It was a beautiful balanced meal, beyond the picture, and it included a delicious real Chablis and a fascinating 100-year-old mystical opera that could have been written yesterday.

The haddock was really fresh, and with more than a little luck, I managed to cook it perfectly; the mushrooms also ended up just right, that is, cooked only to the point where they began to soften, but still with some body, and although there were more of them than I normally have in an accompaniment for fish, they were so good I felt there still weren’t enough. Even the small/subtle taste of the micro greens really showed through, since the fish was cooked so minimally, and, finally, the large greens, the collards, were a perfect, sweet foil for the featured players on the plates.

• two tablespoons of olive oil heated inside a vintage thick-walled tin-lined copper 14-inch oval sauté pan over medium-high heat until barely starting to smoke, 7 ounces of sliced oyster mushrooms from Blue Oyster Cultivation tossed in, seasoned with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a pinch of a combination of 2 peppers (crushed home-dried light-colored habanada purchased fresh the year before from Norwich Meadows Farm, and hickory-smoked Jamaican Scotch bonnet from Eckerton Hill Farm last fall, cooked, stirring occasionally, until well browned, or 3 to 4 minutes, transferred to warmed plates (in a warm oven, door ajar), and set aside, the pan wiped dry, an additional tablespoon of olive oil added, the flame turned up to medium-high and, once the oil was shimmering, the mushrooms replaced by one 15-ounce haddock fillet from P.E. & D.D. Seafood that had first been halved crosswise and seasoned with salt and pepper, cooked, flesh sides down, and without moving until well browned, or for about 3 minutes, carefully flipped over and cooked on the skin side until the fish was just cooked through, or about 2 minutes longer, transferred to the plates next to the mushrooms, while about three quarters of a cup of good low-sodium vegetable stock was added to the same pan and cooked over high heat until reduced by at least half, the pan removed from the flame and 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of Chelsea Whole Foods Market organic lemon stirred in, the sauce seasoned to taste with pepper, and, if needed, pepper as well, before being poured over both the fish and the mushrooms, the haddock finished with a garnish of micro red mustard from Windfall Farms,  with lemon wedges served on the side [this Serious Eats rechelped bring the fish and the mushrooms to the table]

I can’t continue without relaying my most recent story about mushrooms, from the Wikipedia entry for Johann Schobert, because it involves two of my favorite things, mushrooms and music:

“In 1767, Schobert went mushroom picking with his family in Le Pré-Saint-Gervais near Paris. He tried to have a local chef prepare them, but was told they were poisonous. After trying again at a restaurant at Bois de Boulogne, and being incorrectly told by a doctor acquaintance of his that the mushrooms were edible, he decided to use them to make a soup at home. Schobert, his wife, all but one of their children, and his doctor friend died.”

Lesson: trust the experts (most of them anyway).

• one small bunch of collard greens from Norwich Meadows Farm, the stems removed, washed 3 times, drained (some of the water retained and held aside to be added, as necessary, while the greens cooked), roughly chopped, braised gently until barely wilted inside a medium size, antique copper pot in which 2 cloves of garlic, also from Windfall Farms, had been heated until they had softened, seasoned with salt and black pepper, finished with a small drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a French (Burgundy/Chablis) white, Vincent Mothe Chablis 2017, from Crush Wine and Spirits

• the music was Karol Szymanowski’s 1918-1924 “Sicilian drama”, ‘Król Roger (King Roger), Simon Rattle conducting the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Youth Chorus, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus [from the liner notes: “In 12th Century Sicily, a mysterious shepherd speaking of a god of beauty, sensuality and (sexual) liberation troubles the reign of King Roger. The shepherd will eventually reveal himself to be none other than Dionysus, whose temptations the king ultimately resists, offering himself instead to the sun (Apollo).]

[the still of Mariusz Kwiecień as King Roger and Jose Luis Sola as the Shepherd/Dionysus, from the Santa Fe Opera production of ‘Krol Roger‘, is from Culture.pl]

It was a pretty splendid entrée, even without the full Greek treatment it was supposed to get, meaning I didn’t have any feta cheese on hand.

