Because we had originally expected to be otherwise engaged for the evening, the plan was to improvise a simple pasta, but then the reason for doing so disappeared. At 7 o’clock it was still early enough to defrost something that would encourage me to do something with some vegetables I had that were still at their peak, so I pulled 4 lamb chops out of a packed freezer. Inside a large bowl, and after several changes of cold water, within about an hour and a half they were defrosted and ready for the grill pan.

While going through my photo stream, I just realized that both the fennel bulb and the fava greens had been the very last of their kind on the tables of their respective farmers’ stalls.

• four loin lamb chops (18 ounces total) from Shannon Brook Farm in the New York Finger Lakes, brought to room temperature, dried thoroughly, cooked on a very hot enameled cast iron grill pan for a total of 10 or 12 minutes, turning them over twice, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper after the first time, finished with a squeeze of juice from an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market, scattered with some chopped rosemary from S. & S.O. Farm and chopped lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge, finished with a squeeze of an organic Whole Foods Market lemon and and a drizzle of olive oil
• one medium-size, very ripe ‘Expresso heirloom’ tomato from Cherry Lane Farm, halved, dried with a paper towel, placed on the grill pan as the chops were finishing, turned once, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, arranged on the plates next to the chops and drizzled with a drop of olive oil
• one bunch of fava bean greens from Gorzynski Ornery Farm, tossed, after lots and lots of washing and trimming and draining (but worth it for the taste, and I had the time), in a tablespoon of olive oil inside a large seasoned cast iron pan over high heat, once the oil had become hot, stirred until they had quickly wilted, arranged on the plates, sprinkled with sea salt, then garnished with a bit of purple micro radish, from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• one medium fennel bulb from Stokes Farm, prepared mostly as described in this Epicurious recipe, that is, washed, trimmed, sliced into 8 vertical wedges (I followed that up with toothpicks to secure the layers), tossed, along with one-inch segments of the larger stem pieces, inside a bowl with a tablespoon of olive oil, one slightly-crushed Rocambole garlic clove from Keith”s Farm, a bit of chopped thyme, also from Stokes Farm, a crushed small piece of orange/gold dried habanada pepper, a bit less of a crumbled dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia; sea salt; freshly-ground black pepper, spread onto a medium unglazed Pampered Chef oven pan and roasted at 425º for 35 minutes, turning the fennel once, a dozen pitted Gaeta olives tossed on top, the fennel turned upright and returned to the oven for 8 or so minutes more, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, arranged on the plates, some of the chopped fennel fronds sprinkled on top, and the toothpicks removed [this dish can be served at room temperature, which can make it very convenient, particularly if the main actor requires a lot of attention]
• the wine was a California (Lodi) red, Karen Birmingham Zinfandel Lodi 2015, from Naked Wines
• the music was Bohislav Martinü’s Symphony No. 3, Cornelius Meister conducting the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra

It was breakfast much as usual, but with fewer accoutrements today. We were hoping to get to Bushwick before sunset, so I was thinking that less would give us more [time in Brooklyn], so I skipped the alliums and tomatoes this time.

• the ingredients that did appear on our plates were half a dozen eggs from 2 local suppliers, 4 from Norwich Meadows Farm and 2 pullet eggs from Shannon Brook Farm; bacon from Millport Dairy Farm; toast from a loaf of Bread Alone’s 12 grain & seed (organic wheat and whole wheat flours); crumbled dried orange/gold habanada pepper: a bit less crumbled dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia; sea salt; freshly-ground black pepper; chopped lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge; a pinch of fenugreek from Nirmala Gupta’s ‘Bombay Emerald Chutney Company‘ at Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street; and purple micro radish, also from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the music was probably our first nod to the season this year (I resisted just a little, since my December birthday was still to come, but then I retreated), Bach’s Christmas Oratorio,  Philippe Herreweghe conducting soloists Michael Chance, Barbara Schlick, Howard Crook, Peter Kooy and the Collegium Vocale

I’ve often put together meals similar to and almost identical to this one, but we never tire of this combination. In fact it’s one of our all-time favorites, and not at all difficult, even the first time out.

This time it was particularly good.

Dave’s potatoes (Max Creek Hatchery) were an important part, and Migliorelli’s December collards were so sweet.

