It was breakfast without bacon and without tomatoes.

Also new this time: No broken yolks, and somehow the whites came off with something of a geometric perfection as well.

• the list of what there was: blue eggs from Millport Dairy Farm free-range Americauna chickens; husk cherries from Oak Grove Plantation that were there because I had forgotten to add them to the small second helpings of pasta served the night before; beautiful red watercress from Max Creek Hatchery; lightly-toasted slices of a rich, moist She Wolf Bakery polenta sourdough boule; micro red chard from Two Guys from Woodbridge; and, on the eggs, Maldon salt, freshly-ground black pepper, chopped fresh habanada pepper from Alewife Farm, fresh chopped dill from Alex’s Tomato Farm in the Saturday Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on West 23rd Street, and dry fenugreek (I love fenugreek) from Bombay Emerald Chutney Company, also at the Saturday Farmers Market
• the music was Messiaen’s ‘Catalogue d’oiseaux’, performed by Jocy de Oliveira

Looks a bit like a corne copia, or in this case, a patera copia, but it was definitely, in the language closest to the vulgate that succeeded classical Latin, una deliziosa scodella di abbondanza.

It is very Italian, but it was conceived on 23rd Street.

• eight and a half ounces of al dente Afeltra 100% Grana Italiano Penna di Rigata [sic] from Naples, via Eataly Flatiron, with a sauce which began with a little olive oil heated inside a large antique high-sided thick-walled copper pot in which 2 cloves of Keith’s Farm rocambole garlic were slowly cooked until they were beginning to color and soften, accompanied during that time by one whole peperoncino Calabresi secchia from Buon Italia, after which 2 small fresh habanada peppers from Alewife farm were added and briefly heated before the pasta itself was introduced into the pot, along with some reserved pasta water, everything stirred until the liquid had emulsified, and then a half dozen small halved Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio (yeah, they grow all over Mount Vesuvius) from Norwich Meadows Farm were slipped into the pot and moved about, seasoned with Maldon salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste, mixed with chopped lovage from Quarton Farm and a small amount of torn basil handed to me by Franca of Berried Treasures Farm, the pasta arranged in shallow bowls, topped with what Oak Grove Plantation’s Union Square Greenmarket stall labelled ‘Ground Husk Cherry Tomatoes’ (the fruits of this species of physalis, of the nightshade family, are also known as husk cherries, groundcherries, Cape gooseberries, just for starters), and drizzled with olive oil around the edges
• the wine was an Italian (Tuscany/ Bolgheri) white, Antinori Vermentino 2016, from Garnet Wines
• the music was the album, ‘L’immagine di Corelli’, featuring Arcangelo Corelli’s six violin sonatas from his opus 5 (published January 1, 1700), performed by Susanne Scholz on violin, and Michael Hell on harpsichord

How many names can one fish support?

Cynoscion regalis: I want to call it Squetauge, because I like the sound, because it’s what they call it in Rhode Island, and because it’s what it was called by Americans long before there were any Europeans, Africans, or Asians to name anything.

Weakfish is the name by which it is generally known, I think, but it there are many other ways to designate this excellent eating fish.

My fish monger calls it ‘sea trout’, although it’s no relation to the true trout.

I go through this exercise about fish names a lot, with all sorts of species that we consume at home or elsewhere, but the reason I’m making something of it this time is that while I’ve cooked cynoscion regalis at least 5 times before, ‘sea trout’ didn’t show up on this blog site when I was standing at the fish stand trying to remember what I usually call that fish in the plexiglas window.

