and other composers of the so-called ‘Wandelweiser collective’, from Alex Ross in 2016)

This tuna dish is incredibly easy to assemble, and it’s always a huge treat, but this time it was heaven.

• two 7 or 8-ounce yellowfin tuna steaks from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, rinsed, dried, tops and bottoms seasoned with local sea salt produced by the fisherman himself and freshly-ground black pepper, ‘paved’ with a mixture of less than a tablespoon of some incredibly pungent dried Semi di Finocchietto Ibleo [wild Sicilian fennel seed] harvested in the Iblei Mountains, from Eataly Flatiron, and a little dried Itria-Sirissi chili, pepperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia in the Chelsea Market [both first crushed together in a porcelain mortar and pestle], plus a very small amount of dried golden habanada pepper, the steaks pan-grilled above a medium-high flame for little more than a minute or so on each side, finished on the plates with a good squeeze of the juice of an organic California lemon from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, garnished with micro red-vein sorrel from Two Guys from Woodbridge, finished with a drizzle of Chelsea Whole Foods Market Portuguese house olive oil

• a mix of subtly different tones of small cherry tomatoes (14 ounces) from Norwich Meadows Farm, washed, dried, each punctured at least once with a steel trussing pin, heated in a little olive oil inside a small copper skillet, seasoned with salt and Pepper, and mixed with a little chopped fresh oregano from Rise & Root Farm

• a bouquet of beautiful red frill mustard from Norwich Meadows Farm washed and drained in several changes of water, wilted in a little olive oil in which several cloves of ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic from Alewife Farm had been allowed to sweat a bit, seasoned with salt and pepper and finished on the plates with a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon
• the mix of sauces on the plates called for some bread, in this case thin slices of a Lost Bread Co. loaf of Buck Honey Rye (rye, malted buckwheat groats, honey, water, and salt)
• the wine was a New York (Hudson River/Pine Bush) rosé, the unfiltered Wild Arc Farm Cabernet Franc Rosé 2017, Bruynswick Vineyard, which we had purchased from the vintners themselves last weekend

• DJing these meals (almost entirely Barry’s responsibilty) isn’t always as easy as we make it look; on this particular evening we began and stopped 5 different recordings before we came up with this incredible winner: a remastered 1961 recording of a magnificent performance of Gustav Mahler’s symphony, No. 1 in D Major, the Columbia Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer’s friend and champion Bruno Walter, who was at the composer’s deathbed in Vienna 1911 [and that’s right, a world class symphony orchestra endowed by a corporate radio and TV station; European nations still have them, and Germany has a total of 14]

[image of Mahler and Walter from the Mahler Foundation achive]

A little bit of smoke goes a long way, whether it’s with vegetables, meat, or fish, but this time we had a full 4 ounce section of smoked bluefish fillet to mix with less than 8 ounces of dried pasta, a ratio twice that I’ve used with similar dishes in the past.

Joy.

• several chopped baby leeks from baby French leeks from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm and some very small stems of a small rib from a small stalk of celery from Norwich Meadows Farm, both sautéd in a little olive oil inside a large antique copper pot until softened, the juice from half  of an organic Whole Foods Market California lemon added and the pan kept over heat for another 2 or 3 minutes, stirring, the flame reduced to low and a pinch of sea salt, part of one crushed dried Itria-Sirissi chili, pepperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia and a pinch of home dried Norwich Meadows Farm golden habanada pepper stirred into the sauce until both hot and sweet peppers had become pungent, then adding less than 8 ounces of Afeltra Pasta di Gragnano Spaghetto from Eataly that had just been cooked until barely al dente, along with almost a cup of the reserved pasta water, continuing to stir until the liquid had emulsified, followed by mixing in one 4 ounce piece of smoked bluefish from Pura Vida Seafood Company and some chopped leaves from the celery rib, the dish transferred to low serving bowls, drizzled with a little olive oil around the edges, sprinkled with lemon zest and a little more red pepper flakes, and garnished with homemade toasted bread crumbs
• the wine was a Portuguese (Vinho Verde) white, Quinta de Paços Casa do Capitão-Mor Alvarinho 2017, from Flatiron Wines 
• the music was a glorious 1982 DGG recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, Claudio Abbado conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna State Opera Chorus, the Vienna Boys’ Choir, and Jessye Norman

It was good.

Although it was a little simpler than many of these mid afternoon ‘fast breakers’, so I had at least metaphorically brought fewer things to the table. There were still a lot of containers however but fortunately I actually enjoy washing up afterward, and have never had a dishwasher, or even wanted one.

This is what the drainer looked like after this relatively simple lunch.

