Warm

In the mood to play more with my new toy, I vacuum sealed some wild salmon with ginger, garlic, lemon thyme, 5 spice, and sudachi powder. Cooked for half an hour at 47˚C and served on brown rice with a kale-endive pesto, kimchi, and a tomato-blood orange sauce. The beauty of salmon like this is that it looks raw, yet pulls apart like cooked, and the vacuum really helps the flavors get into the fish. Next time I might toss it in a hot pan for just a minute to crust the top, but there's something to be said for the pure silkiness all the way through.

This kimchi is so good and so addictive that I'm going to start another batch next week so we don't run out. In keeping with the fun, experimental mood, I opened two wines that I knew would be fine, even better, after a day or two open: a 2005 Boillot Montagny 1er cru and a 1999 Parent Chambolle-Musigny. Neither was stellar, but each did play off different aspects of the meal with some success and it will be nice to have them around to try with something totally different in a day or two.

Pizza Party

We had a few friends over, with a total of 5 more kids, because Milo wanted to have a pizza party. I made four: potato, (our almost very last) kale pesto & dried tomato (mixed with a bit of basil pesto and the endive-umeboshi mash) zucchini (our very last) and shiitake-guanciale (sautéed in a pan with garlic and parsely until nice and caramelized.) The last two were with homemade tomato sauce and local mozzarella. I've pretty much perfected my dough recipe, and with the convection oven at 500˚ and a $3 tile from Lowe's in the oven they come out pretty crispy and authentic. The key is to get the crust nice and thin. Jackie brought some local ice cream. There were no leftovers.

Chirashi

If Christine were here, I would have made this into sushi, but containing hurricane Milo while preparing dinner requires some compromise. I did get a chance to play with my new (used) water bath, which is all that matters. Trimmed grass-fed organic ribeye cooked sous-vide at 130˚ for a bit over an hour, then seared in a skillet to get a nice brown on the top and bottom. Sliced thin over Thai black rice with a rich mash of endive, ume plum, garlic, and oil, it covered a lot of ground with a few ingredients. To celebrate my return to meat and wine, I opened a 2004 Mongeard-Mugneret Savigny-les-Beaune "Les Narbantons" which is slowly opening up but needs quite a bit more time to show its stuff; if it lives up to its nose it will be a good value.

Puttanesca

A perennial favorite, and great kid food that also satisfies a more sophisticated adult palate, I find that this is one of those dishes- like penne all'arrabiata- that is deceptively hard to get just right. The key (apart from cooking the pasta properly) is the integration of the various strong flavors into a near-seamless whole within a sauce that has to be just reduced and oily enough to coat the pasta. When it's done right, it sings four-part harmony and transcends its humble status; it becomes the perfect plate of pasta, the Platonic Penne.

Bachelor Party

Christine is in Turkey for a week, so it's just Milo and me which means I get to play around with healthy and refined versions of kid food to keep us both happy. Last night was a good example; I used the leftover mashed sweet potatoes and a chicken carcass to make a shepherd's pie with a cornucopia of garden goodies. The chicken made a simple broth, while kabocha squash, carrots, onion, leeks, scallions, radish, potatoes, celery, and herbs (all from the garden) had a quick sautée, sprinkle with flour, and then addition of broth to bubble and thicken. Poured into glass dish, topped with mashed sweets, and baked, it hit all the right creamy comfort notes while still being super-healthy (and the squash and potatoes were perfectly al dente.)

There's little that's less photogenic than shepherd's pie, so I'll make do with the bread I made yesterday morning. I did the full recipe in the big Dutch oven this time, and it worked really well; the sides gave the loaf good height and shape, and the steam before I took the lid off made for the best crust yet. The only trick is leaving it in the oven long enough, since it requires a lot more time to bake through than the smaller size.

Neewollah

The anti-Halloween, if you will. Super clean and healthy to compensate for all the sweets. Brown rice, with three complementary preparations on top: seitan braised with onion, radish, carrot, ginger, garlic, and scallion; freshly-dug burdock simmered in water with a pinch of salt; a purée of collards, mustard greens, and sorrel with lime. Milo LOVES burdock, and told me so. This was a nice case of making satisfying food for the family while still keeping to the requirements of my "Dieta."

Soon the kimchi will be ready (and I'll be able to eat it) and then this type of food will get a boost to an even higher level. One of the best parts about a garden is the ability to make fantastic condiments to give winter food some excitement and spice.

