We’re almost in German lands here.

• six or eight ramps from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, their white portions only (the green leaves reserved), chopped and swirled around for a minute in a small amount of equal parts of bacon fat, duck fat, and butter which had been heated inside an oval copper au gratin, two smoked loin pork chops [‘Kassler‘] from the Amish farm in Pennsylvania which offers their excellent produce at the Union Square Greenmarket under the name Millport Dairy, added to the pan, which was then covered with tin foil and kept above a very low flame (just enough to warm the chops, as of course they were already fully-cooked), turning the meat once, and, near the end of the cooking time, the green parts of the ramps which had been set aside earlier, added and stirred about, the pork removed, plated, brushed with a garlic oregano jelly from Berkshire Berries, then covered with both the white and green ramp segments
• the same fats as described above in the preparation of the pork, heated above a medium-high heat in a large enameled cast iron pan, then about 28 ounces of red cabbage from Eataly, finely-sliced, and one medium roughly-chopped ’Picasso’ shallot (very strong) from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm added, cooked, stirred occasionally, until the cabbage had softened slightly (about 10 minutes), water added throughout, after which some salt was introduced and a little lemon juice, local apple cider vinegar from Race Farm, and a sprinkling of freshly-ground black pepper, before the heat was reduced and the mixture cooked 5 or 10 minutes more (or until the cabbage was wilted and the shallots softened), and a few tablespoons of raisins and some red current jelly added and stirred into the pan
• very tender collard greens from Migliorelli Farm, washed, drained, and braised very lightly in a heavy pot, finished with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was an Austrian (Lower Austria/Niederösterreich) white, Landhaus Mayer Grüner Veltliner 2014
• the music was Franz Josef Haydn, Symphonies Nos. 97, 98, and 99, performed by the Orchestra of the 18th Century, conducted by Franz Brüggen

It’s almost impossible for me to go too long without craving a repeat of some version of this dish; last night it was again time for spaghetti and clams. Barry calls it comfort food.

• Italian-grain Afeltra spaghetti from Eataly, cooked al dente, then tossed in a large, enameled cast iron pot in which two garlic cloves from Whole Foods, minced, and one dried Itria-Sirissi chili (peperoncino di Sardegna intero) from Buon Italia were heated in some olive oil before they were joined by [lots of] clams from Blue Moon Fish, along with their cooking juices, which had just been steamed with a little water in a separate pot until they had opened), the entire mix sprinkled with a bunch of parsley from Eataly and lovage from Windfall Farms, both chopped, then served in shallow bowls with an Eric Kayser ‘baguette monge’ on the table
• the wine was an Italian (Campania) white, Taburno Falanghina del Sannio 2014
• the music was Sir Edward Elgar, Symphony No 2, Barenboim conducting the Staatskapelle Berlin

the black bowl barely visible in the first image, cradling the clam shells

celery root soup with spiced maple vinegar

elk steak, cress, horseradish potatoes, braised celtuce, stems and leaves

 

I don’t often get a chance to enjoy a meal like this, either at home or out. This is America, where ordinary folk can only enjoy genuine game if they import it from another country, and that means paying a serious premium (it’s a long story, and not one which makes our food regulations look good).

The elk sirloin steak I prepared Tuesday evening was a gift of a friend who has a cousin who hunts, in Kansas. Actually we were given two packages of elk, the other was a flank steak. Each package weighed around 20 ounces. We decided we would share each of them with two different people whom we know are interested in the kind of meals we like to put together (sometimes with good success).

I panicked a little bit the day before our guests arrived last night, when I started to think that 20 ounces meant there would be only 5 ounces of meat per person; that amount seemed just a bit mean, but eventually I persuaded myself that what I had available was pretty much what most knowledgable sources I came across suggested was a proper portion size for a meat this rich.

Besides, I had seen to it that some equally uncommon vegetables would be sharing the billing.

 

We began by nibbling on some long whole wheat rustic breadsticks from Buon Italia, while sipping sparkling wine.

• the wine was a California sparkling, Eponina Brut California NV

 

I found the recipe for the celery root soup, one of our favorite starters, and usually reserved for a late fall or winter holiday meal, years ago in a ‘Pairing’ piece in the New York Times. It’s much easier to make than it sounds, and, except for the final assembly, can be prepared ahead of time.

• the wine with the soup was a German (Pfalz) white, Weingut Friedrich Becker Estate Pinot Blanc 2013, a special order from Appellation Wines & Spirits

 

Putting together the potato and horseradish dish could hardly be simpler (I kept thinking, shouldn’t I be adding something to these very few ingredients?), and it too was assembled and cooked before the guests arrived. I simply thinly sliced 3 large Yukon Gold potatoes from Whole Foods, and arranged them in layers shared with almost a cup of shredded horseradish, also from Whole Foods, and two cups of heavy cream. The casserole went into a 400º oven, uncovered, for about 15 minutes, then covered with aluminum foil and baked for another 30. I placed it in the refrigerator for a while, later removed it, let it come close to room temperature and then warmed it for 12 minutes or so in advance of serving.

