Month: December 2016

  • skate wing, alliums, lemon, tarragon, parsley; winter kale

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    It’s a familiar site on our table, sometimes with slight variations, but we never tire of this skate recipe, or of kale in any form (we eat both because we really like them, and not to be virtuous). Barry said it was the best skate yet. The kale was, well,..kale, which is damn good indeed.  …

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  • spaccatelli, leek, habanada, radicchio, lemon, Castelmagno

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    For whatever reason, I was in a hurry and this dish was almost thrown together. It only worked out well because, since I cook almost every night, there are always some useful makings around, fresh or otherwise. one very small leek from Norwich Meadows Farm, softened in a tablespoon or so of olive oil inside a large enameled…

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  • baked cod and potato, habanada, micro scallion; cabbage

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    Fish and potatoes, also dried habanada, and micro scallions. There was also the 3 mini cabbage, with some Italian stuff, but I think this entrée was still nothing like anyone’s mother used to make. two 8-ounce cod fillets from American Seafood at the Union Square Greenmarket (mostly using a recipe from Mark Bittman I first came across almost 12 years ago),…

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  • duck, lemon, thyme; roasted roots, rosemary, micro radish

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    On the third day of Christmas, our true loves sent to us a, er, ..a single duck breast. one duck breast (12 ounces) from Hudson Valley Duck, the fatty side scored in tight cross hatching with a very sharp knife, the entire breast then sprinkled with a mixture of sea salt, freshly-ground pepper, and a little turbinado sugar (the sugar in our bowl…

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  • smoked bresaola, mizuna; truffle-filled pasta, castelmagno

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    Quite local.   December 26 is second Christmas, and a legal holiday, in most European countries, but not in the U.S. (Americans don’t believe in official days off). At our house it’s at least an excuse for another good meal, even if we don’t need excuses. Also, I, at least, have every day off. It makes…

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  • venison, brandy sauce; quince chutney; parsnips; collards

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    I could easily get used to this.   Venison has always been one of my favorite entrées, but I’m becoming more and more comfortable with preparing it at home, and I’m really enjoying the process of selecting it from some of my favorite butchers. This time I picked a fresh venison ‘shortloin’ from Frank (the game specialist brother)…

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  • fried eggs with pea shoots, tomato, buckwheat toast

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    I had thought it had to be a somewhat abbreviated breakfast/lunch thing yesterday, because of the holiday, or more specifically, our holiday schedule: The idea was to serve the main meal of the day much earlier than we did, and I had also not yet decided how I would prepare the featured venison – or what I…

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  • speck, mizuna, sarrasin; malloreddus, butter, sage, shiitake

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    It was the eve of Christmas, or just plain December 24th. We’d had our fish the night before (well, it was a Friday in Christendom), so I opted for a vegetarian pasta dish, but I introduced it with a few ounces of meat. La Quercia Speck Americano, described as ‘applewood-smoked prosciuto’ (3 ounces), from Whole…

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  • marinated, sautéed John Dory, pea shoots; tomatoes, leek

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    It’s only one fish, not 7 [as in Festa dei sette pesci], but then it wasn’t actually Christmas Eve, and it also wasn’t particularly Italian, but it was a small feast. The basic recipe, with only slight alterations, and without the salad and croutons, is from this site. I had intended to begin cooking the fillets with their…

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  • classic cacio e pepe, mixed with bigoli this time

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    There are few dishes simpler to put together than this one, and almost none which would be as satisfying – regardless of how hungry a diner might be. Last night I didn’t have a thin pasta like bavette, a linguine fini, or even a penne, each of which I believe I have sometimes used over the years, so I…

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