I’ve prepared these crab cakes, according to a quick search on this site, 15 times before, so we obviously see something in them. One of those things is the fact that they can be, and always have been, pretty much reinvented each time.

This time it got a little elaborate, although thanks to flavor elements and garnishes which were either already prepared or leftover from earlier meals, it was as easy as ever.

• duck rillettes from Hudson Valley Duck Farm, spread onto toasts of ‘whole wheat farm’ bread from Rock Hill Bakery and sprinkled with watercress from Berried Treasures Farm

 

• two terrific crab cakes from PE & DD Seafood, as always (the ingredients are crab, egg, flour, red & green peppers, garlic, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, milk, celery, and parsley), seared/heated in a cast iron pan, 3 to 4 minutes for each side, served on 2 plates on top of a salsa composed of quartered sun gold cherry tomatoes from Berried Treasures, chopped and combined with salt, freshly-ground black pepper, a bit of homemade French Basque piment d’Espellate purchased in a small town north of Baie-Comeau, Quebec last year from the producer’s daughter, much of one small red Calabrian chili pepper from Campo Rosso Farm, and some torn fresh basil, also from Campo Rosso Farm, after which the ‘cakes’ were drizzled with a small amount of an almost garum-like sauce made from a couple tablespoons of savory tomato juices (collected over 2 previous meals) mixed into a very small amount of a black olive tapenade (already shared with 2 earlier meals), with micro scallions from Two Guys from Woodbridge scattered over both the seafood and the salsa [to anyone following this blog, it’s pretty clear that I’m mad about micro greens]
• two small red pearl onions from Paffenroth Farms, thinly-sliced, sautéed in olive oil inside a large copper pan until softened, then lightly seasoned, followed by less than 2 handfuls of flat green pole beans from Norwich Meadows Farm (earlier halved, blanched, drained and dried), reheated with the red onions and finished with a little more salt, pepper, and some chopped lovage from Keith’s Farm

 

• a cheese course featuring only one cheese, ‘Pawlet’, from Consider Bardwell Farms, a small amount of chopped mixed fresh herbs, and very thin slices from the heal of a loaf of  ‘whole wheat farm’ bread from Rock Hill Bakery, which I had toasted on my trusty ‘Camp-A-Toaster‘ in order to ensure a precise doneness

 

• the wine was a California (Central Coast) rosé, 99 Barrels Derek Rohlffs Santa Lucia Highlands Rose 2015
• the music was Handel’s 1726 opera, ‘Scipione’, Christophe Rousset  conducting Les Talens Lyriques

 

Once again there were some beautiful large very fresh scallops at the Greenmarket, and, especially after a summer of much smaller specimens, it was going to seem a shame if I didn’t take advantage of their size – and the fresh bouquet of basil waiting on the counter – to repeat the same savory entrée I had prepared only 10 days before.

I made last night’s preparation at least a little distinctive from earlier versions by finishing the 10 pan-grilled médaillons with a garnish as special as the perfect scallops themselves.

• 10 thick sea scallops (12 ounces) from Seatuck Fish Company, rinsed, dried, slit horizontally with a very sharp knife almost all of the way, stuffed with a mixture of basil from Campo Rosso Farm, one medium-size clove of garlic from Willow Wisp Farm, salt, and pepper, chopped together very finely, removed to a small bowl where just enough olive oil was added to form a paste, the stuffed scallops then rolled around on a plate with a little more olive oil, drained, pan grilled about 2 or 3 minutes on each side, removed to plates, lemon juice and olive oil drizzled over the top, and garnished with some wonderful micro scallions from Two Guys From Woodbridge
• two garlic scapes from Berried Treasures, cut into quarter-inch segments, sautéed in olive oil until tender inside a heavy copper pan, adding much of one small red Calabrian chili pepper from Campo Rosso Farm, finely chopped, near the end, after which one medium green heirloom tomato from Stokes Farm cut into thin wedges, and 8 or so small orange and red cherry tomatoes from Berried Treasures, halved, were added and cooked for a minute or so before 2 small handfuls of halved yellow flat pole beans from Norwich Meadows Farm (par-boiled, drained, and dried earlier) added to the pan and stirred briefly, heating and combining the flavors of all the vegetables, seasoned with salt and pepper, mixed with a little chopped fronds attached to stems of some fennel flowers from Willow Wisp Farm, removed to the 2 plates, and scattered with the fennel flowers themselves (tasting much like the takeaway from an Indian restaurant), roughly chopped

There was cheese and fruit.

