spaghetti (or substitute linguine or another long pasta, not too thin) with tuna sauce (canned San Marzano tomatoes, chopped onion, red chili flakes, capers, good olive-oil-packed tuna, and parsley) from a recipe of Mark Bittman
grilled swordfish steak, from Whole Foods (as were the vegetables), prepared Sicilian Salmoriglio style (slice one steak into two 1/2 inch thick pieces, grill each on ridged, cast iron pan 2 minutes on the first side, 1 1/2 minutes on the other, then remove from the pan and prick several times with a fork, covering surface of steaks with a mixture of salt, scant one tbs lemon, and pepper, which has been emulsified with scant 2 tbs oil); grilled spring/bulb onions (divide into quarters, brush with oil and season with salt and pepper, grill each side on a ridged, cast iron pan, remove and add balsamic vinegar or lemon and, optionally, chopped parsley); crispy red potato chips prepared in the oven (unpeeled, sliced very thin, mixed with oil, salt and pepper, chopped fresh rosemary, spread in one layer on two unglazed stoneware trays, put into a 450-500 degree oven for fifteen minutes, turning once)
wine: Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2008 from Marlborough (New Zealand)
appetizer of thin-sliced prosciutto di parma (Citarella), with thin grissini; a simple salad of dandelion leaves dressed with lemon and oil on the side
large scallops (Blue Moon Fish in the Union Square Greenmarket, but fisherman Alex Villani docks his boat at Mattituck Inlet on eastern Long Island), lightly floured and browned in butter, the pan deglazed with lemon and a bit of white wine, then seasoned and finely-chopped parsley added; served with quickly-boiled thin asparagus spears, topped with oil and lemon; all accompanied with Italian bread from the Union Square Greenmarket
wine: 2007 Corvo (Sicily) Insolia in from Philippe Wine in Chelsea
Boudin Noir, or blood sausage (Murray’s Cheese, Grand Central Market) pan-grilled, finished with “sweated” shallots and chopped parsley; accompanied by Granny Smith apples cut into eighths, browned, then finished in the oven; and served with potato “chips” (thin slices of Russet Burbank, seasoned with rosemary, salt and pepper, then baked in a very hot oven)
cheese course: Garrotxa (goat) and Petite Basque (sheep), served with lightly-oiled and salted frisée and thin, toasted slices of Balthazar Bakery Multi-grain boule
wine: 2006 Domaine des Causses Lirac Reserve (red Côtes du Rhône), purchased at Landmark in Chelsea
ham steak (from Flying Pigs Farm, at the Union Square Greenmarket) with walnut butter, breadcrumbs, and parsley (adapted from Mimi Sheraton’s The German Cookbook), served with oven fries seasoned with ground coriander (the simple recipe is from Bon Appetit) using Red Adirondack potatoes, also from Union Square Greenmarket
cheese course: two Spanish cheeses, Valdeón (blue) from León, and Garrotxa from Catalonia, plus a bit of Bucheron (French, Loire), served with “Organic Seeduction” (6 seeds or grains) bread from Whole Foods
wine: Messmer Spätburgunder 2007 (German Pinot Noir from the Pfalz), purchased at Uva in Williamsburg