• on the table earlier: 4 slices of thick bacon from pastured pigs and 6 fresh eggs from pastured chickens, all from the Amish family-run Millport Dairy Farm stand in the Union Square Greenmarket, the eggs seasoned with a local Long Island sea salt (from P.E. & D.D. Seafood) and freshly ground black pepper, drizzled with a tiny amount of Brazil wax pepper-infused olive oil (the peppers from Eckerton Hill Farm, the infusion done at home), and sprinkled with red vein micro sorrel from Two Guys from Woodbridge, with a dollop of the cook’s own homemade Zhug at the side; there was a small salad of red dandelions leaves from Willow Wisp Farm seasoned with salt and pepper, and a good Cretan (Chania) olive oil, Renieris Estate ‘Divina’ (a Koroneiki varietal), from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, topped with a few differently toned cherry tomatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm that had been halved and heated in a little While Foods house Portuguese olive oil inside an antique enameled cast iron porringer and tossed with chopped thyme leaves from Quarton Farm; a rich local butter (Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ from Chelsea Whole Foods, and 2 breads, both from Lost Bread Co., neither toasted, a Homadama (wheat, corn, water, maple syrup, salt, slaked lime) and a Buck Honey Rye (rye, malted buckwheat groats, honey, water, salt)
• the music was the 1871-1872 oratorio, ‘Luther in Worms’, by the choral director, critic, and composer Ludwig Meinardus, performed by Hermann Max directing Concerto Köln and the Rheinische Kantorei (neither Martin Luther nor the composer’s conservative Protestantism appeal to either of us, but the subject of the piece and the conservative romantic composition itself occupy niches in history that interest both of us; Barry came across this recording and used it to fill the niche we generally reserve for religious music first thing on Sundays, a tradition in spite of, or possibly because of, the depth of our shared disbelief

Oh my.

Yes.

We both love game, but I’m pretty certain I’ve never prepared or eaten partridge before. It doesn’t show up anywhere on this blog, and where else would I have had the opportunity, especially before I started it, in 2009?, so I didn’t really know what to expect.

While I was planning and cooking Saturday’s dinner, I hadn’t really been thinking about how dark in color or gamey it might be. I was mostly concerned about how to cook it to best advantage. If I had given it a thought, I’d have assumed that partridge would be darker and more gamey than the centerpiece of our meal that night actually turned out to be.

But what flavor!

I’m used to thinking ruddy and gamey is what wild fowl are all about (dove and quail have been my favorites) , but this bird gave me a whole new appreciation for the more subtle but very rich flavors of fowl that do not hang out in the traditional farm yard, but which don’t scream “liver!”.

The excellent, and extraordinarily simple recipe I used is from Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers inestimable volume, ‘Italian Easy’; Recipes from the London River Cafe‘(page 160 in my edition).

• two 1-pound chukar partridges [alectoris chukar] from Quattro’s Game Farm & Store in the Union Square Greenmarket, their backbones removed with a heavy kitchen scissors where the thin ribs join it, then each bird pushed flat, open side down, on the surface of a platter or large oven pan, seasoned on all sides with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and most of one crushed dried Itria-Sirissi chili, pepperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia, rubbed with some Whole Foods Market house Portuguese olive oil, covered all over with a mix of fresh and dry breadcrumbs, a combination of moist crumbs from a part of the only bread I had on hand, a very intensely flavored loaf of Lost Bread Co.’s Homadama (wheat, corn, water, maple syrup, salt, slaked lime) and, to help overcome the sponginess of the cornbread, some totally dried homemade crumbs that were themselves a mix of many different kinds of breads, the partridges then left aside to rest for something over 30 minutes before they were placed above medium flames on a 2-burner Lodge cast iron grill pan and grilled for about 25 minutes, turning frequently and from time to time squeezing organic Whole Foods Market lemon halves on top, the flames turned off and the birds allowed to rest for about 5 minutes, covered loosely with aluminum foil if desired, arranged on the plates with micro red amaranth arranged at its edges, and ideally perhaps served with more lemon (I didn’t have any left at this point that night, but I had been very generous earlier with what I did have); in any event I had somehow managed to cook them to a perfect state, roughly showing 180ºF, inside their thighs, with the help of an instant thermometer

• red dandelion leaves from Norwich Meadows Farm, well washed and thoroughly dried, dressed in a good Cretan (Chania) olive oil, Renieris Estate ‘Divina’ (a Koroneiki varietal), from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, local Long Island sea salt from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, freshly-ground black pepper, and a bit of Columela Rioja 30 Year Reserva sherry vinegar

• thirteen or 14 ounces of Hakurei turnips from Keith’s Farm, washed, scrubbed, peeled, cut into half-inch-thick slices, tossed with Portuguese olive oil, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, a small handful of rosemary leaves from from Phillips Farms, and little more than a pinch of a crushed dried piece of golden/bronze habanada pepper, roasted inside a large unglazed Pampered Chef ceramic pan for about 30 or 35 minutes at 425º, or until tender and beginning to carbonize
• the wine was an Oregon (Willamette Valley/Yamhill-Carlton) red, Fairsing Vineyard Pinot Noir 2016, from the vineyard directly
• the music was a glorious performance and a brilliant recording of Mozart’s 1791 Singspiel, ‘Die Zauberflote’, William Christie conducting his ensemble, Les Arts Florissants, with soloists including Hans Peter Blochwitz, Willard White, and Natalie Dessay