• * one 15-ounce cod fillet from Seatuck Fish Company in the Union Square greenmarket, halved, prepared more or less from a recipe from Mark Bittman which I had originally come across 12 years ago: the cod washed and rinsed, placed in a platter on a bed of coarse sea salt, with more salt added on top until the pieces were completely covered, then set aside while a bed of potatoes was prepared for them by slicing 12 ounces of German butterballs from Max Creek Hatchery to a thickness of less than 1/4 inch, tossing the potatoes in a large bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a large pinch of orange/gold home-dried Habanada pepper [acquired in the fall of 2016 from Norwich Meadows Farm], arranging the potatoes, overlapping, in a rectangular enameled cast iron oven pan, cooking them for 25 minutes or so in a 400º oven, or until they were tender when pierced, then, before the potatoes had fully cooked, the cod was thoroughly immersed in many changes of water, to bring down the saltiness (incidentally, the soaking process somehow gives the fish more solidity, which can be easily felt while it’s being handled it at this point), draining and drying the two pieces before placing them inside the pan on top of the potatoes, drizzling them with a little olive oil and scattering some freshly-ground pepper on top, returning the pan to the oven for 8 to 12 minutes (the exact time depends on the thickness of their), removing the fish with a spatula (or, much better, two spatulas), along with as much of the potatoes as can be brought with each piece, and arranging everything, intact if possible, onto 2 plates, returning to the pan for the remainder of the potatoes, the servings each scattered with chopped parsley from Norwich Meadows Farm and garnished with purple micro radish from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• * one good-size bunch of collard greens from Migliorelli Farm, stripped of their stems, torn into small sections, washed several times and drained, transferred to a smaller bowl very quickly, in order to retain as much of the water clinging to them as possible, then braised until barely softened inside a heavy enameled cast iron pot in which 2 Rocambole garlic cloves from Keith’s Farm had first been allowed to sweat in some olive oil, finished with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, a little crushed dried Sicilian pepperoncino from Buon Italia, and a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a California (Lodi) white, David Akiyoshi Chardonnay Lodi 2016, from Naked Wines 
• the music was Bohuslav Martinü’s Symphony No. 2 (Cornelius Meister conducting the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra in a fantastic performance), composed during World War II (1943), on a commission from the Czech community in Cleveland. It was premiered by the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Erich Leinsdorf on October 28 that year, which marked the 25th anniversary of the foundation of Czechoslovakia, then downgraded to a Czech protectorate and Slovak puppet state under German occupation.

 

This dish was a snap to put together, but it tasted as luscious as it looks.

 

• fresh spinach and ricotta-filled Agnolotti, or demi-lunes from Luca Donofrio‘s fresh pasta shop inside Eataly’s Flatiron location, served with a sauce that began with heating, until it became fragrant, one halved Rocambole garlic clove from Keith’s Farm with a tablespoon or so of olive oil inside a heavy, high-sided tin-lined copper pot, adding 3 tiny scallions from Willow Wisp Farm, chopped, heating them until softened, then stirring in 5 ripe Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods Market, halved, the mix seasoned with sea salt and Freshly-ground black pepper, sprinkled with homemade breadcrumbs, which had first been browned in a little olive oil with a pinch of sea salt, ending up arranged in shallow bowls, garnished with a little purple radish from Two Guys from Woodbridge, and drizzled around the edges with a bit more olive oil

There was a first course, and it was even simpler to put together than the ‘primi‘.

• a few pounces of La Quercia Ridgetop Speck, drizzled with a small amount olive oil
• a bit of ‘wild cress’ from Lani’s Farm, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, drizzled with a very small amount of olive oil and an and even smaller portion of juice from a Whole Foods Market organic lemon
• slices from a loaf of Eataly’s wonderful, crusty ‘Mediterraneo’ (whole rye flour, stone-milled wheat flour, 5 seeds, some millet and farro)

 

• the wine throughout was a California (Central Coast) rosé, Keith Hock Central Coast Rosé 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was Nicolo Porpora’s 1737 opera, ‘Il Gedeone’,  Martin Haselböck conducting the Vienna Academy and the Nova Vocal Ensemble, with Kai Wessel (Countertenor), Ulf Bästlein (Bass), Linda Perillo (Soprano), Henning Voss (Countertenor), Jörg Waschinski (Soprano), and Johannes Chum (Tenor)

(from the oven, skin partially pulled back to accept some grated horseradish)

 

I don’t know why I haven’t prepared fresh trout in such a long time, unless I was just waiting to teach myself how to butterfly them, in order to solve the potential bone problem (I haven’t learned yet). M any cooks disdain trout unless it is caught wild, and probably for a good reason an indifferent product, with little taste. I don’t have that excuse however: We have access to a wonderful source in Dave Harris, who owns Max Creek Hatchery in East Meredith, way upstate, near Oneonta, and he basically pulls into our backyard once a week (well, into the Union Square Greenmarket, which I do consider our greater backyard).

