It was a symbiotic relationship: The squid had to marinate for about half an hour, and the zucchini, which would take almost that long to prepare and grill, could be served warm or room temperature.

• twelve ounces of cleaned squid, bodies and tentacles, from Blue Moon Seafood, marinated for about half an hour (half of that time in the refrigerator) in a bowl containing a mixture of the zest and juice of most of one lemon, minced garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm, Sicilian olive oil, super-pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, sea salt, and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, removed from the marinade, drained, pan-grilled briefly over high heat, arranged on 2 plates, sprinkled with fresh organic lemon juice from Whole Foods Market, scattered with chopped parsley from Keith’s Farm, finished with a drizzle of olive oil

• two round zucchini (10 or 11 ounces) from Willow Wisp Farm, sliced about 1/4 inch thick, brushed with a little olive mixed with minced garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm, salt and Tellicherry pepper, pan grilled over a medium high flame, turning three times, partly in order to encourage some grill marks from the pan process on top of the range, arranged on a platter, sprinkled with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, drizzled with olive oil and torn mint from Norwich Meadows Farm, transferred to the plates when the squid had been cooked
• the wine was a Spanish (Rias Baixas) white, Martin Codax Albarino 2016, from Philippe Liquors and Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Barockes Welttheater: Schmelzer Sonatas and Ballets‘, featuring the music of Johann Heinrich Schmelzer, from the later 17th-century Habsburg courts, performed by the Freiburger Barockconsort

The pork chop recipe is a classic, but I may never have worked with cuts this thin before. It meant that it was more difficult to get the kind of juiciness characteristic of this cooking treatment, but by cutting the original recipe’s oven time almost in half (the recipe is described here), I came pretty close to the ideal.

 

• two not very thick 8-ounce pork chops from the Schaller & Weber store, thoroughly dried, seasoned with sea salt and a generous amount of freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, seared quickly on both sides inside a very hot, heavy oval enameled cast-iron pan, half of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market squeezed over each, after which the lemon was left on the surface between the chops, the pan placed in a 425º oven for only about 5 minutes, flipped over, a crushed fragment of an orange-gold habanada pepper sprinkled on top and the lemon squeezed over the top once again, and replaced in the pan, which was returned to the oven for another 5 minutes, the finished chops then arranged on 2 plates, some of the pan juices poured over the top of each, the remainder poured into a sauce boat for use at the table [I had intended to garnish the chops with some purple micro radish but then forgot to do so, so they look a bit more simple than they do sometimes]
• red dandelion leaves from Norwich Meadows Farm, dressed with some good olive oil, Alce Nero DOP ‘Terra di Bari Bitonto’ from Eataly, juice from an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market, Maldon salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper
• There was also a salad, arranged inside a low bowl next to the plates (barely visible in the picture), consisting of layers of 3 differently-colored heirloom tomatoes and one small red onion, all from Norwich Meadows Farm, topped with chopped bush basil and torn mint leaves, the herbs also from Norwich Meadows Farm, dressed with white balsamic vinegar, Maldon salt, and Tellicherry pepper, and mixed together by each of us at the table.

 

There was a cheese course. A dab of an Italian quince compote was added to the plate after the photograph below was taken (a very welcome guest).

 

• the cheeses, all from Consider Bardwell Farm, were, from left to right, ‘Manchester’ a goat cheese, ‘Pawlet’ cow cheese, and a still-unnamed blue goat cheese,
• there were garnishes on the plates, of freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper and chopped dill flowers from Eckerton Hill Farm
• toasts made from slices of a She Wolf Bakery multigrain baguette (unbleached wheat flour, whole wheat dark rye, white starter, honey, sugar grain mix {millet, sunflower, coarse rye, oats, flax seed, sesame)

 

• the wine throughout the meal was a California (Lodi) white, F. Stephen Millier Angels Reserve Chardonnay Lodi 2016, from Naked Wines 
• the music throughout was Man Bartlett’s ‘Meditation for a morning commute‘, vocals and ambient sound recorded live on a downtown A train using only an iPhone (apeDelay, Echo Pitch, Reverb, Audiobus and AudioShare iOS apps), which he had composed today, followed by his 2016 album, ‘Space on Earth‘, described by the artist as “..the first album from a body of work I’ve been hearing in my head since 2012. Around that time I was becoming increasingly overwhelmed by the nonstop onslaught of New York, so I started thinking about sound as a meditative and transformational medium; basically as a way to calm my eyeballs and counter-stimulate my brain.”

