Tag: Dickson’s

steak, balsamic potatoes, cress 5/23/10

  • thick culotte steak, from Dickson’s Farm Stand Meats, pan-seared, then cooked briefly in a hot oven and finished with shallots, oil, lemon;  accompanied with roasted Yellow Finn potato wedges, from Healthway Farms via the Greenmarket, finished sprinkled with balsamic vinegar;  wilted cress from Woori Farm in the Greenmarket;  and garnished with a small tomato halved and sauteed, also from the Greenmarket
  • cheesees:  Pata de Cabra,, a Spanish washed-rind goat cheese;   Gardunha (rustic Portuguese goat cheese made near the Spanish border);  and Amanteigado, a Portuguese sheep’s milk cheese produced in the coastal plain west of Lisbon (all three from Murray”s Cheese;  accompanied with slices of a Royal Crown Brick Oven Baguette (Brooklyn) purchased at Garden of Eden
  • wine:  Argentine, Malbec, Tikal Amorio 2007 Mendoza, the gift of a friend

culotte steak, tomatoes, nettles 5/10/10

  • mixed olives served with Taralli Pugliesi (Finocchio) from Puglia Sapori, both purchased at Garden of Eden
  • thick culotte steak, from Dickson’s Farm Stand Meats, pan-seared, then cooked briefly in a hot oven and finished with a drizzle of oil and lemon and the addition of  chopped parsley; accompanied by halved tiny ripe cherry tomatoes from Garden of Eden briefly heated in oil and finished with some chopped thyme; and wild nettles from the stall of Paffenroth Gardens in the Union Square Greenmarket wilted inside a large pan in which chopped ramps had been briefly sauteed, then finished with a squeeze of lemon
  • goat cheese, “Le Cendrillon”, served with thinly-sliced ciabatta toasts (Sullivan Street Bakery, via Garden of Eden)
  • wine:  a medium French red, from Roussillon,  Le Vignes de Bila-Haut, Côtes du Roussillon Villages 2008, M. Chapoutier, from K & D wines

dinner, April 25, 2010

For some time I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to sample a very attractively-presented cut of steak I’d first heard of and seen at The Meat Hook in Williamsburg, and spotted several times after that at Dickson’s Farm Stand Meats in Chelsea Market.  On April 25 I decided it was time.  I was in the Dickson’s shop without a shopping list and saw two handsome, arched and skewered steaks pressed near the window of their display cooler.  I pumped the very helpful guy behind the counter for information, including cooking tips, and then picked out the larger of the two pieces (it weighed in at about 12 ounces, including a beautiful layer of fat on one side).

Barry and I weren’t disappointed with the results.  It was one of the finest steaks I’ve ever eaten.

  • culotte steak (a small, boneless steak cut from the sirloin, known as “coulotte” in France, “picanha” in Brazil), from Dickson’s Farm Stand Meats, seasoned and seared (I used my handy and much-treasured small red oval enameled iron pan throughout) for about two minutes on the fat side and for about 45 second on the other, then placed inside a 375 degree oven for about seven or eight minutes (I don’t remember now whether I afterward added oil, lemon and/or herbs, as I sometimes do when a steak has been taken out of the pan);  accompanied by La Ratte potatoes purchased at the Union Square Greenmarket from Berried Treasures Farm (the picture shows they go pretty fast) which have been halved, tossed with oil and salt & pepper, roasted cut-side down on a ceramic oven tray, then mixed with sauteed ramps, also from Berried Treasures
  • wine:  Rhone, Domaine Catherine le Goeuil Cotes du Rhone Villages Cairanne Cuvee Lea Felsch 2007, a gift of a friend

dinner, April 14, 2010

dinner, April 12, 2010

This meal anticipated summer by a bit, as nothing required cooking at home, and everything was served at room temperature.  We would have continued with a third course of two great, and possibly Germanic-y, artisanal cows-milk cheeses I’d picked up at the Bobolink Dairy stall in the Union Square Greenmarket, if we hadn’t already been pretty satisfied with the two we had already enjoyed.

  • thin slices of some awesome, slightly-smokey cooked beef tongue purchased from Dickson’s Farm Stand Meats in Chelsea Market, served with “Cold Horseradish sauce à la Dresden” [image of the horseradish at the top], a simple recipe culled from the copy of Craig Claiborne’s “New York Times Cookbook” [the revised edition here] which I’d snatched up almost half a century back, and slices of rye bread from Balthazar Bakery, purchased at Garden of Eden
  • raw red cabbage salad, using Kurt Gutenbrunner‘s luscious recipe, the small tight super-dark cabbage, garnished with thin slices of golden delicious apples (both cabbage and apples purchased at Garden of Eden), also served with slices of the round rye loaf, here with sweet butter on the side
  • wine:  a Gruner Veltliner from Lower Austria, Kremser Weinzierl Gruner Veltliner 2008 (very inexpensive, and a generous full liter) from Phillipe Wine

dinner, March 27, 2010

cavalo_nero_young_Norwich_Farms

This meal wouldn’t have begun as it did if I hadn’t spotted those fava beans.

While shopping at Buon Italia this afternoon I happened to see two or three still-unopened bright green pods on plates lying on the wooden dining table near the back of the store.  This was the corner where the owner’s own family and workers take their mid-day meal.   Along with half a loaf of one of those familiar Italian Easter breads with the embedded eggs, the fava were among the remains of what appeared to have been a beautiful seasonal lunch just ended.   I assumed the beans had come from the large greengrocer across the hall, and immediately headed over there to find out.

Every year at the greenmarket I discover I’ve somehow missed out on the earliest tender beans (which require no cooking) and I have to resign myself to the long preparation process needed to enjoy the pleasures of this ancient legume.  This spring it may look like I’ve finally gotten ahead of the game, but I think the folks who bring our local bounty to Union Square will still be keeping the youngest, tenderest stock all for themselves.

dinner, January 1, 2010

Brussels_sprouts_Van_Houten_Farms

I had originally planned a slightly more extensive meal for New Year’s Day, one which would have begun with a terrific-looking and sounding terrine of game, pink peppercorns and ginger.  I had purchased it at the Dickson’s Farmstand Meats in Chelsea Market the same afternoon I picked up their rolled lamb belly, which was also the day I spotted the chartreuse holiday lights across the street from the Market.

As it happened, and with some irony, once I was back home I became engaged in writing the previous dinner post and wasn’t watching the clock.   I remembered to put the miniature roast into a medium oven, but before I knew it I realized there was only enough time to prepare the vegetables which were to accompany it.  We wouldn’t be sitting down to a first course.  We’ll have the terrine tonight instead.

With the exception of the Auslese and the espresso, last night’s meal was entirely French-inspired;   in fact I confess I was gently guided by Julia Child and her collaborators.

  • roasted boned and rolled lamb belly which had been painted hours before with a mix of dijon mustard, soy sauce, mashed garlic, ground cardamom and oil;   garnished with torn dandelion leaves originally intended to lie with the terrine; accompanied by Pommes de terre sautées au beurre, or potatoes sauteed in butter;  and Choux de Bruxelles étuvés au beurre, or Brussels sprouts braised in butter [the small white potatoes from Garden of Eden; the sprouts from Marlow & Daughters]*
  • espresso cafe

* although the image shown above is actually of an earlier purchase (December 16) from Van Houten Farms at the Union Square Greenmarket