Scene Stealer

Chris & Sirkka gave us some fennel since ours is done, and it completely dominated this meal. Sautéed and then braised a bit to soften- with only oil, lemon, salt, and pepper- it was meltingly smooth, sweet, and sublime. The pan-roasted salmon (well-done by request) and mashed sweet potato/Japanese yam combination were fine, even delicious, but the fennel was on another plane entirely.

Halloween

Here's Milo in his chef outfit, enjoying a lollipop. Surprisingly enough, he figured out the whole say-trick-or-treat-and-get-free-candy thing pretty quickly. Astonishing. The parade was fun, and we ran into all our friends, all in costume.

Frost

Last night we had our first frost, and the row covers worked well to protect the less hardy greens. My hope is that we'll be able to keep some things going at least as far as full Winter, if not longer for the kale and collards. Those I planted a month ago will have a great head start in the spring if they survive. In any case, it will be a good chance to learn about what does well and what doesn't, and whether some more robust winterproofing is in order for next time.
















Tonight I made falafel for the first time in a long time, which is odd because it's so easy and so good. The key is to soak and then cook the chick peas early in the day so all that's needed come dinner time is to fry them up and assemble the garnishes. These included fresh radishes, pickled beets, hot and mild garden salsas, mixed late greens (arugula, mustard, mizuna, sorrel) and of course tahini (but with an avocado mashed in for good measure.) A very nice balance between the crispy fried and the crunchy raw ends of the spectrum, all tied together with creamy sauce and a little spice.

The other accomplishment today was the crock of kimchi- two perfect cabbages, carrots, scallions, a couple of radishes, garlic, ginger, and a minced cayenne pepper combined in salt water- in a week or so I'll check its progress. I'm pretty excited for this; it's so healthy and so good and will help wake up many winter favorites. All our hot pepper preparations are going to require lots of beer or riesling this winter.

Soup

The chicken carcass became broth, and I made "meatballs" with the leftover lentil salad, a dab of pâté, an egg, and some flour, then poached them in the broth. Soba and braised pan di zucchero finished the bowl. The meatballs were OK, but needed more zing- ginger, garlic, and chile, maybe, and some matzo meal to improve the texture. This dish also underscored the urgency of making the big crock of kimchi I've been planning for the minute our cabbages are big enough; with our first frost likely to come on Sunday night I'll probably make it on Saturday just in case my winterizing doesn't work.

No-Brainer

A roast chicken, with Japanese yams and whole garlic cloves in the pan, plus sautéed kale with lemon and a lemony gravy made with the pan juices. Just right for a rainy day and I got to work right up to dinner time. A 2001 Cheze St.-Joseph Cuvée Ro-Rée was well suited to this simple meal, though I think I like the 03 better.

The Pendulum Swings

Today was another, even warmer perfect fall day and the leaves are peaking. I got to work outside for a couple of hours and enjoy the sounds and smells of the season. The scarcity and magic of these days makes them even more valuable, and the undercurrent of melancholy at the fleeting warmth gives each moment added weight. Time is fat like pumpkins right now.

To balance the divine excess of last night, a couple of clean and healthy dishes tonight. Little puy lentils simmered with carrot, onion, and celery and finished with olive oil, parsley, and fennel fronds accompanied a puréed soup of celery root, leeks, fennel, onion, sorrel, and potato with a broth fortified by the bones of the two legs of duck confit we had last week. The soup really worked; with good texture and a broad range of integrated flavors- from the meaty duck to the bright lemony sorrel- it was light for a warm day yet still rich for the time of year. Ditto the lentils, but from the other direction: vegan, but intensely earthy and substantial. Speaking of earthy and substantial yet light, a 2001 Guigal white Hermitage matched both these dishes quite well.

Bend Over, Abigail Mae

Fans of Patton Oswalt (he was the voice of Ratatouille, you know) might recognize the title for this post. Today, because I'm the daddy, and it was an impeccable crystalline warm fall day- with all those fleeting perfections of smell and light and feeling that fill one at once with both pure distilled joy of life and sad dread at its evanescence- a meal to celebrate the exact intersection of those two emotions.