The celtuce, which I had gotten from Lani’s Farm in the Greenmarket, was also largely prepared ahead of time, and only needed to be sautéed, the stalks and the leaves in succession, then drizzled with some of their juices. This link will give you much of what you need to know about this vegetable, as well as the basic recipe I used yesterday. My adjustments included parboiling the stalks in a much smaller volume of stock, and using far less butter than Foragerchef seems to indicate.

The excellent local cress, from Stokes Farm, needed absolutely nothing after it was rinsed and drained.

The elk, especially because I didn’t want to overwhelm the elk with a major marinade or a sauce, could hardly have been easier to prepare. I took my cue from an almost-30-year-old Daily News clipping which described how Brendan Walsh (we loved Arizona 206) treats a venison steak. After rubbing softened butter into the steak and pressing some strong freshly-cracked pepper into, I let it sit for about an hour, I simply sautéed it for a few minutes on each side, waiting to turn it until juices began accumulating on the surface, removed it to a wooden carving board and cut it into four sections, poured a bit of cognac into the pan, stirred it over hight heat for 1 or 2 minutes, while scraping the drippings, seasoned it with sea salt, and then, off heat, I added a little butter, pouring it over the meat which was now resting on warm plates.  After the photo was taken I remembered that I wanted to scatter some chopped parsley, from Eataly, over the elk.

• the wine with the main course was an Italian (Chianti) red, a 1.5 liter magnum of Felsina Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia 2010, the gift of our guests

 

I was prepared to serve a cheese course assembled from a selection of Consider Bardwell Farm goat and cow cheeses, but we agreed to pass on it, perhaps because of the hour and a certain satiety after second helpings of the potato-horseradish-cream casserole.  As a consolation, I brought out a package of some special Italian dried figs, Colavolpe Fioroni Classici, from Eataly, which I had expected to serve with the cheese.

• the beverage enjoyed with the figs was a very good Venezuelan rum, one I would describe as the sipping rum I had always believed existed somewhere; it was from Cacique, and it was a gift of an artist friend of ours from Caracas

The crabcakes and their tomato ‘bed’ were both pretty familiar, but the greens stripped from a hybrid stalk of Brussels sprouts and kale was new. The verdict – for both the farmer and the cook – is still out on these particular greens.

• two crab cakes from PE & DD Seafood (the ingredients are crab, egg, flour, red & green peppers, garlic, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, milk, celery, and parsley), heated in a heavy iron pan, 3 to 4 minutes to each side, drizzled with juices retained,and frozen, from an earlier meal of broiled perch, and sprinkled with chopped oregano from Stokes Farm, served on a bed of a salsa of chopped Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, which had been combined with salt, pepper, one chopped sierra pepper from Whole Foods, and more of the chopped fresh oregano leaves from Stokes Farm
• a couple of handfuls of bicolored ‘kalettes‘ from Stokes Farm, stripped from their Brussels sprouts-like stalk, wilted with olive oil in which one slightly-crushed garlic clove from Whole Foods had been allowed to heat until pungent, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of fresh olive oil
• the wine was a California (Clarksburg) white, David Akiyoshi Chardonnay Clarksburg 2014, from Naked Wines
• the music was orchestral music by Johann Friedrich Fasch, performed by the Cappella Coloniensis

I’m not certain I can explain how I made this, so I’ll just list the ingredients and their sources. I’ve come to find that with a frittata, the thing is pretty much about the moment, and the ingredients that are more or less already within arm’s reach. The outcome is never a total disappointment, and sometimes it’s sublime.

I will say however that the texture of this version was really great:  Very light and actually juicy, it was more like a soufflé than any frittata I’ve put together before. I’m pretty certain the most of the magic was done by that one third of a cup of water into the bowl with the eggs before I whipped them, something I don’t remember doing before with a frittata, but which I had always done when I made omelets.  But there was also the juice from the tomatoes.

• There were 6 eggs from Millport Dairy (I now think I should have made it 8), half of a bunch of early ramps from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, more than a handful of halved Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, a bit of arugula from Alewife Farm, some upland cress from Stokes Farm, water, a bit ofdried Itria-Sirissi chili (peperoncino di Sardegna intero) from Buon Italia, salt, pepper, some grated ‘Parmigiano Reggiano Bonat 3’ from Buon Italia, and a sprinkling of lovage from Windfall Farms
• there were also slices of pane di comune from Sullivan Street Bakery 
• a small cheese course which included ‘Danby’ goat cheese and ‘Pawlet’ cow cheese from Consider Bardwell Farm, accompanied by very thin slices of the same bread, toasted
• the wine was a French (Beaujolais) red, Domaine de Fa En Besset Beaujolais 2014
• the music was by Reinhard Kreiser, the opera, ‘Croesus”, performed by René Jacobs conducting the Academy for Ancient Music Berlin, the Berlin RIAS Chamber Chorus, the Hanover Boys’ Choir, Dorothea Röschmann, Roman Trekel, Johannes Mannov, Werner Güra, Klaus Häger, Markus Schäfer, Salome Haller, Kwangchul Youn, Graham Pushee,
  Brigitte Eisenfeld, Kurt Azesberger, Jörg Gottschick, and Johanna Stojkovic

The antipasto included the lamb that remained from an earlier meal, now at room temperature, more mellow and sweet than when it had just been cooked and still warm (for what it is worth, the little roast was too small to allow me to make neat thin slices, so it looks rather chopped up here).