We began the meal with a small crudité, served on the kitchen counter by the breadbox.

 

• a few French small French breakfast radishes from Eckerton Hill Farm, scrubbed and trimmed, but with a portion of stem left on [almost] all of them, to make it easier for dipping into a small dish of Maldon salt

 

This is what the trout looked like just before they went into the oven, with eyes shining and rainbows still glowing.

• two very, very fresh whole rainbow trout from Max Creek Hatchery, gutted and cleaned, placed inside an oiled tin-lined copper au gratin pan, seasoned inside and out with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, the cavities stuffed with sprigs of herbs (thyme from Stokes Farm and parsley from Norwich Meadows Farm) and lined with thin slices of one organic Whole Foods Market lemon, then drizzled with a little more olive oil, and roasted for about for 15 or 20 mins, or until the fish is cooked through (the eyes turn white and the flesh becomes soft to the touch), removed from the oven, the skin on the top side of each pulled back and fresh horseradish root from Gorzynski Ornery Farm grated on top before serving, with additional horseradish placed on the table
• the greens from 2 bunches of French Breakfast radishes (a few of which we had just nibbled on) which had been removed from their roots, to better preserve both roots and leaves, the moment they had arrived from the Greenmarket this week, barely wilted inside a medium-size heavy, high-sided tin-lined copper pan in a little olive oil in which one bruised and halved Rocambole garlic clove from Keith’s Farm had first been allowed to sweat and just begin to color, the greens seasoned with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, a very small part of one crushed dried dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, arranged on the plates with a little more olive oil drizzled on top
• tiny ‘Red Gold’ potatoes from Keith’s Farm, scrubbed, skins left on, boiled inside a large vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot with a generous amount of salt until barely cooked through, drained, dried in the same container while it and they were still-warm, tossed with a tablespoon or so of olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and chopped lovage from Keith’s Farm

 

• the wine throughout the meal was a German (Rheinhessen) sparkling white, Fritz Müller Perlwein
• the music was the album, ‘El Maestro Farinelli’, instrumental and vocal music associated with Farinelli, including compositions by Nicola Conforto, José Nebra, Nicolo Porpora, Johann Adolf Hasse, Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, Francesco Corradini, Juan Marcolini, Niccolò Jommelli, and Tommaso Traetta,  with Countertenor Bejun Mehta, and Pablo Heras-Casado conducting the Concerto Cologne

As usual here, all of the main actors ( and most of the supporting cast) were  local, but by mid-December some of them are more difficult to assemble. The scallops don’t really have a season, but the tomatoes would clearly have not been able to make it without the help of some creative farming practices, and the very-late-season spinach was likely to have had a lot of help getting onto our table

 

• eighteen medium scallops (12 ounces) from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, washed, drained and very thoroughly dried on paper towels (twice), generously seasoned with salt and pepper, pan grilled for about 90 seconds on each side, finished with a squeeze of organic lemon from Whole Foods Market and one piece of crushed orange/gold dried habanada pepper [although I should have added it before they were grilled], chopped lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge, drizzled with some good olive oil
• three medium-size ‘Expresso heirloom’ tomatoes from Cherry Lane Farm, washed, dried, halved, heated in a little olive oil inside a 19th-century enameled cast iron porringer, in which the chopped white section of one tiny leek from Willow Wisp Farm had first been sautéed until tender, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper and sprinkled with chopped thyme leaves from Stokes Farm
• red-vein spinach (”Red Kitten’) from Alewife Farm, washed in several changes of water, drained, very gently wilted (that is, not reduced too far) inside a large, very heavy, high-sided tin-lined copper pot in a little olive oil in which 2 large cloves of Rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm, quartered, had first been allowed to sweat, seasoned with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, a little dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, drizzled with a little organic lemon and a bit more of the olive oil
• the wine was a California (Sonoma) white, Scott Peterson Rumpus California Sauvignon Blanc 2016
• the music was Handel’s gorgeous 1747 opera, ‘Arminio’, George Petrou directing the ensemble Armonia Atenea, with Xavier Sabata (Countertenor), Max Emanuel Cencic (Countertenor), Ruxandra Donose (Mezzo Soprano), Layla Claire (Soprano), Vince Yi (Countertenor), Juan Sancho (Tenor), and Petros Magoulas (Bass); count them: 3 countertenors, 3!