• 7 and a half-ounce fillets of Squeteague (aka ‘Weakfish’, Sea Trout, or Ocean Trout) from Pura Vida Seafood Company, marinated for more than half an hour, first in the refrigerator and then on the kitchen counter, in a mix of a fourth of a cup of olive oil, 2 minced cloves of Keith’s Farm rocambole garlic, and 7 different chopped or torn herbs (1 crushed fresh bay leaf from West Side Market, parsley and spearmint from Phillips Farms, rosemary from Willow Wisp Farm, lovage from Quarton Farm, and marjoram buds from Stokes Farm), drained, reserving some of the marinade, then sautéed, or fried, for about 2 minutes inside an antique lightly-oiled (one tablespoon), heavy tin-lined oval copper pan which had been pre-heated to medium-hot, skin-slide down first, then turned and cooked for another minute, arranged on the plates, brushed lightly with a bit of reserved marinade, garnished with micro red chard from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• five really special very ripe Mountain Magic tomatoes, halved, heated inside a small vintage Pyrex blue glass pan in a little olive oil, turning once, seasoned with sea salt, and freshly-ground black pepper,, arranged on the plate garnished with a bit of basil, the gift of Franca Tantillo of Berried Treasures Farm
• one bunch of collard greens from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, stemmed, washed 3 times, drained (some of the water retained and held aside to be added, as necessary, while the greens cooked), cut roughly and braised gently until softened/wilted inside a large, heavy enameled cast iron pot in which 2 cloves of Keiths Farm rocambole garlic had been heated until they had softened, seasoned with salt and black pepper, finished with a small drizzle of olive oil
• slices of a She Wolf Bakery polenta sourdough boule
• the wine was a California (Napa) red, La Tapatia Chardonnay Carneros 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was Handel’s 1726 opera seria, ‘Scipione’, in a performance by Les Talens Lyriques conducted by Christophe Rousset

Mostly back to the Mediterranean, after a short detour in German lands.

• one pound of rinsed and carefully dried squid bodies and tentacles from American Seafood Company in the Union Square Greenmarket, arranged without touching if possible, inside a large rectangular enameled cast iron pan that had been heated on top of the stove until quite hot and its cooking surface brushed with a thin coating of olive oil, once the oil itself was quite hot, the cephalopods immediately sprinkled with a heaping teaspoon of some super-pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, one small crushed dried pepperoncino calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, one large chopped fresh habanada pepper from from Alewife Farm, some sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, followed by a drizzle of a few tablespoons of Whole Foods Market organic lemon, and some olive oil, the pan placed inside a pre-heated 400º oven and roasted for 5 minutes, removed, the squid distributed onto 2 plates and ladled with a bit of the cooking juices that had been transferred to a glass sauce pitcher
• La Ratte potatoes from Berried Treasures Farm, boiled with a generous amount of salt until barely cooked through, drained, halved, dried while inside the large, still-warm vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware glass pot in which they had cooked, a tablespoon or so of olive oil added, seasoned with Maldon salt, freshly-ground black pepper, tossed with chopped dill from Alex’s Tomato Farm in the Saturday 23rd Street farmers market
• four small San Marzano tomatoes from Quarton Farm, each sliced in half and placed face down on a plate which had been spread with sea salt and pepper, the surface dried somewhat with a paper towel and placed in a hot grill pan and turned once, finished on the plates with a bit of olive oil, a few drops of balsamic vinegar, and the very last leaves, torn, of those that had remained on a basil plant from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the wine was an Italian (Campania) white, Terredora Falanghina 2017, from Garnet Wines
• the music was a genuine oddity, ‘Les Mystères d’Isis’, an 1801 adaptation, for the Paris opera, of Mozart’s ‘Die Zauberflöte’, by Ludwig Wenzel Lachnith, with a new French text by Étienne Morel de Chédeville

German-isch again.

Well, actually it was more than just, “-isch”. It was pretty German, but with Mexican and French touches in the wine and the music.

