The little halved duck breast resting on the far side of the plate looks undersize here, but its wonderful, assertive flavors survived the power of turnips leeks, and cabbage, lending another understanding to the early 20th century obsession with a “balanced meal”.

• one 12-ounce breast of duck from Hudson Valley Duck Farm, the fatty, skin side scored in tight cross hatching with a very sharp knife, the breasts both rubbed, top and bottom with a mixture of sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a little turbinado sugar, then left standing on the counter for about 45 minutes to an hour, pan-fried over medium heat, fatty side down first, then turning once, inside a small oval enameled cast iron pan for a total of about 9-10 minutes, or perhaps until an instant read thermometer (which I almost never use with duck breasts) shows 135º, draining the oil after the first few minutes, removed when medium rare, left to sit for several minutes, covered loosely with tin foil, before they were drizzled with a little lemon juice and some Whole Foods Market house Portuguese olive oil, garnished with micro red chard from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• three medium purple-top turnips from Norwich Meadows Farm cut into half-inch pieces, tossed with oil, salt, pepper, and a tiny amount of crushed dried Santa Fe seasoning pepper form Eckerton Hill Farm, roasted in an unglazed ceramic pan for about 4-45 minutes at 425º, one large leak from Norwich Meadows Farm, also cut into half-inch pieces and tossed in the same mixture enjoyed by the turnips, added near the end of the cooking time, garnished with chervil from Eckerton Hill Farm      
• the central part of a white cone cabbage (a very sturdy vegetable, it had been waiting inside the refrigerator for some time, and its outer leaves had been included in a couple earlier meals) washed, quartered, cored, sliced into one-half-inch ribbons, sautéed in a scant tablespoon of olive oil inside a large heavy, enameled cast iron pot until wilted but still a little crunchy, stirring occasionally, seasoned with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and 8 or so slightly smashed juniper berries, with a few drops of a good balsamic vinegar added as well, and stirred over the heat for only a moment, arranged on the plates and finished with a drizzle of olive oil     
• the wine was a Washington State cabernet sauvignon, Christopher Michael, Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, from Astor Wines
• the music was the 1716 tragédie en musique by Charles-Hubert Gervais, ‘Hypermnestre’ (the eponymous Danaid who was the only one of 50 sisters who did not kill her husband on their wedding night), in a performance by the Orfeo Orchestra and Purcell Choir, conducted by Gyorgy Vashegyi

It was a beautiful Sunday dinner, pretty minimal for all of its luxuriousness.

The first course began with a delicious fresh spreadable local chèvre.

• chèvre from Lynnhaven Farm mixed with a little chopped  lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge, drizzled with a bit of Greek olive oil, a terrific seasoning salt (the gift of a friend who had been given the recipe, whose ingredients included sea salt, 5 different seasoning peppers, plus dehydrated vanilla, lemon and lime, by a chef in Baden-Baden), and freshly ground black pepper, spread on toasts of slices from a Bread Alone San Francisco sourdough
• a spray on the side of what I was told by the guys at the Norwich Meadows Farm Union Square Greenmarket stand was “London kale” (I think I need some enlightenment here, since they were delicious, but I can’t find anything with that name on line) dressed, dressed with the Greek olive oil, plus some local P.E. & D.D. Seafood Long Island sea salt, pepper, and drops of Rioja vinegar
• a small cup of delicious Mama Lil’s Oregon peppers, on the side, the gift of a  friend

• two small (8-ounce Peking duck breasts from Quattro’s Game and Poultry Farm, the fatty, skin sides scored in tight cross hatching with a very sharp knife, the breasts both rubbed, top and bottom with a mixture of sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a little turbinado sugar, left standing on the counter for about 45 minutes to an hour, then pan-fried, fatty side down first, turning once, inside a small oval enameled cast iron pan over medium heat for a total of about 8 minutes, since they were small, or perhaps until an instant read thermometer (which I never use with duck breasts) shows 135º, draining the oil after the first few minutes (the fat, strained, can be used in cooking at another time, if desired), removed when medium rare, left to sit for several minutes, covered loosely with tin foil, before they were drizzled with a little juice from an organic California lemon and some house Portuguese olive oil, both from our Chelsea Whole Foods Market, garnished with micro ‘Hong Vit‘ Asian radish greens from Windfall Farms
• Brussels sprouts from Migliorelli Farm, washed, trimmed, dried, tossed with olive oil, sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, this time also with several whole unpeeled Rocambole garlic cloves from Keith’s Farm, roasted in a 425º oven in a large unglazed Pampered Chef oven pan until they were browned and crisp on the outside, or for a total of aabout 15 minutes
• the wine was a French (Bordeaux/Saint Emilion) red, from a maker described on the web site of our favorite so-much-more-than-just-a-distributor as “a Saint Emilion Garagiste”, Jonathan Maltus Garagiste Bordeaux Supérieur 2017, from Naked Wines
• he music throughout the meal continued as the 2019 WKCR-FM  Bachfestival, streaming