And without the feta, I felt I felt I would be excused for including an element I thought was not Greek, halved roasted potatoes, specifically the 4 orphan la ratte fingerlings I had been keeping in a brown paper bag in a basket high above the spice cupboard.  I’ve just looked around on line however, and it turns out that roasted potatoes can be very Greek.

The meat was superb. It came from the same farmers responsible for our enjoying it so much the last few times we had chicken. Yesterday’s Sunday spring chicken was a last-minute choice. I picked it up at our local Eataly rather than in the Union Square Greenmarket, where I usually shop for meat, and only its flavor was dear: the cost was only $8.50 for all 4 pieces.

The recipe began with Mark Bittman’s New York Times Magazine spread on what to do with chicken parts; it appears here, although absent almost any details or quantities, since it assumes the reader has more than a little cooking experience:

Heat the oven to 450. Make a paste of minced garlic, fresh oregano, lemon zest and olive oil; slide it underneath the chicken skin. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil, surround with cherry tomatoes and olives and roast, skin side up, basting occasionally with pan drippings, until the juices run clear, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with a little crumbled feta and oregano and serve.

• the chicken I prepared was four 6-ounce thighs of the, Cascun Farms‘ Cornish Cross breed, from Eataly Flatiron and, although not mentioned in the basic outline of a recipe, of course I first seasoned them with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; the other ingredients used were 2 cloves of garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm; a heaping tablespoon of fresh oregano from Phillips Farms; lemon zest from a Chelsea Whole Foods Market organic lemon; 6 Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods; and about a dozen Kalamata olives (Greek!) from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, pitted, garnished with micro chervil from Two Guys from Woodbridge [note: the garlic/oregano paste can be seen as the darker area just under the skin in the picture at the top]
• four la ratte potatoes from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, scrubbed, skins left on, halved, tossed with a little olive oil, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, rosemary leaves from Phillips Farm, and a bit of dried habanada pepper, arranged, cut side down, on a small well-seasoned Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic pan, roasted at 450º for about 25 minutes (without the chicken thighs’ need for the higher temperature, I would normally roast the potatoes at 400º, but, if anything, the fingerlings came out better than usual at the higher temperature)

• handfuls of washed raw light frizzy mustard greens from Campo Rosso Farm, dressed only with olive oil

There was a very small cheese course.

• a maturing ‘Mammuth’ goat milk cheese (camembert style) from Ardith Mae
• slices of Gran Daisy Pugliese bread from Chelsea’s Foragers Market

• the wine throughout the meal was an Austrian (Niederöstereich) red, Pinot Noir ‘Classic’ Fischer 2015, from Astor Wines

• the music throughout was Vincenzo Bellini’s 1827 opera, ‘Il Pirata’, Gianandrea Gavazzeni conducting the Italian Radio Symphony Orchestra Rome and the Italian Radio Chorus Rome, with Giuseppe Baratti, Bernabé Marti, Montserrat Caballé, Flora Raffanelli, Ruggero Raimondi, and Piero Cappuccilli 

[the beautiful portrait of Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835), painted by Carlo Arienti before 1827, from Il Blog dei Ragazzi]

I’m becoming fond of porchetta, although serving it doesn’t leave me any room to exercise my cooking skills, whatever they may be.

• slices of Piacenti roasted porchetta (5 ounces) from Eataly Flatiron, drizzled with a little good Trader Joe’s olive oil
• wild cress from Lani’s Farm dressed with the same olive oil, Maldon salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a little organic lemon from Chelsea Whole Foods Market
• slices from a loaf of Gran Daisy Pugliese bread from Foragers

Assembling a meal with a prepared pasta, fresh or dried, can be almost as ho-hum. Although there’s a little more room for creativity in its case, this time I did very little to alter the product from what it had been when it came off the shelf. It was delicious, and still my sense of self worth as a cook managed to survive.

