Latest posts

  • shallot/chili/rosé-braised chicken, pericón; potato; chicory

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    I couldn’t get to Union Square on Wednesday because I had to stay home waiting for the plumbers (a double indignity). Once I was free (and hundreds of dollars lighter), it was too late to expect to find anything at the Greenmarket fish stall, so I headed down the street toward Eataly Flatiron.  Once there…

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  • pasta con la puntarelle e acciughe

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    This will be the very last appearance here of the three ‘heads’ of puntarelle that I purchased last Wednesday exactly one week ago as I write this, and which I eventually included in 4 nights of meals (9 servings) before exhausting its wonderful bounty with 2 different recipes. A great vegetable. two or three roughly…

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  • scallops, lemon, bronze fennel; tomato, pericón; puntarelle

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    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…

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  • mussels, lovage, chili, wine, tomato, shallot; red fife bread

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    I hadn’t expected to make it to either of my Greenmarket choices on Saturday, but when our plans changed, and I realized I’d be able to cook dinner that night, I rushed down the block to one of my favorite fishmongers. When I saw the mussels, I couldn’t see anything else in the case. a…

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  • breakfast and lunch, one plate, explaining the maximalism

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    The eggs themselves were minimal, but it got a little busy with the tomato-salad-salumi-mix. Also, it was both breakfast and lunch, so I figured adding a second cured meat wasn’t totally out of order (actually the few slices of a small saucisson were there because there was so little of it, and because I couldn’t…

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  • dolphin, leek, chili, micro scallion; tomato, mint; puntarelle

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    Paul wanted me to go home with the sea robin, which was actually less than half the price of the dolphin he was selling. Speaking as my fishmonger, he said that by cooking and then writing about it on this food blog I might be able to expand the market for a very under-appreciated fish,…

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  • saucisson, tomato; fennel-crusted tuna; puntarelle; spirits

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    He was visiting New York from London so we were delighted to be able to invite him to dinner last night. Until then, while we had only known John through Twitter, we had come to feel of him as a friend. On occasions like this I usually try to serve something I can prepare almost…

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  • oregano/chili/lemon-roasted squid; turkish eggplant, mint

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    Words fail me here; I can only say it was absolutely delicious, all of it, but at least the colors can speak for themselves. Okay, ‘juicy’. Juicy is easy to say. after the oven had been heated to 400º, exactly one pound of very fresh, cleaned, quite small and very tender baby squid from P.E. &…

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  • pink smoked pork loin; purple potatoes; green pole beans

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    Well, that headline was really unnecessary, but while the meal wasn’t about color, it wasn’t diminished by its richness (which, I have to admit, wasn’t entirely serendipitous). ‘Leftover Kasslerbraten‘. The unembellished words don’t begin to describe the awesomeness. We had begun feasting on this nearly 7-pound roast the first day of this year. We enjoyed its third,…

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  • fried eggs with a salsa in lieu of a profusion of condiments

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    I wanted to minimize the number of condiments and constituents I’d put into this meal, so I decided I’d try to get most of them together in small cups, to be placed on the table where we could each reach for them as we wanted. It only occurred to me after I had started to…

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