It’s now winter, but we still have local color on our table.

It seems especially right in the winter, but we enjoy duck at home often, usually duck breast, and all year round: It’s simple to prepare; it comes from a local farmer; the price is modest; it freezes well, and so it’s almost always in the larder; we love game, and it’s taste is the closet thing we can get to it in this country, unless the cook hunts, or has a friend who does; but, above all, it’s really, really delicious.

• * one 13-ounce duck breast from Hudson Valley Duck Farm, the fatty side scored in tight cross hatching with a very sharp knife, the entire breast then sprinkled top and bottom with a mixture of sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a little turbinado sugar, left standing for almost an hour, then seared/pan-fried inside a small oval enameled cast iron pan over medium heat, the fatty side down first, for a total of 10 minutes or so, turning once, draining the oil after the first few minutes [to be strained and used in cooking later, if desired], removed when medium rare, cutting it into 2 portions to confirm that the center was of the right doneness, then left to sit for a couple minutes before being finished with a drizzle of juice from an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market, a little chopped rosemary from S. & S.O. Farm, and a drizzle of olive oil [NOTE: the tenderloin, removed from the breast, but placed in the marinade with it, was fried very briefly near the end of the period during which the rest of the breast was cooking]
• * eight medium-size chioggia beets from Campo Rosso Farm, trimmed and scrubbed, placed on a small unglazed Pampered Chef oven pan, tossed with a tablespoon or so of olive oil, one halved clove of Rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm, the leaves from several branches of thyme from Stokes Farm, chopped, sea salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste, covered loosely with foil and baked for 20 minutes or so, when the foil was removed and the beets turned, roasted for 25 or 30 minutes longer, or until tender, removed from the oven and halved vertically, arranged on 2 plates on and around some upland cress from Paffenroth Gardens (whose quality had held up totally undiminished for almost 2 weeks!), both drizzled with a little olive oil and drops of a good Spanish Rioja vinegar, and finished with some horseradish root from Gorzynski Ornery Farm freshly grated on top [the recipe mostly follows one inside the book, ‘Italian Easy’; Recipes from the London River Cafe‘]
• the wine was a California (Napa Valley) red, Camille Benitah Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2015, from Naked Wines 
• the music was the album, ‘The Works of William Mayer‘, played as a memorial to the composer who died less than one month ago.

It is a fine fish, and this recipe is very fine; also, together, fish and recipe can offer some interesting variations, including many more than I have essayed, although I have to admit that this one has become almost a standard for me.

• one 15-ounce pollock fillet from Pura Vida Seafood, rinsed, dried, halved, and seasoned on both sides with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, placed skin side down inside a buttered an oval tin-lined copper gratin pan, spread with a mixture of softened unsalted Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ mixed with zest from most of an organic Whole Foods Market lemon, slices of one tiny leek from Willow Wisp Farm, and part of a piece of crushed orange/gold home-dried Habanada pepper from Norwich Meadows Farm (harvested fresh in the early fall of 2016), the fish baked for about 15 minutes at 350º, removed to 2 plates, the cooking juices poured over the top, and a teaspoon or so of Sicilian salted capers, which had first been rinsed, drained, dried and heated briefly inside a small pan in a bit of olive oil, scattered over the fillets, with the oil, the pollock finished with a garnish of micro kohlrabi from Windfall Farms
• four small Rose Valley potatoes from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, boiled with a generous amount of salt until barely cooked through, drained, halved, dried while still inside the medium-size still-warm vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot in which they had cooked, tossed with a tablespoon or so of our rich ‘house butter‘, sprinkled with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a small amount of chopped lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge, finished on the plates with sprinkled with ‘beet chips’ (thin slices, oven-dried) from Lani’s Farm
• one medium head of tardivo radicchio from Campo Rosso Farm, prepared pretty much according to this simple recipe, that is, washed under cold running water, the moisture shaken off, each head cut in half lengthwise, and a V-cut made most of the way through the root end to allow it to cook more rapidly, the halves arranged inside a small Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic oven pan cut side up, covered with thyme sprigs from Stokes Farm, seasoned generously with salt and pepper and drizzled with a tablespoon of olive oil, baked inside a 400º oven for about 12 minutes, turned over, baked for some 8 minutes more, turned a second time so the cut side is once again up, returned to the oven, this time for only a couple minutes or so, or until the stems were tender when pierced with a thin blunt metal pin (my all-purpose tester), removed from the oven, and in this case then kept somewhat warm until the pollock had been baked, since the temperature of the oven had to be reduced to 350º for its cooking [the tardivo can be served either hot or warm]
• the wine was a French (Loire) white, Pierre Riffault Le Bois Boutteux Sancerre 2016, the generous gift of some artist friends
• the music was the 1742 opera by Handel (and others), a pasticcio, ‘Catone’,  Carlo Ipata conducting the ensemble, Auser Musici 

