Because it would simplify my work on the entrée when we had guests, leaving me with more time to interact before we sat down to eat, I had hoped to pick up a large striped bass fillet when I headed for the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturday, as in this good dinner. It didn’t happen: I had forgotten that this wasn’t the season for stripers, because of serious conservation management directives.

I had no fallback, so when I noticed that Phil Karlin himself was at his family’s fish stand, I told him I would be serving 4 people that night, and asked if he have a suggestion. “Get the haddock”, he replied, without a second’s hesitation.

I got the haddock.

Thanks Phil. It was superb.

• we celebrated before the meal itself with breadsticks and other crunchy things
• the wine was a Spanish (Penedès) sparkling rosé, Raventos i Blanc, Conca del Riu Anoia Rose ‘de Nit’ 2016, from Flatiron Wines

The meal began with filetti alici marinate as primi, served on a large plate arranged in a pattern I hated to disturb.

• A 9-ounce package of fresh marinated anchovies (It. alici marinate) from Buon Italia in Chelsea Market, the fillets, as they are packaged in sunflower oil, removed from the container, laid on top of paper towels on a large plate in order to drain, their top side gently dried with another paper towel, then carefully arranged on a second large plate, scattered with a little chopped Salinas, California parsley from Eataly, a bit of super-pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, and a bit of finely-chopped Krasnodar red garlic from Quarton Farm, drizzled with Frankies 457 Sicilian olive oil, the plate covered and set near a window where they remained at precisely 58º F (hey, I read somewhere that Italians love 58º F for their alici) for about an hour and a half or 2 hours, brought to the table and distributed onto the 4 plates (there were 33 anchovies, so 8 per person, one for the cook, to taste)
• the greens on the side included mix of wild cress and, in a very tiny form, a variation of cress crossed with shepherd’s purse, both from Lani’s Farm, a bit of ‘Rosa di Campo Rosso’ radicchio from Campo Rosso Farm, and micro pea greens from Windfall Farms
• slices of a delicious buckwheat baguette from Runner & Stone Bakery
• the wine was a Spanish (Galicia) white, Bodegas Avancia, Godello ‘Cuvee De O’ 2016, from Flatiron Wines

The main course was a triumph.

• twelve or so cipolline onions from Norwich Meadows Farm, boiled for 5 minutes, drained, skinned, and the root ends cut off before 6 tablespoons of oil was heated inside a large antique heavy high-sided copper pot over medium-high heat, at which time the onions, a pound of thickly-sliced shiitake mushrooms from Bulich Mushroom Company in the Union Square Greenmarket, a good pinch of sea salt, and some freshly ground black pepper were added to the pot and stirred frequently until the mushrooms had begun to soften and everything nicely browned (about 7 or 8 minutes), then 2 thirds of a cup of good Spanish Rioja wine vinegar added, the mix cooked, stirring, over medium high heat for about a minute, scraping up any browned bits stuck on the bottom, the pan removed from the heat and set aside while 2 large rectangular enameled steel oven pans were placed on top of the burners [if there had been only 2 fillets, the onions and mushrooms could have been prepared inside an oval copper au gratin pan, and removed to a bowl when done, the pan wiped clean and the haddock placed inside it], the flames turned high and four very very fresh 8-ounce haddock fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, skin on, already rubbed on both sides with 2 or 3  tablespoons of olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper, added to the pan once it was very hot, skin side up, seared until a good brown crust had developed, or for about 3 minutes, the fillets turned over and the reserved onions, mushrooms, and pan juices arranged around the fish, and not on it, everything scattered with many (24 small) fresh late-season rosemary branches from Keith’s Farm, the pan placed inside a 400º oven and roasted for about 12 minutes or so [the original recipe, for 2 fillets, appears here]
• the plate garnished with micro red mustard from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the wine was a California (Central Coast/Santa Ynez Valley) white, Rick Boyer Santa Ynez Valley Dry White Blend 2017, from Naked Wines
  by Rick Boyer

The dessert represented the first time, and probably the last (I can’t find the maker active anywhere on line) that we would enjoy what was a certain really, really good gelato.

• Victory Garden New York City goat milk gelato, ‘BAAH-NILLA! (vanilla), ‘classic and classy’, which has a Carmine Street address, from Foragers Market
• ‘Nibblin’ Nuggets of pure maple from Roxbury Mountain Maple in the Greenmarket

We remained at the table even after it had been cleared by the staff (the cook), sipping a Chicago whiskey we had discovered recently.