• lamb, from a roast prepared the previous Sunday, here served at room temperature, sliced as thinly as I could manage, leaning on a simple salad of romaine lettuce from Shushan Hydroponic and small arugula leaves from Alewife Farm, the greens dressed with a good Umbrian olive oil, Luciana Cerbini Casa Gola from Buon Italia (which was also drizzled over the lamb), a white balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper, accompanied by slices of pane di comune from Sullivan Street Bakery

 

The primi was not followed by a secundi, but on its own it was certainly up to the challenge presented by the salad which preceded it.  It was a pretty sturdy chestnut pasta which was sauced with mushrooms and, in an homage to the lamb in the salad, a bit of the intense gravy that had been produced by its preparation earlier in the week.

• eight ounces of Sfoglini chestnut fusilli (organic semolina flour, chestnut flour, water) cooked until al dente, served with a mushroom sauce composed of chopped golden oyster mushrooms from Blue Oyster Cultivation, cooked until soft in a large tin-lined heavy copper pan with a little bit of rich ‘Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter‘, minced ’Picasso’ (very strong) shallots from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm and minced garlic from John D. Madura Farm and some chopped thyme from Stokes Farm added to the mushrooms and cooked until fragrant and soft, at which time another tablespoon or two of butter was added, and, once melted, a tablespoon of coarse stone-ground flour introduced and stirred to make something of a paste, before a third of a cup of white wine slowly poured into the pan while being slowly stirred with a rubber whisk, cooked until the mix thickens, chopped parsley from Eataly and chopped lovage from Windfall Farms stirred in, before adding a little more than a tablespoon of concentrated genuinely-spicy self-sauce (gravy) rendered from a lamb roast cooked days before, the whole mix seasoned with salt and pepper before the cooked pasta was turned into the pan and mixed with the sauce, the completed dish served in 2 bowls, with grated ‘Parmigiano Reggiano Bonat 3’ from Buon Italia sprinkled over the top, before adding some micro fennel greens from Alewife Farm

(fennel micro greens, the final touch)

 

• the wine for both courses was an Oregon (Willamette Valley) red, Spindrift Cellars Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2013
• the music was Agostino Steffani’s ‘Niobe Regina Di Tebe’, in a performance by the Balthasar-Neumann Ensemble, conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock

This dish has appeared here a number of times already.  Although we both like it very much as it is, this time I tried to introduce a new element. It didn’t really work.

• seven 2 to 3-ounce mackerel fillets from Pura Vida Seafood, washed, dried, brushed with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, pan grilled over high heat for 6 or 7 minutes, turning once, removed and completed with a salsa consisting of halved Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods tossed with olive oil, wild brined capers which had been rinsed and drained, juice from a strange large, heavily-seeded lemon grown by Fantastic Gardens of Long Island, salt, and pepper, sprinkled with ‘micro fennel’ (sprouts) from Alewife Farm. [in fact, I think the subtlety of the cut fennel sprouts was somewhat lost in the intensity of this strong-flavored fish]
• about a quarter of a pound of turnip greens from Alewife Farm, wilted in olive oil along with two garlic cloves from Whole Foods which had been lightly-browned in the oil just before
• the wine was a Spanish (Rioja) white, Monopole Cune white Rioja wine 2014
• the music was chamber works by Aulis Sallinen, on this album, those which had not been heard the night before, again performed by the Sinfonia Finlandia, and the Jyväskylä Sinfonia Wind Quintet

I already had all the extras, but I needed the lead; I found it on Wednesday where John Stoltzfoos oversees his family’s farm stand in the Union Square Greenmarket: It was a 13-ounce grass-fed beef steak, and it was everything I had expected.

• one New York strip steak (13 ounces), entirely grass fed, from Millport Dairy in the Union Square Greenmarket,  brought to room temperature, dried with paper towels, scattered with a little sea salt, pan-grilled for about 4 minutes on each side, a little more salt and freshly-ground telicherry pepper added to both sides after each had been seared/cooked, removed to 2 warm plates, drizzled with a little juice from a tiny local lemon-lime from Fantastic Gardens of Long Island, sprinkled with chopped rosemary from Stokes Farm, and a little olive oil
• upland cress from Stokes Farm, washed, trimmed of its roots, arranged on the two plates just before the steaks were placed at or on the edge of the greens, dressed with good olive oil, salt, and papper
• eight sweet Red Norland potatoes from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, scrubbed, boiled, unpeeled, until tender, drained and returned to the warm pan, then halved, tossed  with rich ‘Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter‘, salt, pepper, chopped wild garlic from Lani’s Farm, chopped parsley from Eataly, and, at the very end, a handful of sorrel from Windfall Farms
• the wine was a Spanish (Rioja) red, Viña Real, Crianza Rioja 2011
• the music was Aulis Sallinen’s Chamber Music Nos. 1-3, with the Sinfonia Finlandia, and the Jyväskylä Sinfonia Wind Quintet