• small amounts of 2 Consider Bardwell cow cheeses, ‘Barden Blue’ and ‘Pawlet’, with toasts made from very thin slices of ‘whole wheat farm’ bread from Rock Hill Bakery, in Gansevoort, N.Y.,  served with one shared ripe, luscious satsuma plum from Phillips Farm

• the wine was a California (Lodi) rosé, Karen Birmingham Rosé Lodi 2015
• the music was Handel’s 1732 opera, ‘Fernando Re Di Castiglia’, Alan Curtis directing Il Complesso Barocco

I was at the Pura Vida fish display cases. The mackerel were beautiful, so I hardly hesitated before choosing them for our entrée on Friday night. Then Paul told me that, just 2 stalls down, Joe Rizzo had some beautiful Boletus mushrooms. I’m not an expert, but even I knew that sounded pretty special.

I love mushrooms, but I’m far less familiar with these wonderful fungi than I have eventually become with fish. I was also nonplussed, because I knew mushrooms should be used on the day they’re brought home.

At least initially, to me the combination of mackerel and mushroom seemed like anything but a natural. I mentioned my doubts to Paul, but he would have none of it. I quickly checked Google on my phone, to see if anything showed up with a search under the words, words, ‘mackerel’ and ‘mushrooms’. I couldn’t find much, partly on account of the glare outside on the pavement, but I decided I’d give the combo a try, thinking I would be able to uncover something interesting on my laptop once I had returned home.

Bonanza!

I found a modest site I had never come across before, with what seemed a perfect fit. The recipe asked only for ingredients I had on hand (there were very few ingredients, in fact), and it was extremely simple (so simple I originally had my doubts about its virtues). Then, as I thought about it more, it made perfect sense, especially since the acidity of a little lemon was involved, appropriate for this rich oily fish, and I was going to be able accompany the mackerel and the mushrooms with some refreshingly juicy sautéed cucumbers.

It turned out wonderful, and it has freed my mackerel from its long bondage with tomato salsa, not however as a substitute for that excellent classic formula, but as perhaps only the first of a number of new alternatives to it.

• 4 Boston mackerel fillets (a total of 14 oz) from Pura Vida Fisheries, seasoned on both sides with salt and pepper, sautéed fairly gently with butter and a little olive oil inside a large, thick oval copper pan, flesh side first, turned after about 3 minutes and the other side cooked for about the same length of time, removed to 2 plates when done, covered to keep warm, a tablespoon or more butter added to the pan, and 4 ounces of mushrooms (‘Boletus Separans’) from Blue Oyster Cultivation, cut into large-ish sections, sautéed, stirring, until lightly cooked, seasoned with salt, pepper, a couple tablespoons of chopped lovage and chopped parsley, both from Keith’s Farm, and about a tablespoon of lemon juice, the mushrooms stirred some more and they and the juices spooned on top of the mackerel, which was finished with a little fresh chopped lovage and parsley
• two luscious Barese cucumbers, from Berried Treasures, ‘hairs’ wiped off, unpeeled, cut into bite-sized segments, sautéed over a medium-hot flame in butter and a little olive oil inside a large cast iron pan until lightly browned, seasoned with salt and pepper, tossed with chopped tarragon from Stokes Farm, arranged on 2 plates and sprinkled with micro scallions from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the wine was a California (Central Coast) rosé, Keith Hock Central Coast Rose 2015
• the music was Q2 Music, streaming

Barry is always the capocuoco when it comes to stirring and timing the pasta, and he always brings it in al dente, as he did last night. Even if it was really no big thing in the end, on my side I let us down a bit: The garlic scapes did not end up al dente. They still tasted very good, but let’s say they were a little chewy (“fibrous”, I heard Barry say under his breath). I blame it, justifiably or not, on the fact that they were very late in their season, and that might also explain why they had a stronger flavor than usual.