• four links of Schaller & Weber Bauernwurst (a smokey pork and beef sausage, with pepper, garlic and marjoram), heated inside an oval enameled cast iron pan until the skin had blistered, served with a classic German mustard, Löwensenf Medium (and, not in the picture, a luscious German pepper pickle, Hengstenberg 1876 Red Pepper Steak Sauce, both purchased at the same Schaller & Webber store, which has been located for almost 80 years in what was once the Manhattan German community of Yorkville 
• ten or 12 ounces of small sweet and delicious Pinto (or Pinto Gold) potatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, boiled with a good amount of salt in the water only until barely cooked through, drained, halved, dried while inside the large, still-warm vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware glass pot in which they had cooked, a tablespoon or so of butter added, seasoned with a bit of Maldon salt and freshly-ground black pepper, sprinkled with toasted home-made breadcrumbs and garnished with micro red mustard from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• one pale yellow Hungarian pepper from Stokes Farm, cut lengthwise into quarters, and 2 aji dulce peppers (not hot) from Eckerton Hill Farm, the seeds and membranes removed from both, sautéed over a high or medium high flame inside a large, heavy, antique high-sided copper pot until slightly caramelized, one medium fresh habanada pepper from Alewife Farm added near the end, seasoned with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper and tossed with leaves of a basil plant from Two Guys from Woodbridge, torn, and served with a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a California (Napa) red, Macario Montoya‘s Sin Fronteras El Mechon California Red Blend 2017, from Naked Wines
• the music too was, in a way, sin fronteras, since it celebrated an event that “..culminates in a grand procession of the Human Race, dancing and singing in praise of Liberty. [without frontiers]”; it was ‘Le Triomphe de la République ou Le Camp de Grand Pré’, by Francois-Joseph Gossec, performed by I Barocchisti, conducted by Diego Fasolis

Colorful goodness.

• the fish serving began with a salsa prepared by heating 3 tablespoons of a Portuguese house olive oil from Whole Foods Market inside a small vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot pot over a gentle flame, adding roughly 6 ounces of tomatoes (one sliced orange heirloom from Stokes Farm and a couple of sliced Mountain Magic tomatoes  (‘cocktail tomato’ in size, “..a cross between a large-fruited tomato and a very sweet grape tomato…” a hybrid released in North Carolina sometime within the current decade) from Norwich Meadows Farm, along with 2 ounces or so of pitted whole kalamata olives from Whole Foods Market, the mix seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper and stirred for a minute or 2 before the pan was set aside to cool a little, after which some 2 or 3 tablespoons of herbs (chopped fresh lovage from Quarton Farm, a Sullivan County grower new to the Union Square Greenmarket this year; an equal amount of fresh oregano buds from Norwich Meadows Farm; and torn leaves of a basil plant from Two Guys from Woodbridge) were stirred into the salsa, reserving some of the herbs to garnish the fish and salsa once it was on the plate, followed by the juice of half of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market, the mix now stirred once again, and set aside while the fish was prepared
• four 4-ounce porgy fillets from P.E & D.D. Seafood, the skin slashed with a very sharp knife in 2 or 3 places on each, placed skin side down inside a large rectangular enameled cast iron pan in a tablespoon or so of olive oil that had gotten very hot  sitting over a high flame, the top, or flesh side of the fish seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper and cooked for 2 or 3 minutes until the flesh was dark golden and the skin crisp’, the fillets turned over, cooked on the other side for just about one minute, quickly basting with the oil in the pan during that time, or until the fillets were just cooked through, arranged on the plates, the salsa drizzled around the porgy and both sprinkled with some of the reserved herbs

• ten ounces or so of tiny purple okra from Lani’s Farm, sautéed over a high flame inside a large enameled cast iron pan in a little bit of olive oil [supposedly cast iron causes even green pods to blacken, but I’ve never really noticed that, at least not as a problem, these pods were already a dark purple going in, but I went with an enameled pan nevertheless], adding a good part of one crushed dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia half way through, seasoned with sea salt  
• the wine was an Oregon (Columbia Valley) white, Dave Harvey Columbia Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2017, from Naked Wines
• the music was Handel’s 1738 opera, ‘Faramondo’, a story of the eponymous late 4th, early 5th-century Frankish dux and goings on in the ancient geographical home of my own family (“All ends happily with general rejoicing…”), performed by I Barocchisti, conducted by Diego Fasolis [a 6-minute excerpt from that same performance here]

It was a night off for the cook, or at least a night when he didn’t have to think much, or juggle a lot of ingredients.

