Pretty simple.

• thirteen Hampton Bays sea scallops (15 ounces total) from American Seafood Company, rinsed, dried very thoroughly with paper towels then placed in a paper plate to prevent condensation, seasoned with local Long Island sea salt from P.E. & D.D. Seafood and freshly-ground black pepper, grilled briefly (90 seconds on each side) in a very hot enameled cast iron pan, finished with a squeeze of juice from a Gristedes Supermarket Mexican lemon and a drizzle of Cretan olive oil, Renieris Estate ‘Divina’ (Koroneiki varietal), of Hania, from Whole Foods Market, arranged on the plates with a sprinkling of some very special slightly peppery parsley, chopped, torn from a few stems that JoAnna of the Windfall Farms stand had shared with me that day at the Union Square Greenmarket

• the thinly sliced pink/white and lighter green parts of 2 red spring onions from Norwich Meadows Farm heated, along with a tablespoon of dried Semi di Finocchietto Ibleo (a wild Sicilian fennel seed harvested in the Iblei Mountains in the southeast), in one tablespoon of olive oil inside a small antique heavy tin-lined copper pot until the onion had softened and the fennel had become quite pungent, then set aside, while another tablespoon of oil, or a little more, was heated inside a much larger copper pot of the same description, and 2 beautiful small heads (11 ounces) of a hybrid Napa cabbage, called ‘Red Dragon‘, from northern Vermont’s Tamarack Hollow Farm, roughly chopped, was gradually added and stirred until all of it was slightly wilted, the pot removed from the heat, the reserved scallion-fennel seed mixture, some sea salt, and a little freshly-ground black pepper added to its contents, and the cabbage stirred some more, finished by tossing on some more chopped spring onion

• slices from a loaf of ‘Seedy Grains’ from Philadelphia’s Lost Bread Co., purchased at the Union Square Greenmarket
• the wine was an Oregon (Willamette Valley) white, Scott Kelley Oregon Pinot Gris 2018, from Naked Wines
• the music was Christopher Tignor’s album, ‘A Light Below’

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

Dinner was a cinch.

I really went pretty basic with the scallops this time, the tomato was almost as minimal, and the puntarelle have almost become something I could do in my sleep.

But I did manage to include a tiny (edible) bouquet on the plate (a last minute inspiration).

• eleven sea scallops (14 ounces total) from P.E. & D.D. Seafood Company, rinsed, dried very thoroughly with paper towels then placed in a paper plate to prevent condensation, seasoned with local Long Island sea salt from P.E. & D.D. Seafood and freshly-ground black pepper, grilled briefly (90 seconds on each side) in a very hot full size square enameled cast iron pan, finished with a squeeze of juice from an organic California lemon from Chelsea Whole Foods Market and a drizzle of Whole Foods Market house Portuguese olive oil, arranged on the plates with a sprinkling of scissored bronze fennel, flowers and buds, from Rise & Root Farm
• slices of a baguette from She Wolf Bakery in the Union Square Greenmarket
• one small heirloom tomato from Norwich Meadows Farm, halved, sprinkled on the cut side with sea salt and black pepper, scattered with chopped leaves of pericón (Mexican tarragon) from Quarton Farm, heated gently on bot sides inside a small copper skillet, arranged on the plates with tiny sprigs of pericón flowers planted on top
• the only real central sections that remained from the puntarelle I had bought last week, and last included in a meal on Friday, prepared from scratch as described in this post, and tossed with a freshly assembled anchovy sauce (they were still delicious)
• the wine was a California (Clarksburg) white, Miriam Alexandra California Chenin Blanc 2018, from Naked Wines
• the music was Rossini’s beautiful 1821-1822 melodramma giocoso (opera semiseria) ‘Matilde di Shabran’, Riccardo Frizza conducting the Orquesta Sinfonica di Galicia, with Annick Massis and the incredibly beautiful voice of Juan Diego Florez

A tough one.

