While the photograph above is my favorite image of this meal, this one may really describe it better:

On Monday afternoon, the same day I had picked up the swordfish belly that I prepared that night, I had also bought one fresh duck breast. At the time I was thinking of it as a small ‘speculative’ investment: Because we had enjoyed a meal of meat only a few days before, it was unlikely that we we’d be eating more soon. I thought I’d freeze it until an occasion presented itself, but before I did, it was Tuesday, and the occasion had arrived.

It was the cool weather, but mostly it was the vegetables.

I had suddenly remembered that I had a couple of small yummy-type squash in the refrigerator, which, together with some luscious spinach I had bought the day before, almost demanded something like duck.

Forgotten however, since they had been there almost a month, was the just how small these kabocha squash actually were (they were the runts of the bucket, and the last 2 cleft in the farmer’s stall, which is pretty much why I had bought them), especially since they had become just a little desiccated over that time, and I still had to hollow out and remove the seeds and stringy pulp. I realized the inadequacy of their size only once I had begun preparing dinner, so necessity was the mother of inspiration. They had almost disappeared, but I still had sufficient warning of the problem, and I managed to find a small supporting cast: I added a little celery and a few small very spicy radishes, roughly chopped, then continued, improvising a bit, with a recipe I would have used if it had been the squash alone that I was cooking.

It was delicious, more than just a good complement to the duck and the spinach.

The spinach cooked down fast, seemed to be trying to disappear, but I put a brake on it just before it did, and its sweetness made up for the smallness of its final portion.

The duck itself was pretty small, but it’s a very intense, sturdy meat; it came with no surprises, presented absolutely no difficulties; it helps that I could almost do this recipe in my sleep; and it was superb, as always.

• 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 sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a little turbinado sugar, 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, turning once, draining the oil after the first few minutes (the fat strained can be used in cooking at another time, if desired), the breast 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, drizzled with a little juice from an organic Whole Foods Market lemon and some olive oil, the halves transferred to warm plates sitting on top of the oven

• two mini kabocha squash from Lani’s Farm scrubbed, halved, the seeds and pith removed, cut into narrow wedges, plus an equal amount each of celery from Chelsea Whole Foods Market and Korean green Mu radishes from Norwich Meadows Farm, all roughly cut into the same size as the squash, mixed by hand inside a large bowl with a relatively small amount of olive oil, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a pinch from a gorgeous (dried) hickory smoked Jamaican Scotch bonnet pepper from Eckerton Hill Farm, purchased in the Greenmarket last December, arranged on a large, unglazed, well-seasoned ceramic pan and roasted at 425º for 20 or 25 minutes, the vegetables removed from the oven and transferred to a large heavy antique copper pot in which 3 sliced bulbs of ‘Music’ spring garlic from Windfall Farms and a generous amount of fresh thyme leaves from Phillips Farms had been gently heated in a bit of olive oil

• a few ounces of loose spinach from Alewife Farm, washed in several changes of water, drained, very gently wilted (that is, trying not reduce it too far) inside a large, heavy, antique high-sided tin-lined copper pot in a little olive oil in which 3 quartered cloves of ‘music garlic’ from Windfall Farms had first been allowed to sweat, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a bit of crushed dried Calabrian peperoncini secchia from Buon Italia, finished on the plates with a little more olive oil
• the wine was  French (Languedoc-Roussillon/Corbieres) red, Domaine de Fontsainte Rouge AOC Corbières [unfortunately I didn’t document the vintage, and we don’t remember from whom we acquired it]

• the music was the Il Giardino Armonico album, ‘La casa del Diavolo’ [The House of the Devil]

They were the first ramps I’d seen in the Greenmarket, and it wasn’t a day too soon. In fact it seemed they were more like 14 days late, judging by my Food Blog records over the years.

The pasta was also a treat, and the smoked duck breast was sublime. The mix of those 3 required almost nothing else.