At Daniel's Bistro DB in the city he makes the famous "DB Burger" and I made it my mission to rival it in pure sensuous fabulosity (if not refined elegance.) Having a bit of the pâté mixture left in the fridge, I seasoned organic ground beef with salt, pepper, and garlic and stuffed the orotund patties with a generous dollop of same. Then, chopping the bacon cracklings also remaining from pâté fabrication, I studded the outside of the burgers with them and got to work on the fries- sweet potatoes, fried twice, then salted, that is. Once the burgers were done, I caramelized leeks in the combination of beef, pork, and duck fat that the burgers had rendered out and then mopped up the last of it with organic whole wheat English muffins.

The toppings were thus HP Sauce, leeks, and fresh-picked frisée, with a good raw-fermented dill pickle on the side. Crunchy, sweet fries, insanely decadent burger, crisp, tangy, and sweet condiments. Not a drop of ketchup or mustard to be found, and I must say that this burger succeeded in every imaginable way, including some I'm not going into here. We opened a 1998 Gros Noré Bandol, which is a great burger wine, with hair and fruit and depth and the focus to cut through the fat and scour the cholesterol from your arteries. This wine, for the price, is a must-buy, but you do have to sit on it for 8-10 years to reap the benefits.

A final tasting note on the Chambolle-Musigny from last night: left on the counter overnight with a cork in the bottle, the last glass has opened up into a rounder, darker-flavored wine that suggests more time will bring this to a much nicer place and indeed make it an excellent bargain.

Riffing

Another variation on Ma Po tofu tonight, using a bit of the pâté mixture I made yesterday in place of ground pork and carrots as well as peas. The pâté has a lot of flavor, but I still added rice vinegar, lime juice, nama shoyu, wine, and sesame oil to round it out. After it was done, the green outer leaves of a head of pan di zucchero, braised with their own residual washing water, garlic, lime juice, and sesame oil left the wok clean & shiny so dishes were a snap. We tried a 1999 François Parent Chambolle-Musigny that was better than his Vosne-Romanée we had a few nights back- ironically, given that this one is cheaper. The nose is good, but it's sour and thin in the mouth. Whether more time will improve it is hard to say; it will never be epic, but if the tartness gives way to the soft fruit and truffles hinted at in the nose it will be well worth the 20+ bucks.

Home Cookin'

Tonight, a mix of old and new; more thinning and picking in the garden gave us a couple of fantastic fresh additions to the lamb and puréed greens from the last couple of days. The lamb, pulled apart and seasoned with some ras-el-hanout, became a sort of Moroccan pulled lamb, with the preserved lemon flavor really coming through the complex spices. There is no substitute for letting stews sit in the fridge for a day or two. Baby kale made a brilliant, tender salad, while chopped cabbage and collards got the Italian treatment with smashed garlic and lemon. These four dishes, served with reheated brown rice, offered a decidedly new meal on a used chassis. Not much to look at, but the flavors really zinged and the ratio of meat to grain to greens was perfect.

The sharp focus and deep comfort of this combination had worthy companionship in a bottle of 2004 Savigny-les-Beaune 1er cru "Les Narbantons" by Mongeard-Mugneret which is the first really good modestly priced Burgundy I've had in a while. Still tight, it has the classic nose and good potential to become something special in a few years if the hole in the middle fills in.

Cutting The Mustard

One of the many pleasures of a garden is that it tells you what to eat; on any given day something is à point and must be picked immediately for best flavor. Yesterday, the thinned kale became a nutritious garnish in place of herbs. Today, it was mustard greens and sorrel that needed beating back. Combined with chick peas I put out to soak and some salmon that Christine bought it all became a pretty decent Indian-inspired meal.

The greens got stick-blended into a lovely thick purée along with fenugreek, mustard, coriander, and cumin seeds plus a grilled serrano chile, and the chick peas cooked long and low with vindaloo paste and a bunch of different dried spices. For the salmon, lemon rind and juice, tomato and tamarind pastes, and a turmeric-based curry powder. All atop brown rice with our peach-habañero chutney and handsomely accompanied by a 2005 Sancerre by Franck Millet; the delicate fruit and good acidity weren't overpowered by the fairly gentle heat of the food (I am also cooking for a three-year-old, after all.)

Again With The Meat & Potatoes

Rick and Julie extended their visit long enough to have an early dinner, so I braised some lamb ribs in wine, tapenade, preserved lemon, and mirepoix. While they were getting tender, I steamed a big parsnip, a celery root, and the leftover potatoes from the night before then mashed them up with some butter. Baby kale (thinned from the winter bed) and green mash to finish. Fall makes for such good eating, and drinking, though a 1999 Vosne-Romanée by François Parent did not impress.