They look like felafel, but they’re carrots, roasted carrots, more-or-less-round roasted carrots. They’re a 19th-century French heirloom variety, so not just a new fancy, not just cute, but really delicious.

The foods that share the plate are familiar enough on this blog, but were no less tasty Tuesday night.

• one 14-ounce duck breast from Hudson River Duck Farm, the fatty, skin side scored in tight cross hatching with a very sharp knife, the entire breast rubbed, top and bottom with a mixture of local sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a little turbinado sugar, left standing on the counter for about 45 minutes to an hour, then pan-fried, fatty side down first, inside a small oval enameled cast iron pan over medium heat for a total of about 10 minutes, draining the oil after the first few minutes (the fat strained can be used in cooking at another time, if desired), turned over once, removed when medium rare, cut crosswise into 2 portions and checked for the right doneness in the center, which means definitely no more than medium rare, and maybe even a bit less, left to sit for several minutes before it was drizzled with a little juice from an organic California lemon and some house Portuguese olive oil, both from Whole Foods Market, garnished with scissored chives from Phillips Farms

• ten ounces of so of small round heirloom Atlas or Parisisan Market carrots from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, scrubbed, stem ends trimmed, dried, cut into discs 1/4 inch thick, tossed inside a bowl with a little olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, more than half a teaspoon of crushed Sicilian wild fennel seed (Semi di Finocchietto Ibleo from Eataly Flatiron), and a bit of crushed dried habanada pepper, placed, bot crowding, inside a large unglazed ceramic Pampered Chef oven pan, roasted at 400º for about 30 minutes, arranged on the plates and garnished with parsley from Phillips Farms

• one 8-ounce head of treviso from Campo Rosso Farm, rinsed, drained and wiped off, cut lengthwise into 6 sections, arranged one cut side up on a medium Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic oven pan after first securing the leaves of each with a toothpick, covered with thyme branches from Phillips Farms, seasoned generously with salt and black pepper, drizzled with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, baked in a 400º oven for 18 minutes or so, turned over more than halfway through onto another cut side, arranged on the plates and drizzled with a very small amount of balsamic vinegar
• the wine was a Portuguese (Douro) red, Mateus Nicolau de Almeida, Trans Douro Express ‘Baixo Corgo’ 2015, from Flatiron Wines   
• the music was an album of some amazing chamber works by the Swiss composer Jürg Frey (b. 1953), (some information on Frey and other composers of the so-called ‘Wandelweiser collective’, from Alex Ross in 2016)

I suppose it was surf and turf last night, but I can never forget that in the middle ages some ecclesiastical authorities considered some waterfowl to be fish, when it came to observing some religious fasts.

• six smoked scallops from Pura Vida Seafood Company in the Union Square Greenmarket, brought fully to room temperature, arranged on a bed of large arugula from Windfall Farms, with the addition of some finely chopped baby celery stems and leaves from Norwich Meadows Farm, drizzled with a good olive oil from Whole Foods Market, Renieris Estate ‘Divina’ (Koroneiki varietal olives), from Hania, Crete, seasoned with local sea salt from P.E & D.D. Seafood and freshly ground black pepper, a squeeze of an organic lemon from Westside Market, a bit of scissored bronze fennel from Rise & Root Farm scattered on top

• slices of ‘Whole wheat Redeemer’ bread (Redeemer Wheat, water, salt) from Lost Bread Co.
• the wine for the first course was a French (Loire) white, Patrice Grasset Loire Valley Chenin Blanc 2018, from Naked Wines 

Since there had been a fairly rich first course, the entrée could be kept pretty simple. I did have a relatively extravagant amount of treviso radicchio on hand, but then we love chicory of any kind.