• one finely-sliced ‘yellow shallot from Norwich Meadows Farm softened in a tablespoon or so of olive oil inside a large antique copper pot, joined by 8 ounces (dry weight) of a package of a smoky Agricola del Sole ‘Orecchiette di Grano Arsopasta‘ [Eng. ‘burnt grain’], from Eataly, that had just been cooked al dente, along with some of reserved pasta water, stirred over a high flame until the liquid had emulsified, a (judicious) amount of crushed dried red espelette peppers (which are mostly medium hot, but not always) from Alewife Farm, salt, and pepper mixed in, the pasta arranged in shallow bowls, olive oil drizzled around the edges, a small amount of toasted homemade breadcrumbs sprinkled on top, finished with micro red mustard from Two Guys from Woodbridge

• the wine throughout the meal was an Oregon (Willamette Valley) rosé, Chris Baker Willamette Valley Rose of Pinot Noir 2017, from Naked Wines
• the music throughout was a 1986 recording of Donizetti’s 1838-1840 tragedia lirica, ‘Poliuto’, Oleg Caetaniconducting the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Singakademie, with soloists Paolo Gavanelli, Katia Ricciarelli, José Carreras, Juan Pons, László Polgár, Jorge Antonio Pita, and Harry Peeters 

These beautiful grey sole fillets came from Rick Lofstad’s Pura Vida Seafood, whose colorful 55′ fishing vessel, ‘All For Joy’ (which was presumably his flagship), had capsized on the Sunday before I purchased them at the Union Square Greenmarket on Friday.

Earlier today on this blog I wrote about the incident and my huge respect for The Captain, who is something of an area legend, as well as for all the intrepid fishers who bring such treasures from the sea to all of us, from stalls in Union Square and in local markets throughout the larger New York area.

We wish the heroic sea captain our best, and we expect to be enjoying his catch forever, or at least for as long as all of us are still up to working it.

While there was not quite three quarters of a pound of fish, the small size of the fillets meant that they would cover a large area, giving me a chance to again use my new toy, this huge old pan.

• six 2-ounce grey sole fillets from Pura Vida Seafood, dried thoroughly, salted and brushed with a good white wine vinegar, sautéed briefly in a little olive oil and a bit of of Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ inside a heavy antique low-sided 13″ copper pan (I needed a large surface for these small fillets),  turning once, then removed to 2 plates, the pan wiped with a paper towel before introducing 2 or 3  tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons or so of juice from an organic Whole Foods Market lemon, and some upland cress, at least a handful cut from a live hydroponically-grown plant from Two Guys from Woodbridge, allowed to heat for a minute or so, when the buttery sauce was poured over the sole, lemon quarters served on the side
• about 16 ounces of ‘mature’ (they had been in the crisper for a while, which may explain why, at the end, they cooked very fast and wrinkled up a bit) Kyoto carrots from Norwich Meadows Farm, scrubbed and dried, tossed inside a bowl with a little olive oil, salt, freshly ground black pepper, more than half of a teaspoon of crushed Italian fennel seed, and a bit of crushed dried habanada pepper, arranged inside a large unglazed ceramic Pampered Chef oven pan, roasted at 400º for about 30 minutes, arranged on the plates and garnished with  micro chervil from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• a modest amount of really, really sweet purple kale from Norwich Meadows Farm (remaining from a supply that was probably mixed with some from Lani’s Farm), wilted inside a large enameled cast iron pot in which one halved garlic clove from Norwich Meadows had first been allowed to sweat in a little olive oil until pungent, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of fresh olive oil
• the wine was a California (Lodi) white, Evangelos Bagias Lodi Chardonnay 2017, from Naked Wines
• the music was an album of  Johann Schobert’s quartets, trios, and sonatas, performed by Ensemble 415; little is known of his origins, but his career, and his music, speak for themselves (his demise was something else)

“They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;“

The extraordinary, and very precious privilege of enjoying our phenomenal local wild seafood was brought home to me again yesterday afternoon, along with one aspect of its precariousness, .

Captain Rick Lofstad, a third-generation Long Island fisherman, along with his mate Desmond, who was with him on only his third commercial fishing voyage ever, had to abandon their 55-foot fishing vessel, ‘All For Joy’, last Sunday morning after it began to take on water 3 nautical miles south of Fishers Island, and several hours from its port, Hampton Bays. Fortunately there were no injures.