Meat and Potatoes and

Rick and Julie are visiting for a couple of days, so after last night's birthday party at Liz's house- a pot luck in the grand tradition of our tribe- tonight was a more refined 3-course meal designed to highlight some great wine. First, a zucchini-shiso soup with minced serrano chiles for garnish paired with a 1989 Moulin Touchais Coteaux du Layon which had a rich sweetness that matched quite nicely with the creamy, slightly spicy soup. Then, a variation on frisée aux lardons, with our own frisée tossed in an egg yolk-mustard-lemon vinaigrette and topped with our shredded duck confit, paired with a 1983 Domaine Dujac Clos la Roche which shone ever brighter as the evening went on.


















The final course was grass-fed sirloin, seared on the grill, and sliced over our mashed yukon gold potatoes with a red wine-coffee reduction, pan di zucchero mash, tiny whole potatoes crisped in duck fat, and leeks caramelized in the selfsame fat. This we matched with their 1989 (coincidentally) Kathryn Kennedy cabernet that had all the understated elegance of our refined take on meat and potatoes. Simple, local (mostly homegrown) food, old wine, and good company: an unbeatable combination. The cheesy tablecloth added rustic color and protects my Grandmother's dining room table from wine-related mishaps.

Lamburgers

I finally got to Fleisher's today, after using everything in the fridge except the enormous lamb shoulder which I'm saving for a bigger group, and got a few things to see us through the next couple of weeks. For tonight, ground lamb seasoned with garlic, cumin, herbs, pepper, and salt accompanied by another perfect salad and fresh-dug red potato fries. Not a particularly photogenic meal, nor very healthy- the fries got their second dunk in the frying oil (safflower) enriched with the copious rendered lamb fat- but as a departure from our normally pretty sound diet I thought it well justified by yet another clammy, rainy day plus the fact that I make fries about three times a year.

To illustrate this, when I told Milo what we were having, he asked "what are French fries?" To make it past his third birthday in today's Factory Food America without knowing what fries are is pretty great in my book; how many three-year-olds do you know who would ask that, and who eat nasturtium flowers, mustard greens, and beet pickles like they're cookies? To cap it all off, I found more Domaine Cheze Saint-Joseph and bought 3 each of the 2001 and 2003 so I can decide which I want more of; we tried the 01 but we'll have to do a side-by-side to decide.

Kaiseki

Another chilly wet day required soup, and this time I went for a Japanese-style dinner with a bunch of small dishes followed by a big bowl of soba. Clockwise from upper left: beet pickles, sorrel and nasturtium salad (sesame/ume shu dressing,) leftover braised pan di zucchero, and our own Japanese eggplant cooked with scallions in a serious sauce of garlic, rice vinegar, shoyu, agave syrup, and HP sauce that Christine bought me recently so I can make proper fried egg sandwiches.



















The soba had a dashi broth, blanched kale, seared yellowfin tuna, scallions, and black sesame seeds. All in all, far from traditional or authentic, but similar in the variety and focus of flavors.

Duck Confit

It finally feels like fall, and we got some rain; the combination was more than enough to make me reach for the big tub of duck fat at the back of the fridge and pull out two legs for dinner. They crisped up just right in the iron pan, and sat on a bed of braised pan di zucchero that I wilted in the rendered fat (this also happens to be the best way to clean your iron pan; the greens and their liquid mean that once you serve them all the pan needs is a wipe.) On the side, another of our roasted kabocha and some of the spicy peach chutney, and in the glass a Pleiades XV. So many things were right about this meal- the weather-appropriateness, the contrasts of crispy skin and creamy squash, sweet chutney and bitter greens, the wine with all of the above- and most important, the fact that I got to use the phrase "big tub of duck fat."

Indian Summer

The weather here in the Northeast has been incredible of late: hot, and no rain for what seems like weeks now. But the evenings are cool, so even if it's uncomfortably warm during the day, it's beautiful sleeping weather and the resulting dew in the morning keeps the plants from drying out too much. It's hard to believe we're well into October already; the garden is at a peak we haven't seen since June. With the row covers I'm building, the hope is to have fresh greens into December and then a big head start in March. All the frozen & canned stuff is for those 2-3 months in between.

