I’m writing shorter posts here, at least for a while, since I had neglected publishing anything at all for weeks. I may later go back and resurrect a few of the more interesting meals that never made it in print here in February and March, but I’m making no promises to myself that I will take the time to do it.

This meal was unusual, not just because it involved smoked scallops (although these are not unfamiliar inside our kitchen), but because this time I had ‘cooked’ the bivalves (lightly) and served them with a bit of a sauce. In fact this was the second time I had done this, but the first time had been during the Food Blog ‘blackout’).

As always, almost every part of the meal came from local producers selling in the Union Square Greenmarket.

• only about 9 ounces of smoked scallops from Pura Vida Seafood, warmed inside a heavy copper pot in a bitof utter, heated through, briefly, removed and kept warm, replaced by about 4 ounces of white wine, half an ounce of fresh lemon juice, a bit of chopped thyme, and a teaspoon of chopped garlic, the flame turned up and the liquid reduced until almost gone, 3 tablespoons of cold butter added, one at a time, and swirled in until melted, and just before the last one was introduced, some finely sliced green sections of spring garlic, and a bit of chopped peppermint mixed in, the scallops returned to the pan, tossed to coat, served immediately on a bed of wild baby dandelion, including some tight buds (they looked and crunched like fresh capers), the sauce spooned over them
• a few Peter Wilcox potatoes, from Windfall Farms, boiled, halved, tossed with a little butter, garnished with chopped baby fennel fronds
• two Italian heirloom tomatoes from Shushan Farm, halved, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a pinch of dried aji dulce pepper, heated in a little olive oil
• the wine was a Basa Rueda blanco 2017, from North Village Wine
• the music was  Beethoven’s 1st string quartet, and his 1st and 2nd piano sonatas, the quartet performed by the Miró Quartet, and the sonatas by Igor Levitt

Once I got going with specialness, bringing home a super shellfish appetizer from the Greenmarket (where, incidentally, seafood always wild game, except for the delicious farmed trout from Dave Harris’s Max Creek Hatchery) the idea of a main course of grilled quail (delicious, but actually almost always ‘farmed game‘, when it comes to the experiences of most of us) seemed pretty natural.

The little birds didn’t come from our local Greenmarket this time, but they did arrive from our local Eataly, via our own little local home freezer.

• six smoked scallops (a total of 7 ounces) from Pura Vida Seafood Company arranged on a shallow bed of lettuces, a combination of red leaf buttercrunch from Fledging Crow and some flat leaf red salanova lettuce from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, the greens dressed with a good Greek olive oil (Demi, from the Peloponnese, Laconia, Vellesa, a bit of Columela Rioja 30 Year Reserva sherry vinegar, some sea salt, from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, and freshly ground black pepper
• slices of a 7-grain boule from Citarella
• the wine with the scallops was a French (Savoie) white, Jean Perrier et Fils, Vin de Savoie Abymes Gastronomie 2018, from Flatiron Wines

The main course was almost as simple to assemble as the first, and equally delicious.

• four partially-boned (a tweak that’s always a treat for cooks and diners) farmed quail, weighing just over one pound together, from Buon Italia in the Chelsea Market, rinsed, dried on paper towels, rubbed with sea salt and a judicious amount of crumbled dried Itria-Sirissi chili, pepperoncino di Sardegna intero, also from Buon Italia (I don’t remember now, over a week later, whether I also included any seasoning pepper), placed breast-side-down over medium-high flames on top of a heavy 2-burner seasoned cast iron ribbed pan, a number of sprigs of fresh thyme from Keith’s Farm scattered over each, grilled for about 5 minutes, then turned over and, ensuring that the thyme branches were now resting on top of the thyme, grilled for another 5 or 6 minutes, served on the plates with a squeeze of an organic California lemon form Chelsea Whole Foods Market, and a drizzle of olive oil
• garnished with micro red kale from Windfall Farms

• thirteen and a half ounces of delicious, surprisingly sweet and tender greenhouse-grown green Romano beans/flat green pole beans from Tiogo Orchards that had been briefly parboiled inside a large stainless steel IKEA pot purchased from Peter Hoffman after his Savoy restaurant had closed, then set aside inside a bowl and, when the quail was being grilled, reheated in a cast iron pan with a little olive oil, seasoned with local sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, tossed with winter savory from Stokes Farm, finished on the plates scattered with zest from an organic Whole Foods Market California lemon
• the wine with the main course was a French (Bordeaux) red, Patrice Grasset Bordeaux 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was Lully’s 1686 tragédie en musique, ‘Armide’, Philippe Herreweghe directing the Collegium Vocale and La Chappel Royale

I had put them together in this meal for other reasons, but the smoked scallops and the roasted veal seemed to somehow share a real affinity, something that was barely apparent to me until I was sitting down to the second of those courses last night.

