Winter is icumen in

Ezra Pound

We city people have our own country ways. Haddock has arrived in our local fishers’ greenmarket stalls, and in New York City that’s almost as good a portent of wintertide‘s approach as any bellwether in the Old Farmer’s Almanac, which I bought religiously, I don’t mind saying, every year of my long sojourn in New England (always nailing the previous year’s edition to the wall inside the [inside] privy).

Also, I wasn’t to make it cleat that I myself am very fond of winter. For all I know Pound may have been as well, and only playing with the traditional English round, ‘Sumer is Icumen in‘.

• two 8-ounce haddock fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood served with an accompaniment of local mushrooms, starting with separating or chopping the individual sections of 9 ounces of oyster mushrooms from Blue Oyster Cultivation (a mix of grey and yellow), sautéing them, along with 2 different kinds and colors of finely chopped small sweet seasoning peppers, aji dulce and Granada, both from Eckerton Hill Farm, over medium-high heat in a little over 2 tablespoons of olive oil inside a vintage thick-walled tin-lined copper 14-inch oval sauté pan, stirring, until softened if not browned (I had a lot of mushrooms this time, so they were too crowded, but the taste didn’t suffer), for roughly 5 minutes, all transferred to 2 warm plates (in a warm oven, door ajar), the pan wiped dry and an additional tablespoon of olive oil added, the flame turned up to medium-high and, once the oil was shimmering, two 8-ounce haddock fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood that had been seasoned with the fisherman’s own local salt and some freshly ground black pepper, were introduced and cooked, flesh sides down, and without moving until well browned, or for about 3 minutes, when they were carefully flipped over and cooked on the skin side until the fish was just cooked through, or about 2 minutes longer, transferred onto the plates next to the mushrooms, then about three quarters of a cup of a good low-sodium vegetable stock (using Better Than Bullion, from Whole Foods Market) was added to the same pan and cooked over high heat until reduced by at least half, the pan removed from the flame, 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of Chelsea Whole Foods Market organic California lemon stirred in, the sauce seasoned to taste with salt and pepper before being poured over both the fish and the mushrooms, lemon wedges served on the side [I mostly used this Serious Eats recipe, although I substituted the fresh peppers for the author’s “chili flakes”]
• half of a bunch of very sweet green kale (with an awesome texture once heated) from Norwich Meadows farm, washed several times and roughly chopped, including the stems, wilted inside a large antique copper pot in a little olive oil in which several thinly sliced cloves of ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic from Alewife Farm had first been warmed and begun to color, the greens arranged on the plates, seasoned with salt and pepper and drizzled with a little olive oil
• the wine was a California (Sonoma County/Alexander Valley) white, Jac Cole Alexander Valley Oak Fermented Chardonnay 2018, from Naked Wines
• the music was Vivaldi’s ‘Il Teuzzone’, written in Mantua in 1719, and first produced in Venice during Carnival celebrations that year, performed by Jordi Savall and the Concert des Nations; the story is “a seething tale of family rivalries and altered wills at the ancient Chinese court“

Just after midnight Tuesday I tweeted, aware of the possible ambiguity, “we had local mushrooms and hemp pasta tonight; now enjoying a little California rosé as a chaser, listening to @WilliamBasinski” (we had turned to the Basinski after the Vaňhal symphonies that had accompanied the meal itself).

The reality had nothing to do with hallucinogenics, although there was real wine.

• nine ounces that remained from a box of Sfoglini hemp reginetti opened for an earlier meal, boiled until just before it would have reached the point when it was al dente (about 10 minutes), drained and served with a mushroom sauce made by heating 4 tablespoons of rich Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ until it had stopped sizzling, after which one large sliced ‘camelot’ Dutch red shallot from Quarton Farm, and 10 small whole fresh sage leaves from Phillips Farms, and 10 ounces of separated or sliced sections of yellow oyster mushrooms from Blue Oyster Cultivation were tossed in, followed by 2 chilis (a pinch of crushed dried hickory smoked Jamaican Scotch bonnet pepper and a slightly larger amount of light colored home dried habanada pepper), the mix sautéed until the mushrooms were soft and golden brown, then seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, arranged inside 2 shallow bowls, and almost a quarter of a cup of shredded Parmigiano Reggiano (aged 24 months) from Whole Foods Market scattered on top, finished with a garnish of micro purple kale from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the wine was an Italian (Chianti) red, Chianti Santa Fiora Villa Travignoli 2014,from Garnet Wines & Liquors
• the music was an album of symphonies by the classical Czech composer Jan Křtitel Vaňhal [here using the modern Czech spelling]

