The duck and its preparation was very familiar (except for a little fillip at the end), but this time it seemed juicier than ever. It may have been the fact that I sautéed it in a new tin-lined copper skillet this time instead of the enameled cast iron pan I have always used before (although I really love that older pan), or the fact that I cooked it a little more slowly than I normally do.

The nutty ozette potatoes are always a treat, especially roasted.

The green vegetable however was entirely new to me. I’m pretty open almost any new greens by this time in the year, and the flowering Pak Choi I saw in the Greenmarket on Friday looked pretty spectacular.

• one 14-ounce duck breast from Hudson Valley Duck Farm, its fatty side scored by a very sharp knife with regular cross-hatching, sprinkled with a mixture of salt, crushed telicherry peppercorns, and a bit of turbinado sugar (which had been infused over time with a vanilla bean), the breast left standing for about an hour before it was pan-fried over medium heat with a very small amount of olive oil, removed when medium rare (cutting it into the two serving portions at that time to be certain of its state) finished with a squeeze of organic lemon, a small amount of tomato butter (improvised from elements prepared for an earlier entrée), and chopped lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• ozette potatoes from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, halved lengthwise, tossed with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary leaves from Stokes Farm, roasted at 450º for about 20-25 minutes, tossed in the pan, as soon as they emerged from the oven, with thinly-sliced spring garlic from Bodhitree Farm, finished with a sprinkling of micro beets from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• flowering pak choi from Alewife Farm, washed, drained, and braised very lightly in a heavy pot in which four tiny garlic cloves from Trader Joe’s had been allowed to sweat over low heat in some olive oil, the dish finished with a bit of crushed Itria-Sirissi chilies (peperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia), sea salt, a squeeze of organic lemon, and a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a California (Mendocino) Zinfandel, Paul Dolan Zinfandel Mendocino County 2013
• the music was the last hours of ‘Symphomania‘, a 24-hour marathon of 21st-century symphonic music curated by Will Robin, and presented on Q2 Music