I’ve now prepared this dish twice, and last night it was at least as delicious as the first time. There is a lot going on in it, but I’ve become convinced that bluefish was made to be richly accompanied: It’s not like this strong fish is likely to be easily overwhelmed by anything, even this combination of tomato, onion, wine vinegar, dark olives, lemon, a spicy pepper, and a couple of herbs.

The okra looked very good inside the farmers’ tent in Union Square, and I picked it to accompany the fish, because, as something of a Hellenic staple, it would pair well with a fish preparation described as Greek.

I would usually add a bit of pepperoncino to the okra, but since I was using some with the fish, I decided to substitute a bit of dark dried habanada; the results were subtle, adding a complexity to what is normally a pretty straight-forward green vegetable.

• two two bluefish fillets (a total of 14.5 ounces) from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, rubbed I with olive oil a little Columela Rioja 30 Year Reserva sherry vinegar, placed inside an oval tin-lined copper au gratin pan, sprinkled liberally with a very pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, a bit of dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi, also from Buon Italia, covered with some thinly-sliced red onion from Norwich Meadows Farm, one very ripe thinly-sliced red heirloom tomato, also from Norwich Meadows Farm, some chopped fresh oregano from, again, Norwich Meadows Farm, 8 pitted and halved Kalamata olives from Whole Foods Market, and more than half of an organic lemon from Whole Foods, again, sliced thinly, the fish baked at 425º for 15 minutes, served sprinkled with buds of fresh oregano from Norwich Meadows Farm, and fresh dill flowers from Eckerton Hill Farm
• a couple handfuls of okra from Norwich Meadows Farm, sautéed over a high flame in a very large cast iron pan with a little olive oil and a good part of one dark dried habanada pepper, seasoned with sea salt
• the wine was a California (Lodi) rosé, Karen Birmingham Rosé Lodi 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Alexander Goehr: Marching to Carcassonne / When Adam Fell / Pastorals’, with Peter Serkin, the BBC Symphony, the London Sinfonietta, and the conductor Oliver Knussen

The little tumbleweeds on the top of the eggs are dill flowers, still attached to the top of their stems.

Although it was a very late breakfast, it had to be a substantial one, since we would only be eating one other meal yesterday.  It was our 25th anniversary, and we had reserved an 8:30 table at Faro, our favorite restaurant.

In addition to the dill, there was also bacon, and eggs, and toast, plus spring shallot, Maldon salt, Tellicherry pepper, harissa, basil, and nasturtium.

As for the Calabrian peppers barely visible at the top of the picture, to be honest, neither of us touched them during the meal; I think I had put them there only for the color.

• The sources for the breakfast were bacon and eggs from Millport Dairy; lightly-toasted slices of a multigrain baguette from the 23rd Street Saturday greenmarket stall of She Wolf Bakery (unbleached wheat flour, whole wheat dark rye, white starter, honey, sugar, and a grain mix of millet, sunflower, coarse rye, oats, flax seed, and sesame; a portion of one spring shallot from Alewife Farm, gently warmed in olive oil; torn basil, also from Alewife Farm; a dab of sun-dried chilli-pepper harissa from NYShuk Pantry; and dill flowers from Eckerton Hill Farm
• the music was the album, ‘Mouton: 1515 – Sacred Works‘, music of the French renaissance composer Jean Mouton

It was the third time I had prepared this pasta dish, but the first time that I had introduced it with an antipasto.

• thinly-sliced Speck from the Südtirol/Alto Adige, via Eataly, drizzled with a fine Puglian olive oil (Alce Nero biologico DOP ‘Terra di Bari Bitonto) from Eataly, served with red dandelion leaves from Norwich Meadows Farm dressed lightly with some of the same oil, plus Maldon salt, freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, and a little juice from an organic lemon from Whole Foods, then sprinkled with petals of nasturtium flowers from Windfall Farms
• slices of a multigrain baguette made with unbleached wheat flour, whole wheat dark rye, white starter, honey, sugar, and a grain mix (millet, sunflower, coarse rye, oats, flax seed, sesame), from She Wolf Bakery

I used Mark Bittman’s recipe for the pasta, following it pretty much to the letter, although I reduced its proportions by 50%. I used a very different pasta from the one he indicates, and I finished it with lovage rather than parsley, mostly because my supply of the former was fresher than that of the latter.

• the ingredients for the pasta dish were 8 ounces of emmer reginetti from Sfoglini Pasta Shop in the Union Square Greenmarket; 2 organic garlic cloves from Norwich Meadows Farm; 2 canned salted anchovies, rinsed, from Buon Italia; one and a half small dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia; 2 Italian bay leaves from Buon Italia; a 12 ounce Savoy cabbage from Norwich Meadows Farm; and a couple tablespoons of lovage from Keith’s Farm

 

• the wine was an Italian (Südtirol/Alta Adige) white, Alois Lageder Dolomiti Pinot Bianco 2015
• the music was the album, ‘Rhízōma by Anna Thorvaldsdottir’, one of our many recent purchases from Bandcamp

I really did take pictures of this meal, including some great shots of the vegetables inside the pan both before and after they had been sautéed, but when I went to look for the images today, they had all disappeared. Either I had inadvertently deleted them, or they had been stolen by the kitchen goblins.