• the sliced white, bulb sections of 3 perfect ramps from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm heated gently, until they had become fragrant and had softened a bit, in a couple tablespoons of Trader Joe’s very good unfiltered Italian Reserve extra virgin olive oil inside a large antique copper pot, 9 ounces of Afeltra ‘Vesuvio’ whole wheat Italian Pastaio di Gragnano from Eataly Flatiron, cooked al dente, tossed in, followed by about 3 quarters of a cup of reserved cooking water, all stirred over high heat until the liquid had emulsified, the heat turned way down and 4 four ounces of roughly chopped applewood-smoked duck ham (breast) from Hudson Valley Duck Farm mixed in, along with barely a pinch of crushed dried hickory-smoked Jamaican Scotch bonnet pepper from Eckerton Hill Farm, also some chopped fresh thyme leaves from Phillips Farms, seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, the ramp leaves, now thinly sliced lengthwise, thrown into the mix, the pasta arranged inside 2 shallow bowls and sprinkled with some grated Parmigiano Reggiano (aged 24 months) from Whole Foods Market
• the wine was a really good California sparkling, Eponina Brut California NV, from Naked Wines
• the music was Helen Grime’s ‘Woven Space’, with Sir Simon Rattle conducting the London Symphony Orchestra

It seemed like a great excuse to modify what has long been my routine preparation of seared duck breast. I had some mushrooms left over from the night before, and combining them with the duck seemed like a fine idea.

The execution however wasn’t perfect for either duck or mushrooms, nor for one of the 2 vegetables that accompanied them. I’m blaming it on my haste in working at placing dinner on the table earlier than I have been lately, and strain of working on all 4 elements of the meal at just about the same time.

The flame under the duck was probably too hot, which left the skin and fat more charred than I would prefer (although, because of the fat and the sugar, without compromising the flavor), and it probably explains why it was necessary to keep the breast in the pan longer than normally in order to arrive at the same stage of doneness I as always.

I also went just a little too far in cooking the mushrooms and largely neglected the ‘crispy-ing’ and the seasoning of the cabbage. The potatoes were perfect however, but then the recipe is also.

• one 14-ounce duck breast from Hudson River Duck Farm (the tenderloin removed, but seasoned like the rest of it, then fried very briefly near the end of the time the larger section was cooking, then halved), the fatty side scored in tight cross hatching with a very sharp knife and the entire breast rubbed, top and bottom, with a mixture of sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a little turbinado sugar, 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 [see above discussion] for a total of about 9 minutes, turning once, draining the oil after the first few minutes (the fat strained can be used in cooking at another time, if desired), the breast 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, drizzled with a little juice from an organic Whole Foods Market lemon and some olive oil, the halves transferred to very warm plates sitting on top of the oven a mushroom dish was prepared inside the pan where they had cooked
• the heat below the pan set to medium-high, all but 1 tablespoon of drippings removed and a little olive oil added before tossing in 4 or 5 ounces of sliced blue oyster mushrooms from Blue Oyster Cultivation and two sliced shallots from Phillips Farms, the two sautéed, stirring, until the mushrooms were tender, or for about 6 minutes, then seasoned with salt and pepper, 2 tablespoons of marsala (Pellegrino Superiore S.O.M. Dry) added, and stirred with the mushrooms until the juices had thickened, scraping up the browned bits, or about 1 minute, divided and arranged on the plates around the duck, mushrooms and duck sprinkled with parsley
• part of a cored Savoy cabbage (7 ounces?) from Tamarack Hollow Farm, sliced into one-half-inch ribbons, sautéed in a scant tablespoon of olive oil inside a heavy medium-size tin-lined copper pot until wilted but still a little crunchy, stirring occasionally, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, 5 or 6 slightly smashed juniper berries mixed in, a few tiny drops of balsamic vinegar added and the mix stirred over the heat for only a moment, arranged on the plates and finished with a drizzle of olive oil

• six or seven ounces of small La Ratte potatoes from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, halved lengthwise, tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, a pinch or two of crushed dried habanada pepper, arranged on a small seasoned unglazed ceramic Pampered Chef oven pan [see picture above], roasted in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 400º
• the wine was a Spanish (Rioja) red, Hermanos Pecina Rioja Joven 2017, from Crush Wine
• the music was the album of works by the contemporary Spanish composer Alberto Posadas, ‘Erinnerungsspuren’ [memory traces], performed by pianist Florian Hoelscher

 

There were no clams on the half shell last night.

I had scrubbed them an hour or so earlier, and returned them to the refrigerator, but when I was ready to shuck them they were apparently still traumatized, and – surprise! – they’d totally ‘clammed up’. Maybe I was actually the one who was stressed out, but I couldn’t get my knife between the shells. It was embarrassing, because I’ve done the routine so often. I left them inside the refrigerator to try another day and I went on to the main course.

• one small duck breast (barely 10 ounces) from Hudson River Duck Farm [the tenderloin, seen at the right front of the breast itself in the image above, removed before the duck was marinated, but seasoned like the rest of it, then fried very briefly near the end of the time the larger section was cooking], the fatty side scored in tight cross hatching with a very sharp knife, the entire breast rubbed, top and bottom, with a mixture of sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a little turbinado sugar, then left standing on the counter for about 45 minutes altogether 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 minutes, turning once, draining the oil after the first few minutes (the fat strained van be used in cooking at another time, if desired), the breast 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, left sitting for several minutes before it was finished with a drizzle of juice from an organic Whole Foods Market lemon, drizzled with some good Trader Joe’s Italian Reserve extra virgin olive oil and garnished with micro purple radish from Windfall Farms
• six Maine cherry ‘cocktail’ tomatoes from Whole Foods, slow-roasted inside a small antique tin rolled-edge oven pan with a little olive oil, a generous amount of dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia (sold on their stems), and 4 slightly-smashed cloves of music garlic from Windfall Farms

• two mini kabocha squash from Lani’s Farm scrubbed, halved, the seeds and pith removed, cut into narrow wedges and mixed by hand inside a large bowl with a relatively small amount of olive oil, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a pinch from a gorgeous (dried) hickory smoked Jamaican Scotch bonnet pepper from Eckerton Hill Farm, purchased in the Greenmarket last December, arranged on a large, unglazed, well-seasoned ceramic pan and roasted in the 425º oven for 20 or 25 minutes, removed from the oven and transferred to a large heavy copper pot in which 3 crushed cloves of music garlic and half a dozen large sage leaves from Whole Foods Market had been gently heated  in a bit of olive oil
• the wine was a French (Saint-Emilion) red, Belregard-Figeac, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2015 from Flatiron Wines
• the music was a really wonderful performance of a gorgeous ‘pre-reform‘ (1750, revised 1763) Gluck opera, ‘Ezio, Andreas Stoehr conducting the Neue Düsseldorfer Hofmusik

Winter picnic.

Fried duck breast part 2.

I had bought more of Dolores Kalin’s wonderful smoked fish salad at the Greenmarket the day before, with no particular meal in mind at the time. Then, the next day, when I was looking around for something to fill out a menu in which slices of cold cooked duck breast would be featured, I drafted it into that meal almost immediately.

• a composed smoked fish salad from P.E. & D.D.Seafood, made by Dolores Karlin using various local white fish caught by Karl, her husband, spread very thickly on soft lightly-toasted slices of 12 grain bread from Bread Alone, purchased a few days earlier, but also in the Union Square Greenmarket
• sprays of an upland cress from Two Guys from Woodbridge, dressed with Frankies 47 olive oil, Maldon salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a squeeze of organic Chelsea Whole Foods Market lemon
• the wine was a Spanish (Rioja) white, Real Rubio Blanco, Rioja 2017, from Astor Wines

The small meat course was even more special than the fish, since we’ve never had ‘leftover’ duck breast before, and its presentation could be almost intensely minimal.

• one half of a cooked duck breast from Hudson River Duck Farm, that remained from the meal we had enjoyed the night before, brought to room temperature, sliced very thinly and arranged on the plates without any sauce or seasonings
• dollops of a house apricot mustard from Dixon Farmstand
• some absolutely delicious (January!) arugula from Philips Farms, dressed with salt, black pepper, olive oil, and drops of a good Spanish Rioja wine vinegar
• slices of a She Wolf Bakery miche
• the wine was a Spanish (Navarre) red, Verasol, Navarra Tinto Tempranillo-Garnacha 2014, from Flatiron Wines in Manhattan

I was prepared to set out a small third course, local cheese and fruit, but at this point or appetites had been sated.

• the music throughout the meal was Rossini’s 1820 romantic opera, ‘Maometto Secondo’, Claudio Scimone conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Ambrosian Singers, with soloists Margarita Zimmermann, June Anderson, Ernesto Palacio, Samuel Ramey, and Laurence Dale