These are some of my favorite things:  excellent Italian artisanal pasta, and, not incidentally, with a very sexy shape; Südtiroler Speck; and local ramps, those alliums of the abbreviated season; not to forget the good Italian olive oil; and grated Italian parmesan cheese.   So the dish was basically assembled out of passion, but also necessity:  I had the more perishable ingredients on hand and didn’t want to wait longer to use them;  I also didn’t have much time to cook dinner that night, and this dish would be very quick.  And it really was an improvisation.  The Speck had been in the refrigerator longer than it should have, and had just begun to dry out a bit.  No longer ideal as an antipasto, it would add great flavor to the dish I was beginning to put together in my head.

I don’t remember worrying about any recipe; I just dove right in.  One caution: separate the bulbs of the ramps from the leaves, toss them in a bit of oil before adding the Speck, heating it very briefly, then tossing in the ramp leaves.

I prepared the dish a couple weeks back, did not leave any footprints, and I also don’t remember the details, but I think the smaller ‘specks’ which appear on the pasta are chopped thyme.

• the pasta was ‘Vesuvio’, by Il Pastaio di Gragnano; the Speck from Eataly; the ramps from Lucky Dog Organic; the thyme, if that is what it was, from Eataly
• the wine was a Spanish white, Shaya old vines, verdejo Rueda 2013
• the music was Mendelssohn’s Cello Sonato No. 1, on Naxos

 

This scallops dish is a classic, at least for us, even on occasion including its accompaniments (although the details will never be quite the same).

• scallops from Blue Moon Fish Company, thoroughly dried (to ensure the grill marks), seasoned and pan-grilled briefly on both sides, finished with a squeeze of juice from a local lemon grown by Fantastic Gardens of Long Island, a sprinkling of sweet hydroponic cress from Stokes Farm, and olive oil
• Maine cherry ‘cocktail’ tomatoes from Whole Foods, pan-grilled and finished with sweet savory from Bodhitree Farm, and olive oil
• small, tender, very young, very sweet White Russian kale (‘Dwarf Siberian’?) from Rogowski Farm, chopped, wilted with olive oil in which a lightly-crushed head of ‘music garlic’ from Migliorelli Farm, cut in two, had been heated, seasoned with salt and freshly-ground pepper, and drizzled with more olive oil
• the wine was a Spanish white, La Val Albariño Rias Baixas 2013
• the music throughout was once again that of several police helicopters overhead, spending the citizenry’s hard-earned cash on aviation fuel ‘supervising’ them, (and ignoring the fact that that same citizenry is their employer)

This meal is so simple, and friendly to so many variations, that a recipe is hardly needed.  I can point to this one however, with the only advisory that the most important element, as always, is good ingredients, and, where they are called for, the freshest ingredients.  Also, it almost goes without saying, but virtually any pasta can be used here.

• the pasta was Setaro Linguine, from Buon Italia, the parsley was from Rogowski Farm, the garlic from S. & S.O. Produce Farms, the breadcrumbs I made from various artisanal loaves after they had passed their days of freshness
• the wine was an Italian white, La Cala Vermentino di Sardegna 2013 

It’s steak and potatoes, . . . also lemon, pea sprouts, thyme, and balsamic vinegar (I’m rarely able to stay on track with ‘tradition’).  By the way, I’m way behind with these blog entries; this is actually a meal prepared when the weather was still cold.

• one juicy 14-ounce aged ribeye steak from Ottomanelli & Sons Meat Market, dried very well, seared on both sides in a low-rimmed, enameled, cast iron pan, then placed in a 425º oven for about seven minutes, removed, allowed to sit a few minutes, in the pan, while being dressed with a bit of lemon juice, pea shoots from Lucky Dog Organic, and some olive oil
• German Butterball potatoes from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, sliced to about 1/2 inch, and half their weight of red onion from John D. Maderna Farm, cut into eighths down to the stems,  sautéed together in butter for about 10 to 15 minutes, then seasoned with salt and pepper, a large bunch of thyme (still on the stem) from Keith’s Farm and about a third of a cup of balsamic vinegar added to the pan, pushed about, then everything covered with foil and baked in a 400º oven for about 20-30 minutes.  The recipe is basically one found in the pages of the Rogers Gray Italian Country Cook Book.
• the wine was a California red, La Tau JC van Staden Malbec 2013