There is a short Coast Guard video of these events at sea last Sunday morning.

The two had donned proper survival gear when they slipped into the waters moments before their ship capsized. The local Coast Guard had been able to reach them by then, but were unable to prevent the hull from taking on more water, even with the extra pump they supplied.

In the picture above, from Fisherynation.com (Photo courtesy of Station New London), taken after the rescue, crew members from Coast Guard Station New London pose with Captain Rick and First Mate Desmond, both shoeless and maybe looking weary.

The Coast Guard has so far been unable to salvage the vessel, which was not insured, and although Lofstad owns several others, I understand they are currently being loaned to other fishermen.

This is the All For Joy on a better day:

The boat was named for his 8-year-old daughter Joy, 3 years old at the time he acquired it; it was Joy who had decided what color it should be, according to the newsletter, 23East.com. In its account, once she had made her choice, her father’s daily workplace, “..was soon colored blueberry yogurt purple with cotton candy pink piping on its rub-rails, a matching pink roof for its wheelhouse, and 40-foot-tall pink outriggers towering over its decks.

We also learn that the captain was anxious to tell the Coast Guard the background to the singular appearance of the pink and purple fishing boat: Last Sunday, the story “..tugged at the heartstrings of the crew of a U.S. Coast Guard lifeboat that was motoring alongside the All For Joy as she made her way through storm-tossed Block Island Sound. Her skipper shared the tale over the radio, he recalled later this week, because: ‘I wanted them to know why my boat was the color it is—in case I didn’t make it.’”

I know nothing more right now, but, while unaware of his tragedy when I saw and purchased some wonderful grey sole from the usual bounty at his Union Square Greenmarket stall on Friday, I expect Rick will be (or already is) back in business soon.

My short account here was assembled quickly from several online sources, including Newsday and 27East.com, and from my conversation on Friday with my friend Paul Mendelsohn, who was there at his normal station, at the helm of the Pura Vida fish stall in the Union Square Greenmarket.

I cook local seafood at home on an average of 3 days a week, and it brings both of us great joy. Almost all of it comes from the 5 or 6 different fishers who sell their catches in the Union Square Greenmarket. I’ve never taken this benison for granted, and I’m always deeply sorry to be dramatically reminded of it by hearing news like this.

“Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.”

Another weekday meal with a real first course. Well, my reasoning was that because there had been only 12 ounces in the box of good pasta, and I had already used around 8 ounces in another meal, I had only a few ounces left, too few, I thought, to suffice for an entrée, so I would supplement it with a small first course (even a small cheese course at the end, if we would be up to it by then).

And then both courses grew like [Harriet Beecher Stowe’s] Topsy. I had started with simply a great salumi, then I realized I had half of a small container of ricotta in the refrigerator, and of course there would have to be bread, and, while it’s not really an Italian thing, I almost always feel better about a cold plate if I can include a green of some kind.

• four ounces of Principe Italian uncured roasted porchetta rolled in pancetta from Chelsea Whole Foods Market
• a few ounces of water buffalo ricotta from Riverine Ranch in the Union Square Greenmarket that I mixed with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, one chopped Windfall Farms baby celery stalk and its leaves, and a bit of olive oil
• wild cress from Lani’s Farm, drizzled with a little olive oil
• slices of a whole wheat baguette from Our Daily Bread in the Union Square Greenmarket

The pasta would have remained pretty light if I hadn’t realized that I had a few small radishes that were anxious to be a part of something interesting, perhaps even something cooked, for a change. Also, maybe the topper was the breadcrumbs I added, but when we had finished, a cheese course didn’t tempt us.

• five ounces of Sfoglini emmer reginetti (organic emmer flour, organic durum semolina flour, water), also known as mafaldine, or ‘little queens’, from the Greenmarket Regional Grains Project in the Union Square Greenmarket, cooked barely al dente and some of the water reserved before it was drained, added to a large high-sided antique copper pot in which 2 cloves of garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm and the equivalent of one bunch of small scrubbed, trimmed and halved French breakfast radishes from Eckerton Hill Farm had been heated until softened in a little olive oil, then a pinch of crushed dried hickory-smoked Jamaican Scotch bonnet pepper, also from Eckerton Hill, the zest from half of an organic Whole Foods lemon and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, salt, and pepper were introduced to the pot and everything stirred together, some pea shoots from Norwich Meadows Farm mixed in, the pasta arranged in 2 warm shallow bowls, more pea sprouts arranged on top and a little olive oil drizzled around the edges, some toasted homemade breadcrumbs sprinkled over the reginetti itself

• the wine was a California (Central Coast) sparkling white, Eponina Brut California NV, from Naked Wines
• the music was Handel’s 1723 baroque opera, ‘Flavio’, René Jacobs conducting Ensemble 415

It was to be a very simple meal that I could almost do in my sleep, because we had a guest, and there was going to be some serious discussion about some future construction in the kitchen. I expected to be pretty distracted, but I managed to put together a pretty tasty meal.

It turned out however that I was distracted, but not where I had expected to be: We were having so much fun that I forgot to photograph the main course. I can describe it however (there really wasn’t much to it), and I have many pictures from past meals that could stand in for what I missed capturing this time.

Our guest had brought a bottle of good champagne, which we opened once the more serious conversation was put aside.

• some rustic Italian breadsticks, Mario Fongo grissini integrali, from Buon Italia
• the wine was a French (Champagne) sparkling, Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Réserve Champagne, the gift of a friend

The appetizer was inspired by my visit that afternoon to some of my favorite Greenmarket people.

• a few ounces of water buffalo ricotta from Riverine Ranch in the Union Square Greenmarket, mixed with a very small amount of Trickling Springs Creamery whole milk (they use glass deposit bottles!) from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, a little bit of some good Trader Joe’s Italian Reserve extra virgin olive oil (unfiltered, unrefined, and cold pressed), a pinch of crushed dried hickory-smoked Jamaican Scotch bonnet pepper from Eckerton Hill Farm, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and one stalk of finely-chopped baby celery from Windfall Farms, with the leaves, the mix stirred and distributed on 3 plates, a bit more olive oil drizzled on top
• slices of really good garlic ciabatta from Philadelphia’s Lost Bread Co. (organic bread flour, spelt, malted barley, breadcrumbs, water, local Hudson Valley Cold Pressed Oils‘ sunflower oil, garlic, herbs, salt, yeast)
• the wine was a Spanish (Catalonia/Penedès) white, Huguet de Can Feixes Can Feixes Blanco Seleccio 2017, from Crush Wines 

• 21 sea scallops (a total of 20-21 ounces) from American Seafood Company, rinsed, dried, slit horizontally with a very sharp knife almost all of the way through, stuffed with a mixture of home grown basil from Barry’s Artsy colleague Becca, one medium-size clove of garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm, salt, and black pepper, all chopped together very finely and 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, then pan grilled in an enameled cast iron pan (they barely fit) for about 2 minutes on each side, removed to the 3 plates, finished with a squeeze of organic lemon from Whole Foods Market and a drizzle of olive oil,  garnished with some beautiful lacy micro red mustard from Two Guys from Woodbridge

• two bunches of curly winterbor kale from Tamarack Hollow Farm, washed, drained, wilted in a little olive oil in which 3 garlic cloves from Norwich Meadows had first been allowed to sweat and begin to color, seasoned with salt and black pepper, drizzled with a little more olive oil
• the wine was a great Portuguese (Vinho Verde) white, Vinho Verde Loureiro, Aphros 2016, from Astor Wines

• the music throughout was an album evoking the southern Iberian geography and its culture in a remote age, the eponymous, ‘Granada (1013-1502)’, with Jordi Savall, Le Concert des Nations, and Hespèrion XXI 

I’m leading this post with an image and a description of the second course from last night’s dinner, since in the last few days I’ve already written – twice – about what was basically the same appetizer, except for the greens that accompanied it.

Yes, it was very, very good; Tuesday’s meal marked the final appearance of our supply of a wonderful smoked fish pâté.