• one 14-ounce duck breast from Hudson River Duck Farm, the fatty side scored in tight cross hatching with a very sharp knife, after which the entire breast rubbed, top and bottom, with a mixture of local sea salt, fresh black pepper, and a little turbinado sugar, and left standing on the counter for about 45 minutes to an hour before being pan-fried, fatty side down first, inside a small oval enameled cast iron pan over medium heat for a total of about 9 or 10 minutes, draining the oil after the first few minutes (the fat strained can be used in cooking at another time, if desired), and turning over once, removed when medium rare, cut crosswise into 2 portions and checked for the right doneness in the center, which means definitely no more than medium rare, and maybe even a bit less (the tenderloin had been removed at the beginning of the preparation, but seasoned like the rest of the breast, then fried very briefly near the end of the time the larger section was cooking, the tenderloin then halved), left to sit for several minutes before drizzled with a little juice from an organic Westside Market lemon and some olive oil, transferred to the 2 warm plates that had been sitting on top of the oven where the vegetable had been roasting, dusted on top with a small amount of garlic chive seed from Space on Ryder Farm (Betsy Ryder’s old farm), micro red amaranth from Two Guys from Woodbridge arranged on the side

• one (11 or 12 ounce?) head of treviso from Campo Rosso Farm, rinsed, drained and wiped off, cut lengthwise into 6 sections, arranged one cut side up on a Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic oven pan (after securing the leaves of each with a toothpick, covered with thyme branches from Phillips Farms, seasoned generously with sea salt and black pepper, drizzled with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, baked in a pre-heated 400º oven for 18 minutes or so, turned over more than halfway through onto the other cut side, arranged on the plates and drizzled with a very small amount of balsamic vinegar
• the wine for the second course was a South African (Swartland) red, Carmen Stevens Angel’s Reserve Shiraz 2018, also from Naked Wines 

• the music throughout the meal was Hillary Hahn performing ‘6 Partitas’ by Antón García Abril

It seemed like these peppers could have been grown just to accompany this duck, or perhaps the other way around.

Also, they were both assertive in both texture and flavor, so there wasn’t much else to add. I’m glad I forgot about the micro greens at the end; the plate was both complex enough and colorful enough without them.

• one 13-ounce Macelleria duck breast from Flatiron Eataly, the fatty side scored in tight cross hatching with a very sharp knife, the entire breast then rubbed, top and bottom, with a mixture of local P.E. & D.D. Seafood Long Island sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a little turbinado sugar, left standing in an oval plate for about 45 minutes, then pan-fried, fatty side down first, in a scant amount of olive oil inside a small oval enameled cast iron pan over medium heat, normally for a total of about 9 minutes, turning once and draining the oil after the first few minutes (the fat could be strained and used in cooking at another time, if desired), removed when medium rare, or maybe even a bit less, since it will continue cooking while sitting on the counter, cutting the breast crosswise into 2 portions and checking that the center for the right doneness, left to sit for several minutes before it was finished with a squeeze of an organic Mexican lemon from Whole Foods Market, sprinkled with a bit of very fresh and fragrant chopped epazote from Jayne’s TransGenerational Farm, and drizzled with a little Portuguese house olive oil from Whole Foods Market

• ten ounces of ‘lunchbox peppers’ from Campo Rosso Farm, halved or quartered, depending on their size, the seeds and membranes removed (there were very few of either), sautéed over a high flame until slightly caramelized, one sliced small red onion from Norwich Meadows Farm added near the end, a little later still the white section of 2 small some chopped scallions from Alex’s Tomato Farm in the 23rd Street Saturday Greenmarket plus a pinch of the now powdered remains of some light-colored home-dried habanada pepper I had purchased fresh from Norwich Meadows Farm back in 2017, and local sea salt and chopped zaatar [actually, origanum syriacum] from TransGenerational Farm, the vegetables arranged on the plates, sprinkled with more of the ‘oregano’ and drizzled with a bit of balsamic vinegar
• the wine was an Oregon (Willamette Valley/Dundee Hills) red, Erath Oregon pinot noir 2016, ordered directly from Erath

There was fruit for dessert. No fussy.

• one perfectly ripe halved medium size Korean melon drizzled with lemon juice and sprinkled with a little salt

• the music throughout was a superb performance of Haydn’s Die Jahreszeiten’, with Bruno Weil conducting theCapella Coloniensis and the Tölz Boys Choir