Oh my.

Yes.

We both love game, but I’m pretty certain I’ve never prepared or eaten partridge before. It doesn’t show up anywhere on this blog, and where else would I have had the opportunity, especially before I started it, in 2009?, so I didn’t really know what to expect.

While I was planning and cooking Saturday’s dinner, I hadn’t really been thinking about how dark in color or gamey it might be. I was mostly concerned about how to cook it to best advantage. If I had given it a thought, I’d have assumed that partridge would be darker and more gamey than the centerpiece of our meal that night actually turned out to be.

But what flavor!

I’m used to thinking ruddy and gamey is what wild fowl are all about (dove and quail have been my favorites) , but this bird gave me a whole new appreciation for the more subtle but very rich flavors of fowl that do not hang out in the traditional farm yard, but which don’t scream “liver!”.

The excellent, and extraordinarily simple recipe I used is from Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers inestimable volume, ‘Italian Easy’; Recipes from the London River Cafe‘(page 160 in my edition).

• two 1-pound chukar partridges [alectoris chukar] from Quattro’s Game Farm & Store in the Union Square Greenmarket, their backbones removed with a heavy kitchen scissors where the thin ribs join it, then each bird pushed flat, open side down, on the surface of a platter or large oven pan, seasoned on all sides with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and most of one crushed dried Itria-Sirissi chili, pepperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia, rubbed with some Whole Foods Market house Portuguese olive oil, covered all over with a mix of fresh and dry breadcrumbs, a combination of moist crumbs from a part of the only bread I had on hand, a very intensely flavored loaf of Lost Bread Co.’s Homadama (wheat, corn, water, maple syrup, salt, slaked lime) and, to help overcome the sponginess of the cornbread, some totally dried homemade crumbs that were themselves a mix of many different kinds of breads, the partridges then left aside to rest for something over 30 minutes before they were placed above medium flames on a 2-burner Lodge cast iron grill pan and grilled for about 25 minutes, turning frequently and from time to time squeezing organic Whole Foods Market lemon halves on top, the flames turned off and the birds allowed to rest for about 5 minutes, covered loosely with aluminum foil if desired, arranged on the plates with micro red amaranth arranged at its edges, and ideally perhaps served with more lemon (I didn’t have any left at this point that night, but I had been very generous earlier with what I did have); in any event I had somehow managed to cook them to a perfect state, roughly showing 180ºF, inside their thighs, with the help of an instant thermometer

• red dandelion leaves from Norwich Meadows Farm, well washed and thoroughly dried, dressed in a good Cretan (Chania) olive oil, Renieris Estate ‘Divina’ (a Koroneiki varietal), from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, local Long Island sea salt from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, freshly-ground black pepper, and a bit of Columela Rioja 30 Year Reserva sherry vinegar

• thirteen or 14 ounces of Hakurei turnips from Keith’s Farm, washed, scrubbed, peeled, cut into half-inch-thick slices, tossed with Portuguese olive oil, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, a small handful of rosemary leaves from from Phillips Farms, and little more than a pinch of a crushed dried piece of golden/bronze habanada pepper, roasted inside a large unglazed Pampered Chef ceramic pan for about 30 or 35 minutes at 425º, or until tender and beginning to carbonize
• the wine was an Oregon (Willamette Valley/Yamhill-Carlton) red, Fairsing Vineyard Pinot Noir 2016, from the vineyard directly
• the music was a glorious performance and a brilliant recording of Mozart’s 1791 Singspiel, ‘Die Zauberflote’, William Christie conducting his ensemble, Les Arts Florissants, with soloists including Hans Peter Blochwitz, Willard White, and Natalie Dessay

German creole cookery? Yes, and of course it was all good.

Otherwise all I can think to say otherwise is how quickly Barry and I have become comfortable with the idea of traditional German cuisine melded with that of the deep south hundreds of years ago. I wrote a little about it in the post describing our first exposure to the story of Louisiana’s German coast (Deutsche Küste/Côte des Allemands).

• four links of Louisiana German Coast-style spicy Andouille sausage 12 ounces) from Schaller & Weber’s Yorkville store placed inside a large Pyrex Flameware pot, filled with just enough cold water to cover, heated over a medium-high flame until the water had reached a gentle simmer, by which time, now fully cooked, they were removed, drained, and dried on a paper towel before being placed inside one of my prized ancient perfectly seasoned Wagner Ware cast iron pans over high heat (after its surface had been brushed with a very small amount of Mac Nut oil), seared, turning frequently until colored on all sides, then arranged on the plates with that brilliant condiment creation, Inglehoffer  cranberry mustard

• one pound of so of Peter Wilcox potatoes (purple skin, golden flesh) from Windfall Farms, scrubbed, skins left on, halved, tossed with a little olive oil, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, rosemary leaves from Phillips Farms, a bit of crushed dried Italian myrtle (It. Mirto) leaves from Buon Italia, and the same amount of dry crushed golden habanada pepper, the potatoes arranged, cut side down, on a large Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic pan, roasted at about 350º-375º for about 30 minutes, garnished with Micro red vein sorrel from Two Guys from Woodbridge

• one bunch of tender collards from Keith’s Farm, stripped of most of their stems and fairly roughly cut, washed several times and drained, transferred to a smaller bowl very quickly, in order to retain as much of the water clinging to them as possible, braised inside a large, heavy antique tin-lined copper pot in which 2 halved cloves of ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic from Alewife Farm had first been allowed to sweat in some olive oil, finished with salt and pepper, finished with a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a California (North Coast/Mendocino) red, Ondine Chattan Mendocino Memento 2018, from Naked Wines
• the music was an album of music by the Dutch composer Richard Rijnvos, ‘Le rideau se baisse lentement durant toute la musique suivante’, performed  by the Ives Ensemble

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

The meal included elements of at least three different food traditions, but it wasn’t dominated by any one of them, so naturally we decided to serve a South African wine.

• four links of Schaller & Weber‘s wonderful Bauernwurst, a coarse, smokey, very traditional German country style sausage, placed next to each other inside a medium Pyrex blue Flameware pot which was then filled with cold water, just enough to cover, heated over a medium-high flame until the water had reached a gentle simmer (by which time they were fully cooked), removed, drained, dried on a paper towel, and placed above a high flame inside a seasoned cast iron pan, after its surface had been brushed with a thin layer of olive oil, seared, turning frequently, until colored on all sides, arranged on the plates with dabs of a rich shallot, garlic, paprika and turmeric mustard from Hudson Valley Charcuterie, and a second mustard, Löwensenf Hönig-Dill
• one heirloom tomato from Race Farm, halved horizontally, seasoned with local sea salt from P.E. & D.D. Seafood and freshly ground black pepper, softened on both sides in a little olive oil inside a small copper skillet, arranged on the plates on a bed of olive oil-drizzled baby arugula from Campo Rosso Farm, the  tomatoes sprinkled with a bit of chopped chive garlic seed from Space on Ryder Farm, themselves drizzled with a touch more oil

• one small (5-inch/27 ounce) ‘Blue Ballet’ squash (a variety of Hubbard squash) from Alewife Farm, scrubbed, halved, the seeds and pith removed, cut into just under one-inch wedges and mixed by hand inside a large bowl with a relatively small amount of olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, and pieces of golden dried habanada pepper, arranged on a large, unglazed, well-seasoned ceramic pan (Pampered Chef) and roasted in a 425º oven 25 minutes, removed from the oven and transferred to a large heavy copper pot in which 3 crushed cloves of ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic from Alewife Farm had been gently heated in a bit of olive oil, then arranged on the plates where they were tossed with a generous amount of micro chervil from Two Guys from Ridgefield
• the wine was a South African (Western Cape Province/Robertson Valley) red, Stephen de Wet’s Arabella Estate wine, Arabella Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 from Naked Wines
• the music was the album of music by a contemporary of Haydn, ‘Franz Ignaz Beck: Symphonies Op 4 No 1-3’, performed by Michael Schneider conducting the ensemble, La Stagione

Sure, it was steak and potatoes, with one small red tomato for a light touch – and – color, but before that there was a very light appetizer of freshly grilled zucchini slices with a really good local chevre and some spicy mint.

I think the news about a study about meat studies had just broken around the time I started planning this meal, but I wouldn’t have impacted them in any event. Compared to most Americans, we eat very little meat, but we really enjoy it when we do, and the latest fuss, like so much other modern food advice fuss, seems to have no basis.

I don’t know anything about ‘ScienceAlert’ (there’s no ‘about’ on the home page), or Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz, the author of the article on this subject which I found on its site, but one statement I found there seems about right, at least to this non-scientist:

There is some evidence that red meat consumption might be harmful, but it’s not strong enough to justify telling people to change their dietary habits.

Basically, keep doing whatever you are currently doing, because we simply don’t know if it’s harmful or not.

Check.

• one 7-ounce zucchini from Stokes Farm, sliced lengthwise into pieces about a quarter of an inch thick, tossed in a bowl with a generous amount of sea salt and allowed to rest for about a half hour, rinsed well, dried, tossed inside a bowl again, this time with a little olive oil, 2 finely-chopped garlic cloves from Stokes Farm, salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a bit of dried Itria-Sirissi chili, pepperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia, then pan grilled, turning 2 or 3 times, on the top of a large ribbed cast iron grill plate, arranged on the 2 plates, sprinkled with torn peppermint leaves from Lani’s Farm and more olive oil, arranged on a medium plate, and crumbled with some wonderful Consider Bardwell Farm chèvre, ‘Mettawee’
• slices from a loaf of Pain d’Avignon seven grain bread (whole wheat, honey, sesame-sunflower-flax seed, oats) from Foragers Market

The steak course, as I suggested, was almost a throwback; only the herbs might have betrayed it was the 21st century.

• one picanha/culotte steak (18.5 ounces) from Sun Fed Beef in the Union Square Greenmarket, defrosted, brought to room temperature, seasoned on all sides with sea salt, a generous amount of freshly-ground black pepper, and seared for less than a minute on the top, thick, fat-covered side, then briefly on the opposite side, inside a dry oval heavy enameled cast iron pan, then the 2 long sides cooked for 3 or 4 minutes each, removed from the pan at the moment it had become perfectly medium-rare (checking with an instant-read thermometer), carefully cut crosswise into 2 pieces of the same weight and arranged on 2 warm plates while a bit of juice from an organic Chelsea Whole Foods Market California lemon was squeezed on top, followed by a drizzle of a little very good Cretan olive oil, then scattered with scissored bronze fennel flowers from Rise & Root Farm, and allowed to rest for about 4 minutes before being served
• one small red heirloom tomato from Norwich Meadows Farm, sliced in half horizontally, sprinkled with sea salt, black pepper, and a little chopped lovage from Quarton Farm, briefly sautéed inside a small copper skillet, turning once, arranged on the plates and drizzled with a very small amount of oilve oil
• roughly three quarters of a pound of medium ‘Chieftain’ potatoes, with red skin and white flesh, from Keith’s Farm, washed, scrubbed, dried, halved, tossed inside a bowl with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, dried dark golden habanada, and sprigs of tender young rosemary from TransGenerational Farm, arranged in (on?) a medium Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic pan and roasted at 400º for about 25 or 30 minutes, arranged on the plates and sprinkled with [more rosemary, I think]
• the wine was a Portuguese (Estremadura) red, Montaria 2017, from Naked Wines, an excellent wine, and também uma grande pechincha
• the music was a delightful album, ‘L’orchestre De Louis XIII’, composed of early seventeenth century French court music by various composers, written for “..solemn events during the reigns of Henry III, Henry IV and Louis XIII, including several Concerts for their royal entertainment, gathered together in an anthology by Philidor the Elder in 1690.“, performed by Jordi Saval and Le Concert des Nations