I took the night off from the kitchen, and we ordered pizza, from one of several choice sources we alternate ordering from on such occasions. Tonight it was Waldy’s Wood Fired Pizza.

These luscious crispy pizzas, from Waldy Malouf, arrive as thin rectangular flatbread pies.

• their kitchen’s ‘Classic Margherita Pizza’, but with the addition of prosciutto and wild mushrooms, and some of the restaurant’s really excellent red pepper flakes sprinkled over the top
• the wine was a California (Central Coast) red, Rick Boyer Santa Barbara Pinot Noir 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was Bohuslav Martinů’s, ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Manfred Honeck, solists Lucy Crowe, Andrew Staples, Derek Welton, and Jan Martiník, plus Simon Callow, narrator, with the Prague Philharmonic Choir under the direction of Lukáš Vasilek

Stephanie Villani of Blue Moon Fish, the wife of the fisherman, Alex Villani, pointed me to the swordfish; I was immediately charmed by its appearance, even before she spoke of the merits of these particular steaks. Swordfish are classified as an oily fish, but they are also normally quite lean, which impacts its cooking and its tastiness. This one was unusually pink and fatty, both often very good things in seafood

They certainly were this time.

By the way, the rich variety of seafood shown on the board in the image below, taked of the inside the Villani’s fish stall may help explain why I feel like we live in the middle of the Atlantic, and why, with the help of some 5 other fishers, on other market days, we normally eat seafood 3 times a week – 4 if I make it there on Saturday too.

 

Last night’s meal (both courses) was remarkably good and at least slightly remarkable for its odd purpleness.

• * two very fresh, not particularly thick 8-ounce Long Island waters swordfish steaks from Blue Moon Fish, marinated for half an hour in a mixture of olive oil, one small chopped red shallot from  from Norwich Meadows Farm, chopped fresh peppermint from Phillips Farm, and a very small amount of crushed dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, the steaks drained well, coated on both sides with some homemade dried breadcrumbs, then pan-grilled in/on an enameled cast iron pan over medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes on each side, removed to 2 plates, seasoned with Maldon salt, some of the juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market squeezed on top, drizzled with a little olive oil, and sprinkled with micro kohlrabi from Windfall Farms (this, a brand-new product for them, is both delicious and a real beauty)

 

• three Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods Market, halved, briefly placed inside the grill pan just as the swordfish had finished, turning once, seasoned with Maldon salt and freshly-ground black pepper
• * two small-to-medium heads of purple broccoli from Hoeffner Farm, the florets separated (the upper stems sliced fairly thinly, mixed with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper, and served as an appetizer), tossed in a little olive oil, Sea salt, pepper, and one small crushed section of a dark dried habanada pepper, spread onto a large ceramic oven pan, roasted at 400º for about 20 minutes, near the end of that time joined by the more tender broccoli leaves that had been mixed with tiny bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper, the florets and the now slightly-crispy leaves arranged on the plates and drizzled with very small amounts of little lemon juice and olive oil

 

There was a small cheese course, and it too had a purple element.

• a bit of Portuguese ‘Cardus Casa Lusa‘ goat milk cheese, with a thistle rennet, from Eataly
• a few small ‘beet chips’ (thin slices of red beets, oven-dried) from Lani’s Farm
• slices of a sourdough bâtard from She Wolf Bakery

 

• the wine throughout the meal was an Italian (Langhe) white, Langhe Bianco “Rabel”, Cagliero 2013, from Astor Wines
• the music throughout was Handel’s 1740 London opera, ‘Imeneo’, Fabio Biondi conducting Europa Galante