Tonight, a meal more appropriate to August, but since we have that weather it was just right. Fresh wild salmon, done up the normal sashimi way, with hot garlic-infused sesame oil and then nama shoyu, but then instead of lime juice and jalapeño slices I spooned some fresh salsa I had just made from the last of our cherry tomatoes, plus serranos, lime juice, cilantro, and garlic. All told I got another quart, which will replace the jar we finished last night. To go with the salmon, a perfect salad and chicken-of-the-woods cooked pulled pork style- low & slow with the homemade BBQ sauce. To cap this off, I opened a 1978 Drouhin Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots which I fully expected to be cooked but instead is pretty delicious- a bit thin, and getting tired, but still a rare and special treat- especially given that I had planned on marinating the fish and cooking the mushrooms in it.

Shanks

It's good to be home. The garden is loving the cooler weather; late plantings of greens are freaking out and we can't keep up. The salads are as good as they were in the spring, and now they get to play against creamy winter squash. On Sunday we went apple picking with the gang, and bought peaches and plums as well to preserve. Today saw the happy combination of peaches, red onions, lime basil, honey, cider vinegar, and insanely hot Chinese paper lantern peppers (like habañeros, but bright red) into a chutney that will be great on duck and fish all winter.

Later, after the canning was done, I braised lamb shanks in red wine and garden goodness while the first kabocha squash of the season roasted in the oven. I used half a bottle of 2005 Nieto Senetiner riserva cabernet to make the lamb, and we drank the rest with it. For 10 bucks, this wine is a great value for fans of big, grapey cabs.

Fusili With Chard And Potatoes

That's pretty much it. All homegrown, except the pasta; I used the last of the homemade butter in place of olive oil. The chard turned the pasta pink.

A Week In The City

Apart from installing the show, I didn't do much last week. One exception was Thursday, when John called me around 3:30 to tell me they were playing, in Brooklyn, a mere 5 blocks from the gallery. I had no idea they were in town. (If you follow the link above, then scroll down a bit, you can see Milo modeling their latest fashions.) When John called, I was a sweaty, cranky mess, but following the call I had enough energy to finish the wall piece before dinner. We went to Aurora, run by an Il Buco alum, where I've been twice before. Sitting outside, we had many appetizers to share- best among which were the sardines, the zucchini flowers, and the carpaccio of salmon. For the main course, we all split a few orders of veal cheek and marrow ravioli, and pappardelle al cinghiale. We started off with a 2003 Mastrojani Rosso di Montalcino and moved on to two of their 2001 Brunellos. Then we strolled back to the venue, and they tore the fucking roof off.

After the opening on Friday, I went with my Brother and some friends to Marlow & sons, which I had read about. Our friend Cass works there, and we tucked into some great grub. 6 oysters, charcuterie, arugula salad, and crostini with local ricotta and peaches, along with a pretty good Burgundy that I don't remember the name of since by then I was a tad tipsy. All in all, the week was a pretty perfect balance of business and pleasure.

I Think It was Raining

Chicken pieces, crusted with coarse cornmeal and spices, browned in the big pan then sat aside while supplì of the smoked chicken risotto (with a similar cornmeal coating, and fromage blanc inside) sizzled in about half an inch of oil next door. Back in the big pan, mirepoix, leeks, tomatoes, scallions, peas, and broccoli- all just picked- deglazed all the chckeny goodness along with a splash of wine from the fridge. I'm sure we drank some yummy rosé but can't remember it now.

On The Lamb

Plating, schmating. This was money. Local, organic lamb leg steak with endive mash, kale, and little cakes made from the leftover yam-sweet potato mixture with black olives, lemon zest, and Moroccan spices added. All drizzled with a reduction I made from the lamb chop bones in the fridge, mirepoix, bay leaf, and red wine. I got started early on this, which is why the reduction had time to happen, since I was blanching and freezing about 10 pounds of mirepoix so our winter can have some of that divine flavor at the base of its soups and sauces. I finally had time today to make a meal that had all the components properly prepared; with the bulk of the office drudgery done, I took a much-needed break to garden and preserve on the nicest day we'll have for the rest of the year. To celebrate finished work, impending show, and fitting meal, I opened a 2002 Gemstone which- despite its youth- still hits those Cali cab marks like an old pro.