• Koval, a single barrel bourbon from a distillery in Chicago, described as the first in the state since the nineteenth century, made with organic grains (millet and corn) from a Midwest farmers’ collective of small scale farms, water sourced from Lake Michigan, and aged in new American oak from Minnesota forests, from Astor Wines & Spirits

 

 

 

• the music throughout was (mostly) more live streaming of the awesome octonary WKCR Bachfest 2018

It was Friday afternoon. While returning from the Union Square Greenmarket with a fine haddock fillet inside my insulated bag, which I would cook for dinner that night, I stopped by our local Eataly Market for something incidental. I had already decided that on the next day I would cook some veal riblets which were waiting for us in the freezer compartment, but when I spotted the black truffle ravioli in Luca Donofrio’s pastificio, I knew I had to find room for it in the schedule somewhere.

We were both lucky that the space I found described this simple primi I prepared to introduce the complexities of the main course, because if I had been tempted to add more elements to the ravioli, the subtleties of the noble fungus would have been lost.

• eight and a half ounces of small fresh ravioli (with a filling of ricotta, fresh black truffle, and porcini mushroom) from Luca Donofrio‘s fresh pasta shop inside Eataly’s Flatiron, briefly boiled, then, a cup of the pasta water reserved, drained and immediately slipped into a vintage medium size, high-sided tin-lined copper pan in which 3 tablespoons of Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ (with 12 grams of fat) had been melted, then seasoned with freshly-ground black pepper, portions divided into two shallow warm bowls, where the past was garnished with micro mint from Two Guys from Woodbridge

The main course was already cooking on and inside the ancient Magic Chef when we sat down to the primi.

The 1990 recipe I followed was essentially the same one I had used once before, ‘Country Mustard Braised Veal Riblets‘, and had found on the Los Angeles Times site.

• I halved the original recipe, but otherwise changed very little, merely adding a little of a very complex Nigerian cayenne pepper to the smoked Spanish pimentón ‘pikant’ specified, introducing 5 or 6 rosemary sprigs to the mix, and substituting a little local apple vinegar for the apple juice called for, and which I did not have on hand; the ingredients I used, and their sources, were: local whole wheat flour from the Blew family of Oak Grove Mills in the Union Square Greenmarket; 5 or 6 rosemary sprigs rosemary from Stokes Farm; 20 ounces of veal rib (6 ribs) from Tony, of Consider Bardwell Farm; a very sturdy dark mustard (Maille Old Style Whole Grain Dijon Mustard); a medium onion from Norwich Meadows Farm; 3 tablespoons of local apple vinegar from Race Farm; organic lemon juice from Whole Foods Market, a bit of Linden blossom honey from Tremblay Apiaries; zest from the Whole Foods organic lemon, garnished with micro red chard from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• Brussels sprouts from Phillips Farms, washed, trimmed, dried, tossed with olive oil, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and several whole unpeeled Rocambole garlic cloves from Keith;s Farm, roasted in a 400º oven on a small unglazed Pampered Chef oven pan until they were browned and crisp on the outside, or for about 20 minutes, drizzled as they came out of the oven with a little bit of warmed (to protect the hot ceramic pan) balsamic vinegar
• the wine was a great Italian (Piedmont) red, Roagna, Barbera d’Alba, 2012, the generous gift of a friend
• the music was from two very different eras (Louis XIIIe and Napoleon 1er, but performed by the same ensemble: through much of the meal, it was an album of French instrumental court music from 1601 to 1650, ‘L’Orchestre de Louis XIII 1601-1643’, performed by Jordi Savall and Le Concert des Nations  (“Ces musiques de cour aux saveurs populaires, toujours imaginatives et colorées, sont à la recherche constante de souplesse et de grâce, de grandeur et d’élégance.” – Savall); after a pause, this was followed by a very spirited performance of Beethoven’s third symphony, ‘Eroica’, also performed by Jordi Savall and Le Concert des Nations

I came across an old printout for this recipe minutes before I began to cook dinner tonight [I had probably transcribed it from this site, but I took some liberties with its text]. Since it was a little more time-consuming than most of my treatments I use for this great fish, it meant that we ate a little later than either of us had hoped we would, but the meal was really so extraordinary that, I think, neither of us minded very much.

I mean, it was really really delicious.

Especially as I think about it now, I imagine it has more than a little bit of Basque – or Spanish – in it, so the wine the house sommelier pulled out of the rack, a Galician Albariño, wasn’t just a good pairing, but also pretty ‘right’ for the meal.

The fish was hake, a species much loved in Spain, and with good reason, and the roasted vegetable dish included potatoes, leeks, olives, garlic, lemon, dried no-heat habanero peppers, and a Basque piment.