• six smoked scallops (a total of 8 ounces) from Pura Vida Seafood Company arranged on a shallow bed of greens (mesclun from Windfall Farms, along with red dandelion from Wilow Wisp Farm, and Radicchio Variegato di Castelfranco from Campo Rosso Farm) dressed with a good olive oil, a bit of Columela Rioja 30 Year Reserva sherry vinegar, local P.E. & D.D. Seafood sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper
• slices of an enkir (aka einkorn, or farro piccolo) baguette from Eataly Flatiron (it’s an ancient grain that first appeared in the Middle East 12,000 years ago, here using Mulino Marino Organic Artisan Enkir Farro Flour)
• the wine was a California (Clarksburg) white, Miriam Alexandra California Chenin Blanc 2018, from Naked Wines

I wanted to keep the main course more abbreviated, but, mostly for aesthetic reasons, I couldn’t resist including the 2 remaining red potatoes potatoes I had in the larder

• two veal rib chops (12 ounces each) from Consider Bardwell Farm, seasoned with sea salt and black pepper, placed inside a ceramic oven pan to marinate for about a half hour in a mixture of one tablespoon of olive oil, the zest from more than one organic Whole Foods Market California lemon, one small chopped fresh habanada pepper from Alewife Farm, and one tablespoon of thyme leaves, removed from the oven pan then seared in a combination of 2 or 3 tablespoons of melted butter and one tablespoon of olive oil inside an oval enameled cast iron pan over a high flame until darkened, the chops removed, the fat discarded and the pan wiped with paper towels, the veal returned to the pan, another tablespoon, or a little  more, of butter over them, seasoned well, the pan placed inside a400º oven for 15 minutes or possibly a little more, until done, served with a salsa verde (whose assembly is described in the same volume, but I used parsley, winter savory, oregano, olive oil, garlic, capers, anchovy, Dijon mustard, and red wine vinegar)
• two medium red potatoes from Willow Wisp Farm scrubbed, boiled unpeeled in generously-salted water until barely cooked through, drained, halved, dried in the still-warm small vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot in which they had cooked, halved, mixed with a little Trader Joe’s house Portuguese olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and tossed with scissored fresh chives from Phillips Farms
• some greens from an unidentified variety of turnip (they had been torn off and left on the farmers’ table by a customer) from Norwich Meadows Farm, washed in several changes of water, wilted in olive oil along with 4 small ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic from Alewife Farm which had been lightly-browned in the oil just before, seasoned, and drizzled with olive oil
• the wine was an Italian (Campania) red, Mastro Aglianico Campania IGT Mastroberardino 2017, from Philippe Wines

• the music throughout was Bedřich Smetana’s 1868 opera, ‘Dalibor’, with Jiří Bělohlávek
  conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Singers

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 was to be a very simple meal that I could almost do in my sleep, because we had a guest, and there was going to be some serious discussion about some future construction in the kitchen. I expected to be pretty distracted, but I managed to put together a pretty tasty meal.

It turned out however that I was distracted, but not where I had expected to be: We were having so much fun that I forgot to photograph the main course. I can describe it however (there really wasn’t much to it), and I have many pictures from past meals that could stand in for what I missed capturing this time.

Our guest had brought a bottle of good champagne, which we opened once the more serious conversation was put aside.

• some rustic Italian breadsticks, Mario Fongo grissini integrali, from Buon Italia
• the wine was a French (Champagne) sparkling, Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Réserve Champagne, the gift of a friend

The appetizer was inspired by my visit that afternoon to some of my favorite Greenmarket people.

• a few ounces of water buffalo ricotta from Riverine Ranch in the Union Square Greenmarket, mixed with a very small amount of Trickling Springs Creamery whole milk (they use glass deposit bottles!) from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, a little bit of some good Trader Joe’s Italian Reserve extra virgin olive oil (unfiltered, unrefined, and cold pressed), a pinch of crushed dried hickory-smoked Jamaican Scotch bonnet pepper from Eckerton Hill Farm, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and one stalk of finely-chopped baby celery from Windfall Farms, with the leaves, the mix stirred and distributed on 3 plates, a bit more olive oil drizzled on top
• slices of really good garlic ciabatta from Philadelphia’s Lost Bread Co. (organic bread flour, spelt, malted barley, breadcrumbs, water, local Hudson Valley Cold Pressed Oils‘ sunflower oil, garlic, herbs, salt, yeast)
• the wine was a Spanish (Catalonia/Penedès) white, Huguet de Can Feixes Can Feixes Blanco Seleccio 2017, from Crush Wines 

• 21 sea scallops (a total of 20-21 ounces) from American Seafood Company, rinsed, dried, slit horizontally with a very sharp knife almost all of the way through, stuffed with a mixture of home grown basil from Barry’s Artsy colleague Becca, one medium-size clove of garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm, salt, and black pepper, all chopped together very finely and removed to a small bowl where just enough olive oil was added to form a paste, the stuffed scallops then rolled around on a plate with a little more olive oil, drained, then pan grilled in an enameled cast iron pan (they barely fit) for about 2 minutes on each side, removed to the 3 plates, finished with a squeeze of organic lemon from Whole Foods Market and a drizzle of olive oil,  garnished with some beautiful lacy micro red mustard from Two Guys from Woodbridge

• two bunches of curly winterbor kale from Tamarack Hollow Farm, washed, drained, wilted in a little olive oil in which 3 garlic cloves from Norwich Meadows had first been allowed to sweat and begin to color, seasoned with salt and black pepper, drizzled with a little more olive oil
• the wine was a great Portuguese (Vinho Verde) white, Vinho Verde Loureiro, Aphros 2016, from Astor Wines

• the music throughout was an album evoking the southern Iberian geography and its culture in a remote age, the eponymous, ‘Granada (1013-1502)’, with Jordi Savall, Le Concert des Nations, and Hespèrion XXI