both German, and not so German

 

The smoked pork chops were German, but the sauce was not so much; the red cabbage was German, but the simple recipe was less so (at least in my own experience); the plain cress could have been German, but then it would have been Salat, and probably accompanied by a little fresh tomato; the applesauce actually was pretty German, but if it really were German, there would have been much more of it.

 

• a small amount of real lard (which had earlier been used in cooking veal chops and duck breast, in succession, strained, then frozen) heated inside an oval, low-sided enameled cast iron pan, two sliced small, scallion-size leeks, white portions only, the green reserved, from Lucky Dog Organic Farm (they were still growing in the open air in December!) swirled around in it, two smoked loin pork chops from Millport Dairy added, the pan covered with tin foil and kept above a very low flame (just enough to warm the chops through, as they were already fully-cooked), turning the meat once, then, near the end of the cooking time, the leek green parts set aside earlier, now also sliced, added, the pork removed, plated, brushed with garlic oregano jelly from Berkshire Berries, then covered with both the leek sections
• a little more lard, using the same source as in the above description of cooking the smoked park chops, heated to medium-high heat in an enameled cast iron pan, two very small red cabbages from Tamarack Hollow Farm, finely-sliced, and one medium roughly-chopped shallot from John D. Madura Farm added and cooked, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage had softened slightly (about 10 minutes), water added throughout, as necessary, after which some salt was added and a little lemon juice, local apple cider vinegar from Face Farm, and a sprinkling of freshly-ground black pepper, the heat then reduced and the mixture cooked 5 or 10 minutes more, or until the cabbage was wilted and the shallots softened, and when done, a few tablespoons of raisins and some red current jelly added and stirred into the pan
• red watercress from Max Fish Hatchery, washed and drain-dried, but undressed
• a very small amount of applesauce left over from an earlier meal
• the wine was an Austrian (Wachau) white, Winzer Krems Grüner Veltliner Kremser Sandgrube 2014 [and this is Winzer Krems, in all of its miscellany*]
• the music was chamber music of Roberto Gerhard

 

* A video work, ‘Hands on Tables‘, by Brazilian artist Georgia Creimer is in permanent installation at the winery