• three ounces of excellent Iowa La Quercia ’Speck Americano’ from Whole Foods, drizzled with a very small amount of a good Campania olive oil (Lamparelli O.R.O.)
• accompanied by a bit of red (wild?) cress from Dave Harris at Max Creek Hatchery, and a few stems of parsley from Alex’s Tomato Farm, the greens seasoned with Maldon salt and a freshly-ground strong black pepper, and dressed with the same oil and a few drops of Cesare Giaccone aceto vino bianco, made from a mixture of white wines from Langhe
• slices of She Wolf Bakery miche

The main course was almost as simple.

• two bruised and halved rocambole garlic cloves from Keith’s Farm and 2 small whole peperoncini Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, heated inside a large vintage high-sided copper pot in olive oil until both garlic and peppers were pungent, a little sea salt and some freshly-ground pepper added, one sliced red heirloom tomato from Stokes Farm slipped into the pot and stirred in the now quite pungent oil before a 12-ounce package of cooked (for exactly 2 minutes) Rana spinaci e ricotta ravioli from Eataly was introduced into the pan, everything carefully mixed then stirred with most of one cup of reserved pasta water until the liquid had emulsified, transferred to shallow bowls and scattered with torn leaves of a basil plant from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the wine was an Argentinian (Lujan de Cuyo) rosé, Lujan de Cuyo
• the music was Handel’s ‘Hercules, a Musical Drama in Three Acts’ composed in 1744, Marc Minkowski directing Les Musiciens du Louvre

I broke some yolks.

Still, although it’s certainly not related, it turned out to be one of the most delicious versions of my regular Sunday bacon and eggs thing. Maybe I just hit the right combinations in my enthusiasm for adding herbs and spices. The tomatoes however were new, maybe even new to the planet, and incredibly good without much help.

I don’t normally like to make much of what something ‘tastes like’, but these tomatoes shocked me: They tasted a little like fresh sweet corn; go figure.

• the ingredients of this breakfast/lunch included thick pastured-pig bacon and eggs from free-range Americauna chickens, both from Millport Dairy Farm; Mountain Magic tomatoes (‘cocktail tomato’ in size, “..a cross between a large-fruited tomato and a very sweet grape tomato…” released in the current decade) from Norwich Meadows Farm, which were topped with torn leaves of a basil plant from Two Guys from Woodbridge; a bit of crushed peperoncino Calabresi secchia from Buon Italia and sliced Japanese scallion from Norwich Meadows Farm that were tossed into the 13″ seasoned cast iron pan after the bacon and before a little butter was added, prior to frying the eggs, which were seasoned and gingered up with some Maldon salt, freshly-ground very strong black pepper (whose origins I can no longer account for), a pinch of Sicilian wild fennel pollen from Buon Italia, and fresh chopped dill from Alex’s Tomato Farm in the Saturday 23rd Street farmers market; some micro kale from two Guys from Woodbridge as a garnish and as a half-hearted attempt to disguise the broken yolks; lightly toasted slices of 2 different breads, a 12 grain from Bread Alone and a miche from She Wolf Bakery
• the music was a Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s 1698 whatchamacallit, titled, ‘Judicium Salomonis’ (The Judgement of Solomon), and otherwise described as ‘Motet pour une longue offrande‘, a gorgeous work in any event, in a gorgeous performance by William Christie and his Les Arts Florissants

Steak and cucumbers, or to be more precise, water buffalo New York strip steak and poona kheera cucumbers.