• a composed smoked fish salad, more like a pâté, composed almost entirely of fish, all caught off Long Island by Phil Karlin, whose wife, Dolores Karlin, prepared it, consisting of several white fish species, mayonnaise, red onion, and celery, from P.E. & D.D. Seafood Company (the salad was perfectly seasoned, and needed no adjustments), served on slices of a loaf of ‘table bread’ from Philadelphia’s Lost Bread Co. that had been toasted over an open gas flame on our ‘Camp-A-Toaster’
• a spray of organic hydroponically-grown upland cress from Two Guys from Woodbridge, dressed with some good unfiltered olive oil from the 6th Avenue Trader Joe’s Market, Maldon salt, some ground black pepper, and a drizzle of organic lemon juice from Chelsea Whole Foods Market

For the main course I had thought I’d be working with one of the several packages of really good local pasta I had on hand, but none seemed right for what I had already chosen to cook with it. so I ended up using an Afeltra rigatoni. It reminded both of us of just how really good an artisanal Italian pasta can be.

• one small ‘yellow shallot’ from Norwich Meadows Farm heated gently in a little olive oil inside a large antique copper pot until it had softened, 8 ounces of Rigorosa Gragnano rigatoni from Eataly Flatiron, cooked al dente, mixed in, the heat turned up high and nearly a cup of reserved pasta water added and stirred with the oil and shallot until the liquid had emulsified, followed by a small handful of black olives (a mix of Gaeta and Kalamata) and 2 finely-chopped stalks and leaves of baby celery from Windfall Farms, a pinch of crushed dried hickory-smoked Jamaican Scotch bonnet pepper from Eckerton Hill Farm, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, the mix stirred before it was arranged inside 2 shallow bowls, where some well-toasted pine nuts, or pinoli, from Buon Italia were tossed on top, the pasta finished with a bit of olive oil drizzled around edges

• the wine throughout the meal was one of our regular favorites, an Italian (Marche) white, Le Salse, Verdicchio di Matelica, 2016, from Flatiron Wines
• the music throughout was our second listening to a mid-seventeenth century Venetian masterpiece, Francesco Cavalli’s ‘La Calisto‘, conducted by René Jacobs

I had bought two packages of smoked fish salad at the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturday, thinking we’d need that much for 4 people, but we only opened one of them that night. The 2 of us would share the contents of the other container on Monday and Tuesday.

• a composed smoked fish salad, or pâté, using local fish caught by Phil Karlin, whose wife, Dolores Karlin, made it, consisting of more than one white fish species, mayonnaise, red onion, and celery, from P.E. & D.D. Seafood Company (the salad was perfectly seasoned), served on slices of a loaf of ‘table bread’ from Philadelphia’s Lost Bread Co. that had just been toasted over an open gas flame on our ‘Camp-A-Toaster’
• leaves of loose small arugula from Norwich Meadows Farm, dressed with some very good unfiltered olive oil from the 6th Avenue Trader Joe’s, Maldon salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a drizzle of organic lemon juice from Chelsea Whole Foods Market

The main course, however, was all new. It was dominated by seafood as well, which, coincidentally, had come from the same fishers who had brought us both the fish in the pâté and the cod we had enjoyed on Saturday.

Also new – and quite old – was the very large tin-lined copper pan I used to cook the fish. Although they weighed barely a pound altogether, the area the fillets would occupy was larger than any pan surface I had (that is, other than a pretty enormous, beautifully-seasoned carbon steel long-handled fish skillet, which I could have used, since there would be no acid involved in the cooking).

The new pan was a triumph.