The scallops were delicious (unless you really mess up, it’s almost inconceivable that scallops could not be delicious), but the mushrooms were really, really good. I can’t account for that success; I’ll have to leave it as one of the mysteries of non-mechanized cooking. [update: I just realized that, in reading my account, the last time I prepared these mushrooms to accompany scallops I had apparently forgotten to season them while they were cooking which would certainly explain why last night’s were so much better]

• ten sea scallops (12.5 ounces) from P.E. & D. D. Seafood, rinsed, dried thoroughly, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, briefly grilled (90 seconds on each side) on a medium size enameled cast iron pan, finished with a squeeze of juice from a Chelsea Whole Foods Market organic lemon and a drizzle of olive oil
• a garnish of micro red radish from Two Guys from Woodbridge

• two ‘heads’ of yellow oyster mushrooms (7 or 8 ounces altogether) from Blue Oyster Cultivation sautéed inside a large high-sided antique copper pot in a tablespoon of butter, or a little more, for about 4 minutes, one medium finely-chopped ‘camelot’ Dutch red shallot from Quarton Farm and one finely-chopped garlic clove from Foragers Market added, still over the flame, mixed with the mushrooms for 2 minutes, some sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a bit of crushed dried habanada pepper stirred in before almost a quarter cup of a Lustau dry (fino) sherry from Philippe Wines was poured into the mix, which was allowed to simmer, again stirring, for another minute or two before about a teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme from Phillips Farms was tossed in and the pan removed rom the heat, a tablespoon, or a little more, of Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’, divided into small pieces, added and stirred until it had melted into the mushrooms, which were then arranged on the plate next to the scallops

• a small bunch of kale from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, wilted inside a medium size heavy antique copper pot in which 2 garlic cloves from Chelsea’s Foragers Market had first been allowed to sweat in a little olive oil until pungent, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of fresh olive oil
• the wine was an Oregon (Dundee Hills) white, Erath Pinot Gris 2016, from Philippe Wines
• the music was Handel’s 1733 opera seria, ‘Orlando’, performed by Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music

The flounder fillets were beautiful; Warren had just fetched a fresh ‘bucket’ from the truck, and opened it in front of at least one very appreciative customer.

They were a little larger than I might have been able to handle in the kitchen before, but I had recently acquired a beautiful new pan that would help me to do them justice. I also had a generous amount of fresh mushrooms at home, and I knew I wouldn’t have trouble finding a wonderful green vegetable to accompany the entrée, before I left the market.

• two very fresh flounder fillets (a total of 19 ounces) from American Seafood Company, seasoned on both sides with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, sautéed fairly gently in a couple tablespoons of butter inside a large (13-inch), thick-walled antique tin-lined copper pan, flesh side first, turned after around 2 minutes, maybe slightly more, and the other side cooked for about the same length of time, removed and arranged on 2 plates, either covered, to keep warm, or, if it’s convenient to do so, placed inside a barely-warm oven, the heat under the pan kept low, another tablespoon – or better, 2, maybe 3 – of butter added, and when it had melted about 6 ounces of roughly-chopped yellow oyster mushrooms from Gail’s Farm in Vineland, New Jersey tossed into the pan and sautéed, stirring, until lightly cooked, the mushrooms seasoned with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a pinch or so of crushed dried Espelette pepper (only a medium heat) from Alewife Farm and 4 small thin ramps from Eataly Flatiron (I spotted them there and decided impulsively that I couldn’t wait for them to arrive in the Greenmarket), the bulbs chopped, the leaves sliced, plus a little more than a tablespoon of juice from a local Persian lime [yup, local], the gift of David Tifford of Fantastic Gardens of Long Island, added to the pan, everything briefly stirred with a wooden spatula, the mushrooms and their juices spooned on or around the flounder [the dish may need more butter along the way, so at least be aware]

There was also some brilliant rainbow chard,

from the folks upstate at Fledging Crow Farm:

• a modest-sized bouquet of rainbow chard from a farm new to the Union Square Greenmarket that very day, Fledging Crow Vegetables, (with a fascinating origin story), wilted inside a a large antique high-sided copper pot in a tablespoon or so of olive oil in which one garlic clove from Norwich Meadows Farm had first been heated and softened slightly, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, finished with a little lemon juice and a tiny drizzle of olive oil

• there were slices of possibly the best loaf of bread I’ve ever tasted, ‘Pane da Tavola’, from Lost Bread Co., which is described as rustic Italian-style, charred crust with notes of coffee and cacao (organic bread flour, spelt, malted barley, salt, water, yeast), modeled after the famous bread of Genzano, Roma
• the wine was a French (Burgundy/Mâconnais), Les Grands Crus Blancs Pouilly-Vinzelles 2017, from Bottlerocket
• the music was Salieri’s 1786 operatic tragédie lyrique, ‘Les Horaces’, whose text is by Nicolas-François Guillard after Pierre Corneille’s Horace (it was commissioned by the Paris Opera, but the Queen is reported to have rejected it for Fontainebleau), performed here by Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques

About the music, which we really enjoyed, I’ll wager that, in the end, it will be recorded that F. Murray Abraham and Milos Forman were the ones who totally made Antonio Salieri’s posthumous career.

