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

I had no idea what I was going to make for dinner, other than that it would be a pasta, until I looked at the inventory of vegetables and other stuff I keep on line on my Evernote application. I proceeded to write out a number of possibilities on a sheet of scrap paper, then circled some and drew a few diagonal lines between them, and this is what I turned up.

It began with a bag of Melothria.

Also unplanned was being able to incorporate the contents of a half-empty box of rigatoni that our Berlin apartment exchange friends had left us in one of our cupboards.

• a simple sauced pasta which began with a couple tablespoons of olive oil inside a high-sided tin-lined copper pot gently heating roughly half a pound of halved ‘Mexican gherkins’ (not actually cucumbers, but ‘Melothria scabra‘) along with the last fresh habanada pepper of the season, sliced, after which 8 ounces of al dente-boiled De Cecco Rigatoni no. 24 were mixed in, including, oddly, a few ounces of an unlabelled  spaghetti I had also found in that pasta box (I figured it would make the dish look even more interesting), and about half a cup of reserved pasta cooking water added and stirred in the pot until the liquid had emulsified, a bit of juice from a Whole Foods organic lemon squeezed over the pasta, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground pepper, part of a heap of micro scallions tossed and stirred into the mix, which was then placed in 2 shallow bowls, topped with a pinch of fenugreek, garnished with the remainder of the micro scallions and drizzled with a little olive oil
• the wine was an Italian (Sardinia) white, La Cala Vermentino di Sardegna 2015
• the music was an album of Luigi Nono Orchestral Works and Chamber Music

How about 2 herring servings for $6 and change? Sure, they had to be prepared at home, but that part was no charge, and a lot of fun (not to mention the bonus of its ensuring we could enjoy the style and comfort of a venue we’d created ourselves).

Herring is, by the way, one of the healthiest protein sources around, and one of the most delicious if cooked sensitively, that is, with some form of acid to complement the dark flesh of the fish.

“One of the great underappreciated dark-fleshed fish..” – Mark Bittman

Barry and I are  very lucky to live in a part of the world where there are an extraordinary number of varieties of seafood in local waters, where most are judged plentiful enough to be harvested by smaller operators, where those fishers want to make them available fresh for retail purchase by ordinary people in a central public market within a short but healthy walking distance, and where I enjoy the time needed to seek them out and prepare them using the best of my skills and some good kitchen tools.

On Monday afternoon, to top it off, I was able to bring home the noble herring praised in the Bittman text above. I thought I had hit the jackpot. The quote, from his book, ‘Fish: The Complete Guide to Buying and Cooking‘, continues, mentioning that herring is rarely available fresh in the US: “If you are lucky enough to find some, cook it using any mackerel or sardine recipe.”

Even more splendid: My own suppliers had gone through the trouble of filleting these wonderful small fish. making them even more convenient to prepare at home.

Last night I was inspired by this BBC ‘good food’ recipe I found on line that same evening, adjusting it to my kitchen and the ingredients I had on hand. It was one I hadn’t tried before, and I decided on it last night because, after several recent dinners which had included fish fillets and cherry tomatoes, I didn’t want have one in which that fairly obvious ingredient was going to be featured once again.

• * nine small herring fillets (a total of 12 ounces) from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, rinsed under running cold water, drained, dried, brushed with a little olive oil and seasoned lightly with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, arranged on a double cast iron grill pan which had gotten very hot over 2 high burner flames, grilled, skin side down, for l to 2 minutes, turned over and cooked for 1 to 2 minutes more, drizzled with a little olive oil, arranged on 2 plates and served with a sauce which had just been mixed in a small bowl, of mustard (half whole-grain Maille ‘Old Style’ whole grain Dijon, and half Domaines des Vignes ‘extra forte‘ Dijon), the chopped leaves removed from a large bunch of thyme branches from S. & S.O. Farm, a teaspoon of Linden honey from Tremblay Apiaries in the Union Square Greenmarket), the zest and juice from one Whole Foods Market organic lemon, and a bit of olive oil
• upland cress from Paffenroth Gardens, dressed with olive oil, Maldon Salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and juice from an organic Whole Foods Market lemon

 

• three medium-size unpeeled Red Norland potatoes from Berried Treasures farm, boiled with a generous amount of salt until barely cooked through, drained, halved, dried while still inside the large still-warm vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot in which they had cooked, tossed with a tablespoon or so of olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a generous amount of lovage from Keith’s Farm
• the wine was a Spanish (Rias Baixas) white, Martin Codax Albarino 2016, from Philippe Liquors and Wines
• the music was Hector Berlioz’s 1846 légende dramatique, ‘La Damnation de Faust’, Myung-Whun Chung conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, with Anne Sofie von Otter, Bryn Terfel, Keith Lewis, Victor von Halem, with others

It was still a simple meal, even though there were two courses. Also, each could be assembled surprisingly quickly.

• four ounces of Applegate ‘Naturels’ prosciutto from Whole Foods Market, drizzled with a very good Sicilian olive oil, from from Agricento, Azienda Agricola Mandranova (exclusively Nocellara olives)
• served with upland cress from Paffenroth Gardens, dressed with the same oil, Maldon Salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and juice from an organic Whole Foods Market lemon
• slices of a flax seed ‘Armadillo’ from Bobolink Dairy

The primi was as far as we got in courses, although a secondo had never even been contemplated. This pasta had a lot of presence however, and was a bit of an innovation, since it was a beet fusilli, which doesn’t normally appear on Italian menus.