Somehow I must have persuaded myself that the tougher parts of the agretti branches I had picked up at the Greenmarket would miraculously soften once they had been parboiled.

I was wrong, and now it was getting pretty late for any major change in the menu.

I had suspected I might have a problem on my hands, so I had started to think of something to replace them with as a side dish for the scallops even as I tossed the agretti into the pot of boiling water, but with a quick recovery – stripping the ‘leaves’ from the branches after they had drained and combining them with some tomatoes that I had earlier thought of as a second vegetable – I rescued at least some of my original dinner plan, and saved some little cucumbers for another meal.

• ten sea scallops (13.5 ounces total) from P.E. & D.D. Seafood Company, rinsed, dried, slit horizontally with a very sharp knife almost all of the way through to accommodate tiny spoonfuls of a mixture of some fresh chopped epazote from TransGenerational Farm, one medium-size clove of ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic from Alewife Farm, less than half of a tiny Brazilian wax pepper from Eckerton Hill Farm, a little local P.E. & D.D. sea salt, and a bit of whole black pepper, all having been 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 [although I’m not certain this is step is necessary, especially to retain ‘grill’ marks], drained, pan grilled in an enameled cast iron pan for about 2 minutes on each side, removed to the 2 dinner plates, finished with a squeeze of a small California organic lemon from Chelsea Whole Foods Market and a drizzle of olive oil

• a handful of golden heirloom cherry tomatoes from Eckerton Hill Farm, each punctured once or twice with a small metal skewer, then rolled around in a little olive oil above a low flame inside a medium copper skillet, eventually joined by the tender parts of a bunch of agretti (or saltwort) branches, from Norwich Meadows Farm, separated from the woody parts after the branches, still intact, had been parboiled for exactly 7 minutes, the tomatoes and the agretti stirred together, seasoned with sea salt and black pepper, and warmed a bit, a little juice from an organic California lemon from Chelsea Whole Foods Market squeezed on top before tomatoes and agretti were arranged on the plates
• slices of an organic multigrain baguette from Bread Alone
• the wine was a New Zealand (South Island/Marborough/Wairau Valley) white, Lay of the Land Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018, from Naked Wines
• the music was an album of works by Sheila Silver, ‘Piano Concerto’ and ‘Six préludes pour piano, d’après poèmes de Baudelaire‘

These images, and especially the plates, are still looking a little pink, since I haven’t yet fixed the wiring on the 100-year-old overhead fixture in the breakfast room (I turn up the light at dinner only for the photographs), so I’m using a 100-year-old gooseneck lamp in the interim, which apparently has a rosy reflector.

• twelve good-sized sea scallops (16 ounces total) from American Seafood Company, rinsed, dried very thoroughly with paper towels, seasoned with local Long Island sea salt from P.E. & D.D. Seafood and freshly-ground black pepper, grilled briefly (90 seconds on each side) in a very hot medium size square enameled cast iron pan [I think not hot enough this time, since the grill marks are a little subdued], finished with a squeeze of juice from a small Mexican organic lemon from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, then a scattering of garlic flowers from Alewife Farm and a drizzle of Whole Foods Market house Portuguese olive oil, arranged on the plates with a sprinkling of micro red amaranth from Two Guys from Woodbridge placed at the side

• three medium Japanese eggplant (10 ounces total), also from Alewife Farm, each halved lengthwise and scored with a very sharp knife, brushed all over with a mixture of a little olive oil, 2 finely-chopped garlic cloves from Stokes Farm, a pinch of super-pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, local sea salt and black pepper, pan-grilled on an enameled 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 and sprinkled with a combination of torn mint [peppermint?] leaves from Alex’s Tomato Farm and chopped lovage from S. & S. O. Produce Farms, drizzled with a bit of more olive oil
• the wine was a Portuguese (Minho) white, Soalheiro Allo Loureiro Alvarinho 2016, from Garnet Wines
• the music was Handel’s 1713 opera, ‘Lucio Cornelio Silla’, Fabio Biondi conducting the ensemble Europa Galante