While each of these 3 older posts shows a swordfish steak prepared pretty much as the one I had prepared, the vegetables then were very different from what we enjoyed last night it, so I couldn’t borrow from any to find a lead image, or images, on this post.

Because it was a really terrific meal, one of the best, and because I can’t stand publishing a food post without some kind of image, I looked for something related to the 2 main attractions, and came up with the vintage representations at the top.

• one 16-ounce swordfish steak from Pure Vida Seafood, divided into 2 pieces at home, marinated for half an hour in a mixture of olive oil, 2 finely-chopped red spring shallots from Alewife Farm, some chopped fresh oregano blossoms from Norwich Meadows Farm, and a very small amount of crushed dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, drained well, coated on both sides with some homemade dried breadcrumbs, and pan-grilled over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, removed to 2 plates, seasoned with Maldon salt, some of the juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market squeezed on top, drizzled with a little olive oil [optionally, also a little more chopped spring shallot], and sprinkled with some purple micro radish from Two Guys from Ridgefield

• one Sikkim cucumber from Norwich Meadows Farm (one pound), unpeeled, sliced 2 cm thick [lately I’m finding it easier to describe something in centimeters rather than inches, if a metric measure better fits the dimension I’m describing], arranged inside a large seasoned heavy cast iron pan along with one sliced 4 cm-round spring red onion from N.J. Jersey Farm Produce, Inc. (in Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street), and almost half of a dried golden orange habanada pepper, the vegetables sautéed over a medium-high flame, turning once, sprinkling the cucumbers with sea salt each time, until the cucumbers had begun to carbonize on each side successively [NOTE: the next time I will add the allium some time after beginning to cook the cucumbers, say, after they were turned, because they take far less time to reach the same cooking state], arranged on the plates, sprinkled with chopped dill flowers from Eckerton Hill Farm, and drizzled with olive oil
• the wine was a California (Lodi) white, David Akiyoshi Reserve Chardonnay 2015, from Naked Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Kathleen Supove: The Debussy Effect‘, one of our many purchases yesterday from Bandcamp

[the first image is a 19th-century Belgian lithograph which appears on this site; the second a print, dated incorrectly, on this one]

There was pasta, but it was the only element in this dish that had to be cooked; essentially, it was all but a salad.

Interestingly, there was no salt (other than that in the pasta cooking water) or pepper. I’ve written about its simplicity before.

• once the water for boiling 8 ounces of Setaro spaghetti chitarra from Buon Italia was heating inside a large stainless pasta pot, 4 heirloom tomatoes from Eckerton Hill Farm (approximately one pound) were cut into rough chunks, tossed in a large bowl with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 3 lightly-crushed garlic cloves from from Norwich Meadows Farm, part of a dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, part of a golden dried habanada pepper, about half of a cup of torn basil from Alewife Farm, then stirred, allowed to sit until the spaghetti itself was ready, cooked al dente, and tossed into and mixed with the tomatoes, the mix placed in shallow bowls, a little olive oil poured around the edges of the pasta, sprinkled on top with homemade bread crumbs browned earlier in a little olive oil, finished topped with chopped dill flowers from Eckerton Hill Farm, and nasturtium flower petals from Windfall Farms
• the wine was an Italian (Veneto) sparkling, Milleri Millesimato Prosecco 2015, a gift from friends
• the music was the third and final act of Handel’s ‘Radamisto’, begun during dinner the night before

It was a simple meal, and easily assembled, but very, very good.