[image of the people of Fledging Crow Vegetables from thegoodfoodcollective.com]

It was a beautiful balanced meal, beyond the picture, and it included a delicious real Chablis and a fascinating 100-year-old mystical opera that could have been written yesterday.

The haddock was really fresh, and with more than a little luck, I managed to cook it perfectly; the mushrooms also ended up just right, that is, cooked only to the point where they began to soften, but still with some body, and although there were more of them than I normally have in an accompaniment for fish, they were so good I felt there still weren’t enough. Even the small/subtle taste of the micro greens really showed through, since the fish was cooked so minimally, and, finally, the large greens, the collards, were a perfect, sweet foil for the featured players on the plates.

• two tablespoons of olive oil heated inside a vintage thick-walled tin-lined copper 14-inch oval sauté pan over medium-high heat until barely starting to smoke, 7 ounces of sliced oyster mushrooms from Blue Oyster Cultivation tossed in, seasoned with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a pinch of a combination of 2 peppers (crushed home-dried light-colored habanada purchased fresh the year before from Norwich Meadows Farm, and hickory-smoked Jamaican Scotch bonnet from Eckerton Hill Farm last fall, cooked, stirring occasionally, until well browned, or 3 to 4 minutes, transferred to warmed plates (in a warm oven, door ajar), and set aside, the pan wiped dry, an additional tablespoon of olive oil added, the flame turned up to medium-high and, once the oil was shimmering, the mushrooms replaced by one 15-ounce haddock fillet from P.E. & D.D. Seafood that had first been halved crosswise and seasoned with salt and pepper, cooked, flesh sides down, and without moving until well browned, or for about 3 minutes, carefully flipped over and cooked on the skin side until the fish was just cooked through, or about 2 minutes longer, transferred to the plates next to the mushrooms, while about three quarters of a cup of good low-sodium vegetable stock was added to the same pan and cooked over high heat until reduced by at least half, the pan removed from the flame and 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of Chelsea Whole Foods Market organic lemon stirred in, the sauce seasoned to taste with pepper, and, if needed, pepper as well, before being poured over both the fish and the mushrooms, the haddock finished with a garnish of micro red mustard from Windfall Farms,  with lemon wedges served on the side [this Serious Eats rechelped bring the fish and the mushrooms to the table]

I can’t continue without relaying my most recent story about mushrooms, from the Wikipedia entry for Johann Schobert, because it involves two of my favorite things, mushrooms and music:

“In 1767, Schobert went mushroom picking with his family in Le Pré-Saint-Gervais near Paris. He tried to have a local chef prepare them, but was told they were poisonous. After trying again at a restaurant at Bois de Boulogne, and being incorrectly told by a doctor acquaintance of his that the mushrooms were edible, he decided to use them to make a soup at home. Schobert, his wife, all but one of their children, and his doctor friend died.”

Lesson: trust the experts (most of them anyway).

• one small bunch of collard greens from Norwich Meadows Farm, the stems removed, washed 3 times, drained (some of the water retained and held aside to be added, as necessary, while the greens cooked), roughly chopped, braised gently until barely wilted inside a medium size, antique copper pot in which 2 cloves of garlic, also from Windfall Farms, had been heated until they had softened, seasoned with salt and black pepper, finished with a small drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a French (Burgundy/Chablis) white, Vincent Mothe Chablis 2017, from Crush Wine and Spirits

• the music was Karol Szymanowski’s 1918-1924 “Sicilian drama”, ‘Król Roger (King Roger), Simon Rattle conducting the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Youth Chorus, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus [from the liner notes: “In 12th Century Sicily, a mysterious shepherd speaking of a god of beauty, sensuality and (sexual) liberation troubles the reign of King Roger. The shepherd will eventually reveal himself to be none other than Dionysus, whose temptations the king ultimately resists, offering himself instead to the sun (Apollo).]

[the still of Mariusz Kwiecień as King Roger and Jose Luis Sola as the Shepherd/Dionysus, from the Santa Fe Opera production of ‘Krol Roger‘, is from Culture.pl]