• one 13-ounce New York Strip Steak of local water buffalo purchased from Brian Foley’s Riverine Ranch stand in the Union Square Greenmarket, removed from the refrigerator, where it had defrosted, rinsed, dried on both sides with paper towels and sprinkled with sea salt, allowed to rest on the kitchen counter on a paper plate, covered loosely with wax paper, for about 2 hours, then dried once again and placed inside an enameled cast iron oval pan that had already been heated above a medium-hot flame, cooked for 3 or 4 minutes on each side, or until the meat was just under medium [it’s important not to overcook buffalo, or the steak would be tough; also, noting that the color of this lean meat is a lot redder than beef means that a medium-rare buffalo steak would be the same shade of an almost rare beef steak], and, just before it was done, pieces of a thinly sliced section from a stem of a Japanese scallion from Norwich Meadows Farm were tossed onto the pan surface to be briefly heated, softening them, before they were picked out and scattered on top of the meat, before it was removed from the pan and cut into 2 sections (and checked for doneness), moved to the plates, where some juice from an organic Whole Foods Market lemon was squeezed on top, the steaks finished with a bit of chopped rosemary from Willow Wisp Farm and a drizzle of Whole Foods Market house Portuguese olive oil, allowed to rest for about 5 more minutes to let the juices to be drawn back into the muscle, relaxing the meat fiber to help ensure its maximum tenderness and juiciness
• three poona kheera cucumbers (a variety sometimes labelled, less accurately, as ‘Sikkim cucumber’) from Norwich Meadows Farm, sliced unpeeled into rounds roughly 3 cm thick, sautéed in a little olive oil inside a large antique high-sided copper pot over a medium-high flame, turned over once or twice, lightly-sprinkled with salt each time (ideally, they should have carbonized a bit, but I forgot to think about that at the time), adding, more than half way through, slices of a small red onion from Lucky Dog Organic Farm and a couple bright red aji rico peppers (not hot) from Eckerton Hill Farm, then seasoned with freshly-ground black pepper, tossed with a little fresh dill from from Alex’s Tomato Farm, arranged on the plates, garnished with more dill and some torn leaves of a basil plant from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• a little red cress (possibly wild) from Dave Harris’s Max Creek Hatchery
• the wine was a Portuguese (Dão) red, Gota Wine, Dao Tinto “Bergamota”, 2014, from Flatiron Wines

• the music was Lully’s 1676 tragédie en musique, ‘Atys’, William Christie conducting his  ensemble, Les Arts Florissants [I saw his silver production at BAM in 1989]

 

[the image at the bottom is from the 1989 production of ‘Atys’]

The meal was a bit Spanish, -ish. Or maybe it was just Chelsea Mediterranean. But it was also definitely local.

• a generous number of large shishito peppers (all were juicy, some were actually sweet, none were fiery, or even suggested fire, and every one was delicious), the gift of a friend, from her garden, ‘Lower Hayfields’, in Garrison, New York
• slices of 12 grain bread from Bread Alone
• the music was Bang on a Can’s album, ‘Summer Marathon Mixtape 2018’

• a 17-ounce mako shark steak from Pura Vida Seafood, the bloodline removed, cut into 2 portions, marinated in a mixture of olive oil, a tablespoon of chopped fresh oregano buds, a small amount of crushed peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, and thin slices of the stem of a fresh bulbous shallot from Tamarack Hollow Farm, allowed to rest for a little more than half an hour, the first 15 minutes in the refrigerator, drained well and covered with a coating of dried homemade bread crumbs, pan-grilled over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, removed to the plates, seasoned with a little sea salt, drizzled with a little lemon juice, dusted with a pinch of some wonderful Italian wild fennel pollen from Buon Italia, and dsome freshly, very-finely-chopped scallions tossed on the top
• a bit of wild red cress from Dave Harris at Max Creek Hatchery

• five small Japanese eggplant from Campo Rosso Farm, each halved lengthwise, brushed all over with a mixture of a little olive oil, 2 finely-chopped medium size rocambole garlic cloves from Keith’s Farm, sea salt, and freshly-ground black pepper, pan-grilled on a cast iron ribbed pan above a brisk flame, turning twice, adding more of the material from the marinade the second time, then arranged on the plates where they were tossed with torn basil leaves off of a plant from Two Guys from Woodbridge and drizzled with a bit of olive oil
• the music was Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, Marin Alsop conducting the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

 

• the wine throughout the meal was a California (Sonoma) white, Jacqueline Bahue California Sauvignon Blanc 2017, from Naked Wines