But everything else was super, making it easier to ignore the chewy bits.

And the fennel flowers were brilliant.

 

• 8 ounces from a package of Setaro spaghetti chitarra from Buon Italia, served with a simple fresh sauce which began with 3 minced cloves of garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm and 2 cups of garlic scapes from Berried Treasures Farm, cut into 2-inch lengths, sautéed in olive oil for 3-4 minutes (which turned out not to be long enough this time; see above), accompanied halfway through by parts of one ‘cherry bomb’ (or ‘red bomb’) pepper from Norwich Meadows Farm, after which a little butter, most of the juice of one lemon, and most of its zest, added to the pan, the drained pasta mixed in once the butter had melted, and all stirred over low heat, during which time some reserved cooking water was added to help emulsify it, seasoned with salt and pepper, and sprinkled with very fresh chopped fennel flowers, and some of the fronds, from Willow Wisp Farm
• the wine was an Italian (Sicily) white, Corvo Insolia 2013, from Philippe Wine in Chelsea
• the music was the Symphonies Nos. 3 and 5 of Ferdinand Ries, Howard Griffiths conducting the Zurich Chamber Orchestra 

This fish doesn’t get much respect. This has been true even after some people decided it would go over better if it were called ‘mahi -mahi,’ rather than the traditional, ‘dolphin’, or ‘dolphinfish’, important in both western cuisine and art for 4 millennia (long before Hawaii turned up). I came close to exhausting the topic, once before, at least as it relates to home food preparation. I posited what appears to be one of the reasons for its lack of popularity. I’m not willing to go into that again now, other than to point out that I’m talking about the water-breathing fish, and not the air-breathing mammal.

My own experience with it in the kitchen is that I liked it the very first time I had it, and I’ve liked it even more each time I’ve been able to bring it home.

The dolphin we had Wednesday evening was the best yet.

Some very special fresh onions played supporting roles in the preparation of both the fish

..and the vegetable.

• one dolphin fillet, about 13 ounces, from Blue Moon Seafood, halved lengthwise, dry-marinated with more than half a tablespoon of organic lemon zest, an equal amount of chopped thyme leaves from Stokes Farm, salt, and pepper, set aside for 30 minutes or so, divided lengthwise into 2 pieces, and seared inside a hot heavy, oval copper fish pan for about 3 minutes, former skin side up, turned over, and that side seared for the same length of time, the heat lowered and the pan loosely covered for a very few minutes with aluminum foil just before some thin-ish slices of very small French Leeks from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm and one small red pearl onion from Paffenroth Farms, sliced, were introduced and briefly sautéed along with the fish before the fish was removed and put onto plates, after which a bit of leftover black olive tapenade (Gaeta olives, brined wild capers, one salted anchovy, all from Buon Italia, some chopped fresh thyme from Stokes Farm) after it had first been mixed with a tiny amount of Rioja wine vinegar, was added to the pan and stirred, the now richly-savory pan juices poured over the top of the fish
• four small green and yellow summer squash from Berried Treasures Farm, sliced into thick disks and sautéed with 2 garlic cloves from Norwich Meadows farm, halved, until they had begun to caramelize, while halfway through their cooking 2 fresh ‘green onions’ from Berried Treasures, sliced fairly thinly, were added, and a little later, parts of one ‘cherry bomb’ (or ‘red bomb’) pepper from Norwich Meadows Farm, and everything continued to cook until both squash and onions had begun to caramelize, the pan removed from the flame and fresh chopped fennel fronds from Willow Wisp Farm were mixed into the vegetables (I had intended to sprinkle the beautiful fennel flowers themselves on the top once the vegetables had been served, but became distracted by the process with the dolphin and totally forgot to do so)
• one yellow-orange heirloom tomato from Down Home Acres and 4 of ‘the best cherry tomatoes’ from Stokes Farm, sliced, tossed together, dressed with a good Campania olive oil, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, some chopped lovage from Keith’s Farm, and served in low bowls on the side
• the wine was an Italian (Campania) white, Falanghina Feudi di San Gregorio 2014
• the music was Mozart’s Symphonies Nos. 32, 35, and 36, performed by John Eliot Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists

Neither of us ever tires of eating peppers, sweet or hot, so I find it hard to avoid a display of either in the Union Square Greenmarket (or any farmers’ market). I was surprised that the particular beauties I sautéed last night, seen in the picture above, had been waiting in the refrigerator for days.

• two garlic cloves from Norwich Meadows Farm, roughly-sliced, sautéed in olive oil inside a deep enameled cast iron pot large enough to hold the pasta once it was cooked [note: normally I would have immediately followed that with a tablespoon or so of dry fennel seed and heated it until pungent, but I this time I just forgot], followed by small multi-colored bell peppers from Stokes Fram, seeds and pith removed, roughly sliced, plus a little bit of ‘cherry bomb’ [or ‘red bomb’] peppers from Norwich Meadows Farm, also seeded and deveined, cut into slivers, the slivers cut in half (to be able to spot and remove some of them, should they turn out to be too spicy-hot), all the peppers sautéed until tender, and, near the end, joined for a minute or two by 5 very small French leeks from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, sliced into quarter-inch segments, the completed mix then seasoned with salt and freshly-ground black pepper and combined in the sauce pot with pasta which had been cooked al dente and drained (about 8 ounces from a package of Setaro spaghetti chitarra from Buon Italia), some reserved pasta water added and used to emulsify the sauce by stirring over low heat, the whole garnished in the individual shallow pasta bowls with micro purple basil from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the wine was an Italian (Tuscany) white, Val di Toro Auramaris 2014 (with Vermentino and Grechetto grapes)
• the music was Symphony No. 1 and 2, by the early nineteenth-century composer Ferdinand Ries (both pupil of and assistant to Beethoven), performed by Howard Griffiths directing the Zurich Chamber Orchestra

Before I headed out to the Greenmarket on Monday I had noticed that the tomatoes on the windowsill were beginning to gang up on me. I decided I had to incorporate most of them in the entrée that night.

After earlier purchasing 4 porgy fillets, I picked up a young fennel bulb, thinking I would incorporate it in the preparation of the fish. That evening I realized I should probably use the oven to do that best, so I ended up combining the fennel with the tomatoes in a sauté, or braise.

• four 4-ounce Porgy fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, dried, seasoned with salt and pepper, pan-seared, along with 3 thinly-sliced very small French leeks from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm Farm, over medium heat inside an oval copper pan in a bit of butter and a little olive oil, the fish basted, more or less continually, using a small brush, with the the leeks, butter and oil for about 2 minutes, the fish then carefully turned over, the heat reduced to low, a cover (I used aluminum foil) placed on the pan and the filets cooked for about another minute before the cover was removed and 2 or 3 tablespoons of mixed fresh herbs thrown in (I used mint, lovage, savory, thyme, tarragon, and basil this time), after which the basting was continued for about another 2 minutes, or until the fish was cooked through, at which time the fillets were arranged on the 2 plates, and the juices and leek fragments (there was very little) scooped up and sprinkled on top (the recipe has been slightly modified from one written by Melissa Clark)
• one young fennel bulb from Norwich Meadows Farm, cut into pieces half an inch to an inch in size, sautéed in a little olive oil inside a heavy cast iron enameled pan along with 3 thickly-sliced garlic cloves and a small amount of very-thinly-sliced ‘cherry bomb’ [or ‘red bomb’] pepper, both garlic and capsicum also from Norwich Meadows Farm, removed from the heat once the fennel had begun to caramelize, then tossed with 2 chopped heirloom tomatoes (one yellow-orange, one red) from Down Home Acres, and a dozen slightly-punctured ‘The Best Cherry Tomatoes’ (red) from Stokes Farm, stirring until all was mixed together, lemon juice squeezed in, and chopped fennel fronds added, the vegetables divided on the plates and sprinkled with fennel flowers from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm
• the wine was a French (provence) rosé, Chateau de Trinquevedel AOP Tavel 2015, whose wine merchant here is Kermit Lynch
• the music was an album of symphonies of Johann Wilhelm Wilms, Anthony Halstead
  conducting the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra

I could never even think about making this dinner if we didn’t have pretty decent air conditioning in both our kitchen and informal dining area (for that matter, I have to say the same thing for most of the meals I’ve been preparing for many weeks.

With sincere gratitude to the cooling gods, and to all those oleaginous dinosaurs who never knew what was coming, I was able to offer us another pretty decent meal on Sunday.

Looking back over those of the last few months at the least, this one was exceptional in the fact that it included lamb chops. Although they don’t require an oven, and so would seem to be a good choice if meat is to be a choice, they have just not seemed appropriate during this interminable plague of warm and humid days and nights.

We’ve also become more and more fond of seafood, and my confidence in preparing it continues to grow.

While in the Greenmarket on Saturday I was excited to come upon Karen Weinberg, of 3-Corner Field Farm, for the first time since spring lambing season. I had forgotten that until the fall she was only in the market on Saturdays, and until last week I hadn’t been shopping on that day for months. Honoring the serendipity of our meeting, I defrosted the 4 chops I bought, making them the highlight of a Sunday dinner.

• four loin lamb chops (a total of 1.15 pounds) from 3-Corner Field Farm, cooked on a very hot grill pan for about 5 or 6 minutes on each side, seasoned with salt and pepper after they were first turned over, finished with a squeeze of lemon juice, a scattering of fresh fennel flowers from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, and a drizzle of olive oil
• halved and seasoned very ripe red banana tomatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, pan-grilled, finished with a small drizzle of olive oil and a bit of balsamic vinegar
• 8 very small green and yellow summer squash from Berried Treasures Farm, sliced into thick disks, sautéed with 2 garlic cloves from Norwich Meadows farm, halved, until they had begun to caramelize, 3 red scallions, sliced, and parts of one ‘cherry bomb’ (or ‘red bomb’) pepper from Norwich Meadows Farm, added, the mix continued to be stirred over a lowered flame until they too were softened and had become fragrant, the pan removed from the flame and spearmint from Ryder Farm and lovage from Keith’s Farm, both chopped, mixed into the vegetables
• the wine was a super Italian (Sicily) red, Etna Rosso, Tenuta delle Terre Nere 2014, from Astor WInes & Spirits
• the music was Jean-Baptiste Lully’s 1676 opera, ‘Atys’, with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants

‘Little lunch’

It was both breakfast and lunch. Adding a black olive tapenade and some tomatoes to the bacon and eggs may have helped to characterize it as the latter. In fact however, my heirlooms were all ‘coming due’ at the same time, making me scramble to find uses for them; the tapenade was leftover from an earlier meal (a dinner), and I had not yet found a use for it.