• eight ounces of cooked Sfoglini beet fusilli heated and stirred in a butter sage sauce composed of 3 tablespoons of Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ melted in a heavy, high-sided tin-lined copper sauté pan and heated with  a number of fresh sage leaves from from Phillips Farm and my penultimate habanada pepper of the year, from Norwich Meadows Farm, chopped, roughly half of a cup of the reserved pasta liquid added and stirred until the sauce had emulsified, 2 or 3 tablespoons of grated Parmigiano Reggiano Hombre from Whole Foods Market scattered on top once the pasta and sauce had been arranged in shallow bowls
• the wine was an Italian (Lazio) white, ‘Elephas’ Bianco, Castello di Torre 2016, from Astor Wines
• the music, in our continuing informal exploration of twentieth-century symphonies, was Bohuslav Martinu’s 1942 Symphony No. 1, Cornelius Meister conducting the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra

It was both breakfast and lunch, and as I’m writing this at nearly nine o’clock that same day, Sunday, I’m only beginning to feel hungry now, after enjoying it 6 or 7 hours ago, our only meal of the day so far.

It was also really, really tasty.

• * the ingredients included terrific rich eggs from Tamarack Hollow Farm; excellent bacon from Flying Pigs Farm; toast from 3 different interesting crusty breads, a whole wheat seeded from Runner & Stone Bakery, an organic multigrain baguette from Bread Alone, and a flax seed ‘Armadillo’ from Bobolink Dairy; spicy and crunchy upland cress from Paffenroth Gardens; the always excellent Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods Market; one of my favorite spices, habanada pepper from Norwich Meadows Farm, dried at home; Japanese scallion leaves, also from Norwich meadows Farm; lovage, an herb that I love out of all proportion, from Two Guys from Woodbridge; micro scallion, also from Two Guys from Woodbridge; fresh oregano from Keith’s Farm, both in their heating and sprinkled on the tomatoes; a pinch of a mix of Nigerian cayenne and Spanish paprika, also sprinkled on the tomatoes; a bit of ‘Italy’ [marked ‘Product of Italy’] olive oil from Whole Foods Market; a dollop or 2 of rich Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ (12 grams of fat) from Whole Foods Market; sea salt, some of it Maldon salt; and very good freshly-ground black pepper, also a Whole Foods Market house brand
• the music was a number of early-eighteenth-century motets by Campra and Couperin, William Christie directing Les Arts Florissants

(the quince chutney hadn’t yet made it to the plate when I took this picture)

 

When was the last time anyone out there had mutton? Like most everyone in the English-speaking world, at least of my age or younger, I’ve only heard about mutton when it was being reviled as unfit for a proper meal.

I’ve been curious about the meat of mature sheep for decades, but i had never come across mutton until this past Friday when I saw a small sign on the Greenmarket table of a farmer with whose products I had only recently become acquainted (and with much satisfaction).

Over the years I had already learned something about what to expect. After a conversation at the stand, about the type of sheep the farm raises (‘hairy breeds‘), the differences between lamb and mutton generally (in this case it would not really be a very old sheep), and the description of good mutton as somewhat like game, I was really excited to try it for the first time. I bought 4 rib chops, which were roughly the size of most lamb chops, because the breed was smaller than sheep. It would be up to me to see that the experience was good.

It was very good, and I was able to bring it to the plate medium rare. Together with quince chutney, and some really good vegetables (all of which were also pretty much out of the ordinary), these mutton chops made a really excellent [*] meal. They were everything i expected, and more.

I’ll definitely be going back.

 

• * four 5-ounce mutton chops from Lowland Farm, in  Warwick, New York, dried thoroughly, grilled on a very hot enameled cast iron ribbed pan for a total of 10 or 12 minutes, turning 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 micro scallion from Two Guys from Woodbridge, and drizzled with a little olive oil
• * quince chutney remaining from an earlier meal, using this theKitchn.com recipe, incorporating a red shallot from Norwich Meadows Farm, a Rocambole garlic clove from Keith’s Farm, quince from Troncillito Farms, dried sweet cherries (don’t know whether they were local) from Whole Foods, fresh ginger from Lani’s Farm, and apple cider vinegar from Race Farm
• * two small heads of tardivo radicchio from Campo Rosso Farm, prepared pretty much according to this simple recipe, which is to say, washed under cold running water, the moisture shaken off, each head cut in half lengthwise, and a V-cut made inside the root end to allow it to cook more rapidly, the halves arranged inside a ceramic oven pan cut side up, covered with thyme sprigs from S. & S.O. Farm, seasoned generously with salt and pepper, drizzled with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, baked for about 12 minutes, turned over, baked for about 8 minutes more, turned so the cut side is up and once again returned to the oven, this time for only a couple minutes or so, or until the stems were tender [the tardivo can be served hot or warm]
• * less than a pound of small root parsley from Paffenroth Gardens, their beautiful greens cut off when they were first brought home (they can be enjoyed as a strong-flavored parsley, but I didn’t have occasion to do so this time), and 2 sunchokes from Max Creek Hatchery, all of the roots trimmed, scrubbed, and sliced into sections equivalent to small French fries (although their small size and their shapes made something of a mockery of my attempt this time), tossed inside a bowl with a little olive oil, a few pinches of sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, one small fresh habanada pepper from Norwich Meadows Farm, chopped, and fresh whole rosemary leaves from S. & S.O. Farm, spread onto a large Pampered chef unglazed ceramic oven pan, roasted inside a 400º oven for 20 minutes, tossed, then returned to the oven for another 5 or 10 minutes until, ideally, golden on the edges, with crispy ends, but a tender center.
• * the wine was a California (Sonoma) red, ROX Scott Peterson Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma 2015, from Naked Wines
• * the music was a wonderful performance of Haydn’s 1783 opera, ‘Armida’, with  Jessye Norman, Claes H. Ahnsjö, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Robin Leggate, and others,
  Antal Doráti conducting the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra