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  • crab cakes, green tomato salsa, boiled potato, micro radish

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    Because of what the severe weekend weather had done for local fishing, our regular Monday fishmonger, P.E. & D. D. Seafood, wasn’t at the Union Square Greenmarket that day. Since I had learned this from the list on the GrowNYC.org‎ app, and because I had plenty of vegetables on hand, I didn’t have to head…

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  • reverse seared strip steak, rosemary; asian raab, garlic

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    I joked about this dinner mimicking the classical New York steak house selection, grilled rib and creamed spinach, except there was no grill, and no rib, and the ‘spinach’ was an asian green, pleased to hold the cream. And the beef came from Connecticut. My timing for a reverse seared steak was a little ragged once…

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  • December breakfast: bacon and eggs, tomatoes and chilis

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    It was the first morning of December, so of course we enjoyed local tomatoes with our breakfast. The 2 that I used in this meal, saving the rest for a dinner the next day, came from a small stash that I thought at the time would be the last of a long season, but at…

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  • spicy fried whiting, boiled potatoes; purple tomatillo salsa

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    It was another of those double take reactions, when the fish monger quotes you the price after you’ve chose your fish of the day: $3.50? Only $3.50, for enough excellent whole fresh fish for 2 diners? Yup. And very nicely cleaned, as well. They were easily and quickly prepared, and delicious; also, the bones were…

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  • theater supper: dark corn bread with labneh and ciauscolo

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    When your 3-hour play started late, but you still need a supper, and then you want to continue the discussion that began when you entered the theater: thin slices of dense ‘Homadama’ (wheat, corn, water, maple syrup, salt, slaked lime) from Lost Bread Co., not toasted, because they were both very fresh and very firm,…

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  • oysters; seared venison; sweet potato frites; baby brassica

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    It would have been a pretty interesting menu for any important meal: Lots of oysters, venison chops, sweet potato frites, a baby brassica mix. It was also, in spite of the absence of turkey (and many of the other fetish items associated with everyone’s very proprietary holiday), very much in tune with the occasion we…

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  • grilled swordfish salad; roasted goat rack; brussels sprouts

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    The only swordfish steaks left inside the fishers’ bucket on Friday when I arrived at his stand in the Union Square Greenmarket were a bit larger than what we normally share, so, at Paul’s suggestion, that evening I decided to cut off a smaller section, grill it with the other two, larger parts, that we…

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  • marinated, breaded Swordfish; potatoes; roasted tomatoes

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    It was a wonderful dinner. one swordfish steak (19 ounces) from Pura Vida Seafood Company in the Union Square Greenmarket, divided into two 7 1/2-ounces pieces for this dinner, and one 4-ounce piece that would be part of an appetizer the next day, all three marinated for more than half an hour in a mixture…

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  • oregano/chili-roasted squid; potatoes, chives; 2 dandelions

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    I’ve always thrown some form of capsicum in the mix with this recipe (the original recipe, and my usual preparation, included only dried red pepper flakes), but this may be the first time I’ve used fresh seasoning peppers other than habanada. While it made for a very flavorful dish, a much smaller amount than I…

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  • la gricia, la cucina de na vorta

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    It’s still 1989. Or even once upon a time. This dish is a classic in Italy [cf. ‘pasta alla gricia‘]. In a way, it was already a classic to me before I had even tasted it: Because it included a recipe, for a pasta preparation called ‘la Gricia’, that looked so genuine and uncomplicated, and…

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