• one 13-ounce tuna steak from Blue Moon Seafood Company in the Union Square Greenmarket (caught on Scott Rucky’s fishing vessel, ‘Dakota’), halved, rubbed with on the tops and bottoms with a mixture of a heaping tablespoon of wonderful dry Sicilian fennel seed from Buon Italia and a little crushed dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, the two having been ground together with mortar and pestle, the tuna sections also seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper before they were pan-grilled (for only a little more than a minute or so on each side) and finished on the plates with a good squeeze of the juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market and a bit of micro scallion from Two Guys from Woodbridge draped over the fish before, some olive oil drizzled on top
• eight small eggplants (a round orange ‘Turkish’ variety from Norwich Meadows Farm, the others from Alewife Farm), each cut horizontally into 2 or 3 slices, mixed with a little olive oil, a 2 finely-chopped garlic cloves from Norwich Meadows Farm, sea salt, and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, pan-grilled on an enameled cast iron ribbed pan over a brisk flame, turning once or twice, sprinkled with chopped peppermint leaves from Norwich Meadows Farm, arranged on the two plates on top of a small amount of sliced fennel from Alewife Farm (also pan grilled), drizzled with a bit of olive oil
• the wine was a French (Chinon) rosé, Jean-Maurice Raffault Chinon Rosé 2016, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was Handel’s 1712/1720 opera, ‘Radamisto’, Nicholaas McGegan conducting the Freiburger Barockorchester, with Juliana Gondek, Lisa Saffer, Dana Hanchard, Monica Frimmer, Michael Dean, Nicolas Cavallier, and Ralf Popken

I used to be puzzled by the people who get so excited about the arrival of blowfish in the local fish market (in the big piscivore picture, their numbers may not be large, but it always seemed like I was the only one who didn’t get it).

I get it now.

As I wrote last September, they taste at least a bit “like fried perch”, and so evoke one of the best foods I remember from the midwest where I grew up.

And then there was a (cool) salsa.

The side dish was put together mixing some oddments, a few herbs, and several vegetables, each in a quantity not sufficient to use by itself. As such it was something of a mongrel, but like most mixed breeds, it turned out to be a very good mix. And the colors made a great presentation.

• twelve blowfish tails (a total of 13 ounces) from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, dredged in about a quarter to a third of a cup of local North Country Farms Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour seasoned with plenty of sea salt and fresh-ground Tellicherry pepper, pan-fried in olive oil (in depth, about an eighth to a quarter of an inch) inside a very large heavy cast iron pan, turning over once (cooking about 2 minutes on each side, or until they had turned golden), served with wedges of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market, and garnished with micro scallion from Two Guys from Woodbridge,  [NOTE: the next time I make this dish I may try adding some ground mustard seed to the flour, since it had been such a great addition to this monkfish preparation]
• a bright and refreshing salsa composed of yellow tomatillo from from Oak Grove Plantation, sliced several times horizontally, one green heirloom, chopped roughly, and 6 miniature orange plum-shaped tomatoes, halved, both the heirloom and ‘cherry’ fruits from Eckerton Hill Farm, several chopped stems of a young fennel bulb – and some of the chopped fronds – from Alewife Farm, 3 small chopped spring shallots, also from Alewife Farm, chopped lovage from Keith’s Farm, a little olive oil, sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, lemon juice, a big pinch of dried fenugreek that I had obtained Nirmala Gupta’s ‘Bombay Emerald Chutney Company‘ at Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street, the mix arranged on the plates and garnished with nasturtium blossoms from Windfall Farms
• the wine was an American (New Mexico) sparkling, Gruet Brut
• the music was the last act of Handel’s 1724 opera (the 1731 version),’Tamerlano’, Riccardo Minasi conducting Il Pomo d’Oro, with Xavier Sabata in the title role (we had listened to only the first two acts during a meal last week)

These excellent chops were asking for a wine just as excellent, and that’s what we all enjoyed last night.

• four 5-ounce lamb loin chops, grass-fed and organic, from Shannon Brook Farm, located in the beautiful New York Finger Lakes, dried thoroughly, cooked on a very hot enameled cast iron grill pan for a total of 10 or 12 minutes, turning twice, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper after the first time, finished with a squeeze of juice from an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market, scattered with some chopped rosemary from Keith’s Farm, and drizzled with a little olive oil

• sweet crookneck yellow summer squash from Alewife Farm, cut into 2cm sections, sautéed in a little olive oil for a few minutes with 2 sliced garlic cloves from Norwich Meadows Farm inside a high-sided heavy tin-lined copper pan before 3 fresh spring shallots from Alewife Farm, halved lengthwise, were added, the pan removed from the flame once the vegetables had begun to caramelize, its contents seasoned with sea salt and Freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, a very few very small red tomatoes from Eckerton Hill Farm stirred in with them until they had just begun to soften, everything arranged on the plates and garnished with nasturtium flower petals

• the wine, a gift from an artist acquaintance, Ryan Weston Shook, who had designed its label (and that of other wines from the same winemaker), was a California (Napa) red, 1849 Wine Company Anonymous Napa Valley Premium Red Wine Blend 2013, and it was much more than just a pretty label: It was a really wonderful wine and it a perfect pairing with the entrée.
• the music was the album, ‘Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector: Music of Terry Riley’, performed by the Kronos Quartet

[image of Saber, holding a bottle of ‘Anonymous’ and two spray cans, from #anonymousby1849winecompany medias]