The image below shows the vegetables just prior to being put into the oven, but it was taken before the olives, the final seasoning with salt and pepper, and the last drizzle of olive oil was added.

• the white and lighter green sections of 3 leeks from Phillips Farm, trimmed, halved lengthwise, thoroughly washed free of dirt, kept intact as possible; 10 ounces of red French fingerlings from Race Farm, halved lengthwise; 10 pitted black oil-cured olives from Buon Italia, roughly chopped; 2 teaspoons of the zest of a local lemon from Fantastic Gardens of Long Island; 2 garlic cloves from Healthway Farms & CSA; a few pinches of both orange-gold and dark homedried Habanada pepper; sea salt; and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, and altogehter one half of a teaspoon of a homemade French Basque piment d’Espellate purchased in a small town north of Baie-Comeau, Quebec 2 years ago from the producer’s daughter, all arranged on the surface of a sheet of aluminum foil (I’d use parchment paper the next time), sealed at the edges, and roasted in a 475º oven for between 25 and 30 minutes
• one 15 1/2-ounce hake fillet from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, halved, brought to room temperature beginning when the vegetables were being prepared, washed, dried, seasoned with sea salt, freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, and another half teaspoon of the piment d’Espellate, seared with a very little olive oil inside a tin-lined oval copper pan, 3 to 5 minutes each side, beginning with the flesh side, removed, arranged on 2 plates and sprinkles with chopped parsley from Eataly
• the wine was a Spanish (Galicia) white, Lolo Albariño Rias Baixas 2013, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was Handel’s 1744 opera, ‘Hercules’, Marc Minkowski
  directing Les Musiciens du Louvre and Le Choeur des Musiciens du Louvre

Delicious home economics: This was the third meal in which we were able to enjoy some part of a single 5-pound smoked rack of pork (Kassler). I had purchased it to share with friends on New Year’s Day, but over the next 5 days it eventually became the centerpiece of 8 delicious main course dishes, making the cost per serving only $5.

And they definitely were delicious, this last meal, where only a few ounces of our smoky leftovers were able to dominate a luscious combination of some pretty assertive vegetables, no less than the ones which had preceded it.

• two tablespoons of Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter melted in a small, heavy, tin-lined copper pan over medium-high heat, without stirring, until the butter had become golden brown, a generous amount of sage leaves from Eataly added at that time, and the pan removed from the heat and put aside while 3 outer leaves of a red cabbage from Hoeffner Farms, sliced very thinly, sautéed in another, larger, copper skillet (eventually adding water) until lightly cooked (retaining a slight crunch), and, near the end of that time, one medium shallot from Norwich Meadows Farm, thinly-sliced, added and heated until soft, followed by a few ounces of leftover smoked pork (originally a part of the preparation of this meal) which had been sliced into thick matchstick lengths, then the contents of the skillet added to 8 ounces of a locally-sourced and locally-produced, seasonal and and artisanal pasta, Sfoglini ‘Jerusalem Artichoke Fusilli’ (incorporating sunchokes grown by Norwich Meadows Farm) which had been cooked al dente during the preparation of the sauce, drained, and returned to the cooking pot, everything stirred, along with some reserved pasta cooking water, at which time the sage butter was added and the mix seasoned with salt and pepper to taste

• the wine was a Hungarian (Tokaji) white, Royal Tokaji Wine Co. The Oddity Dry Furmint 2013
• the music was Alfred Schnittke’s Sympnony No. 6, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Tadaaki Otaka

Leftovers, but a very special kind of leftovers.

Tonight we enjoyed a re-run of our New Year’s Day feast, absent the radicchio but present some good red cabbage, simply presented.

• about 16 ounces of the 24 ounces of smoked pork loin which remained from Sunday, reheated in the oven after being drizzled with the small amount of sauce that had also not been consumed that day, along with the modest amount of the surviving horseradish potato gratin, both served with a small amount of pungent horseradish jelly from Berkshire Berries and a handful/scoop of 2 finely-sliced really tiny red cabbages from Norwich Meadows Farm that had been dressed with a little good olive oil, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of real apple cider vinegar from Race Farm and allowed to sit for 45 minutes
• the wine was a German (Baden) red, Hermann Dorflinger Spätburgunder Müllheimer Reggenhag Spätlese trocken 2013 which we had brought through customs when returning from our last German trip
• the music was Alfred Schnittke, Symphony No. 4, the Stockholm Sinfonietta conducted by Stefan Parkman, the Uppsala Akademiska Kammarkor directed by Okko Kamu