• eight small (2-ounce) Porgy fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, rinsed, dried, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, pan-seared, along with 4 small thinly-sliced Japanese shallots from Norwich Meadows Farm, over medium heat inside a newly-acquired and newly-retinned 13″-round shallow antique copper pan in a bit of butter and a little olive oil, the fish basted with the contents of the pan more or less continually for about 2 minutes, using a small brush, then carefully turned over, and the heat reduced to low, a cover placed on the pan (I used a new, tempered-glass universal lid that almost fit snugly between the handles) and the filets cooked for about about another 2 minutes before the cover was removed and a mix of 2 or 3 tablespoons of 7 different fresh herbs thrown in (this time I used thyme and spearmint from Chelsea Whole Foods; parsley from Norwich Meadows Farm; lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge; oregano from Phillips Farms; tarragon from Flatiron Eataly; and basil from a friend’s indoor garden), after which the basting was continued for about minute, or until the fish was cooked through, the fillets then arranged on the 2 plates, the pan juices and scallion fragments, together with the juice of one organic Whole Foods Market lemon, poured over the top, and a few chopped green segments of scallion scattered over everything (the recipe has been slightly modified from one written by Melissa Clark)
• the greens from 2 bunches of French breakfast radishes purchased from Eckerton Hill Farm (most of the radishes themselves had been enjoyed at the beginning of the meal on Saturday)

• the wine through both courses was a Spanish (Galicia) white, Valdesil, Godello ‘Montenovo’ 2017, from Flatiron Wines [more about the area, ‘the golden valley’, including a picture of the vintner, Borja Prada, who is interviewed here (we love Galicia)]

There was a dessert this time, which is something of a rare occurrence at our table.

• small dishes of delicious La Loos goat milk ice cream, ‘Snowflake vanilla’, from Chelsea Whole Foods

• the music throughout was Rossini’s beautiful 1814 opera buffa, ‘Il Turco In Italia’, Riccardo Chailly conducting the Milan Teatro alla Scala Orchestra and the Milan Teatro alla Scala Chorus (the composer was 22 at the time it premiered; it was first staged in New York City in 1826

[the image above, a portrait of Gioacchino Rossini in a super dressing gown, or banyan, by an unidentified artist, is apparently from the Theaterwissenschaftliche Sammlung – Universität zu Köln, via Pinterest (which does not load)]

I had decided early in the day on Sunday that I would prefer cooking a dinner with meat that night to one with pasta, since I had a good supply of both vegetables – and small, or micro vegetables as well – since more of them could be incorporated in, as it turned out, a pork entrée, than in any pasta.

Also, the freezer had grown almost full, which was going to make it hard to bring home something interesting that I might find at the market.

Another note about the dinner: Unusual for a meal at our table, there was not a single garlic clove or spicy chili. It was still eminently delicious.

• two 8-ounce boneless pork chops from Walter and Shannon of Shannon Brook Farm in the Finger Lakes, thoroughly dried, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a large pinch of light gold dried habanada pepper, seared quickly in a heavy enameled cast-iron pan before half of an organic Chelsea Whole Foods Market lemon was squeezed over them then left in the pan, which was then placed in a 400º oven for about 13 or 14 minutes (flipped halfway through and the lemon squeezed over them once again), removed from the oven, arranged on the plates, sprinkled with the chopped stems and leaves of 2 stalks of (pre-spring) baby celery from Windfall Farms, the rich pan juices poured over the top
• just under a pound of small, really wonderful, sweet Natasha potatoes from Phillips Farms,  scrubbed, boiled unpeeled in generously-salted water until barely cooked through, drained, halved, dried in the still-warm large vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot in which they had cooked, tossed with a little Trader Joe’s Italian Reserve extra virgin olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and garnished with micro chervil from Two Guys from Woodbridge

• a couple handfuls of beautiful chicory rosettes from Campo Rosso Farm that had popped up from last fall’s plants, washed, drained, dried, each halved – or quartered, if larger, tossed in a large bowl with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and a number of thyme branches from Chelsea Whole Foods, then arranged inside a large well seasoned Pampered Chef oven pan, without touching, roasted at 400º for about 10 minutes [I have to admit that I went a little overlong this time, but a bit crispy is good too, when it comes to chicory], removed from the oven and allowed to cool just a little before they were drizzled with a very small amount of balsamic vinegar
• the wine, a perfect pairing, was a really terrific unfiltered, unfined pinot noir, a French (Loire) red, Marie and Vincent Tricot’s ‘Les 3 Bonhommes’ 2016, from Copake Wine Works (I can’t say enough about the experience)
• the music was the contemporary Spanish composer Alberto Posadas’ ‘Poetics of the Gaze’, with Nacho de Paz conducting Klangforum Wien (a great listening)