• ‘fresh-squeezed’ orange juice from Whole Foods
• fried thick smoked bacon, 6 fried eggs from Millport Dairy Farm, toast from a loaf of ‘Compagne’ (a traditional sourdough) from Bien Cuit Bakery via Foragers Market, un-toasted slices from a fresh loaf of ‘whole wheat farm’ bread from Rock Hill Bakery, some rich ( ) ‘Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter‘, chopped red scallion stems from Hawthorne Valley, very small chopped pieces from a ‘cherry bomb’ [or ‘red bomb’] pepper from Norwich Meadows Farm (the heat of a milder jalapeño), a mix of unidentified herbs, a black olive tapenade (Gaeta olives, brined wild capers, a salted anchovy, all from Buon Italia, some chopped fresh thyme from Stokes Farm), and one chopped red heirloom tomato from Down Home Acres (dressed with a Campania olive oil, salt, pepper, and torn basil from Keith’s Far
• there was coffee: espresso for me, iced espresso for Barry

The Fluke (sometimes called ‘summer flounder’), so abundant in northeastern fish markets at this time of the year, may not have the smoothest name, but its taste may be the most interesting of all the flatfish available locally.

It ranks above even the more mild (‘delicate’) flounders, in my opinion, although I can’t claim extensive experience with most of the huge family of Pleuronectiformes: The popular nomenclature of most fish, and especially those we eat, is confusing, and varies geographically (labels may be misleading and out-and-out erroneous), but that family includes many other fine food fish, like the other flounders, as well as the soles, turbot, brill, plaice, and halibut, a few of the some 500 species.

I’ve enjoyed many flatfish, harvested from several large seas (I’ve even caught fluke myself), but here on the northeastern Atlantic coast, I’ve always been very happy with both the taste and the relative firmness of the local fluke fillets.

But maybe the real star last night, and certainly the surprise of the meal, was the totally wonderful cucumber which Franca had slipped into my hand last week.  She called it a ‘bitter melon’ cucumber, but I had a hard time locating anything that looked like it on line using that name.  There are a ton of different kinds of cucumbers out there, and probably as many melons (the significance of my mentioning the latter will become apparent in the next sentences). Eventually, I added the adjective, ‘fuzzy’ to the phrase, and this variety finally showed up. It seems to be called ‘Carosello Mezzo Lungo di Polignano‘, and it apparently comes from Puglia, and it’s usually associated with Bari, on the coastal north. Elsewhere it shows up as “My Furry Cucumber!” I’m still not certain that’s what we enjoyed so much last night, because elsewhere on line there are other fruits that answer the description of our cucumber, varieties from the New World (cucumbers originated in Asia), described as botanically melon, but used as cucumbers.

• two fluke fillets purchased that morning from Seatuck Fish Company in the Union Square Greenmarket, seasoned with salt and pepper, sautéed in olive oil and butter over high heat until golden brown (2-3 minutes on the first side, 1-2 minutes on the other), served with a ‘tomato butter’ composed a few minutes earlier by melting some ‘Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter‘, then adding 2 red scallions from Hawthorne Valley Farm, sliced, cooking them until softened and fragrant, removing the savory butter from the heat, allowing it to cool for 2 or 3 minutes, then tossing it with 4 ounces of ‘the best cherry tomatoes‘, halved, from Stokes Farm (which had minutes earlier been tossed with almost a teaspoon of chopped tarragon from Stokes Farm), stirred gently, seasoned with salt, a few drops of red wine (Chianti) vinegar stirred into the mix at the end
• a handful or more of organic arugula (‘Roquette’) from Norwich Meadows Farm, drizzled with a Campania olive oil, sprinkled with salt and a little freshly-ground pepper
• one large hairy Barese cucumber, ‘hairs’ wiped off but unpeeled, cut into bite-sized segments, sautéed in olive oil until lightly browned, seasoned with sea salt, and tossed with chopped spearmint from Ryder Farm
• the wine was a California (Sonoma) white, Scott Peterson Rumpus Chardonnay 2014, from Naked WInes

There was fruit for a dessert.

• slices from a Lambkin melon, aka Santa Claus melon, and sometimes known as Christmas melon or piel de sapo, served with black California figs

• the music thorughout the meal was Georg Friedrich Handel’s 1728 opera, ‘Tolomeo’, Alan Curtis conducting Il Complesso Barocco