Salmon in a Pinch

I've been working like mad to get ready for a show, so dinners have been necessarily limited in scope. This time, a good hunk of salmon in the oven for a few minutes with ras-el-hanout, salt, pepper, herbs, and paprika got just firm while I steamed Japanese yams and sweet potatoes to whip together and I busted out some mash since summer is ending and the simple pleasure of fresh bitter greens is about to become a luxury. As tasty as it was, it cried out for a red wine-based sauce, but time alas did not allow for such embellishments. Our very last Domaine Cheze Saint-Joseph "Cuvée Ro-Rée" more than made up for it, though; I love this wine, and will miss it until I find it again. For 20 bucks, it was the best buy of last year. I should have bought two cases.

Pasta, Fagioli

Milo got another cold- mild, but still requiring this sort of medicine: a broth made from mirepoix and chicken thighs in which cannelini cooked for two hours, and into which I dumped broccoli, parsley, and peas at the last minute. Just before that, some frozen porcini agnolotti from the store had a simmer. A 2006 "Petit Bourgeois" Chavignol (by Henri Bourgeois) sauvignon blanc was good, but a tad crisp and austere for such hearty peasant food. Milo, unburdened by such snobbishness, devoured the soup.

Bread & Butter

Christine got some fresh cream from Juliette's cow, so I pulled out the stand mixer and within a few minutes it was glorious butter. Washed, salted, and rolled in wax paper, it waited patiently for me to make another loaf of bread the next day. Homemade bread and butter with homemade grape jelly for breakfast- the apotheosis of simple, local, and delicious. My brother and I ate it together and remembered our Mother, who made such good bread and with whom we picked grapes every fall to make jelly.

Thinking Ahead

This isn't the best picture I've ever taken, but it tasted pretty great; Christine was out shopping for Milo's birthday party and I figured she'd come home tired, stressed, and hungry. One of the keys to my marriage is anticipating such contingencies and dispatching them with appropriate culinary remedies. Thus lamb chops (shoulder, which I prefer to loin for both price and character) along with mash, a ragout of zucchini, leek, artichoke, carrot, celery, fennel, and herbs- every one home grown- and little croquettes of leftover black rice, Japanese yam, and lemon zest. All three of us ate like wolves. Two of us had a Château Roquefort Corail rosé to begin, and finished with our last 2002 Novy syrah; it's well-made and deep, but not really the kind of wine we like any more (though we still love Siduri pinot.) With more age, it might mellow, but right now it has an intense, almost Australian richness that tends to pummel the food- even food as powerful as this.

Fall Is In The Air

My Brother came by for the night, and it was still cool and rainy, so I made suitable food for the occasion- casual, but refined, and above all yummy. Local organic beef stew meat plus soaked kidney beans, mirepoix, smoked chicken broth, spices, and tomato paste became a first-rate chili after a couple of hours. Potatoes and zucchini with a sauce of milk, yogurt, leftover cream of garden soup, plus grated goat cheddar, pecorino, and parmesan baked into a pretty good gratin (given that I skipped the bechamel to get it done in time.) With a big salad, it covered all requisite bases and offered a fresh take on some staple comfort foods that normally have more heft- though not necessarily for the better.

Green

Faced with a cool day, perfect things in the garden, and some milk left in the jar we got from Juliette, a creamed soup seemed to be the right choice. Tofu provided a nice flavor and textural complement, as well as protein. So the heavenly mirepoix from the garden began a really nice soup that then included potatoes, leeks, and broccoli, then got stick-blended with milk into a thick unstrained purée; I wanted this rustic and country style. Cubed tofu, browned then tossed in tahini-miso sauce with copious scallions was the main dish (although the thick soup was an easy equal.) We drank a 2006 Bridlewood viognier that was an excellent match for both dishes.

Balance

I remembered to soak some mung beans when I came back from our walk, so they cooked pretty fast when it was time to make dinner. Into a pan of our divine mirepoix they went, with water and pepper, and simmered while I took the chicken mushrooms from calzone night and added them plus some maitake (confusingly referred to as hen-of-the-woods) to smoked chicken broth I made with all the carcasses from the party. Bean thread noodles completed the soup, and I tossed the beans with salt, oil, and cider vinegar. To finish, another perfect salad. Pretty clean, varied, and a good finish to the day; we had a major English brunch this morning with bacon, eggs, hash browns, and tomatoes.

Canning Tomatoes

Over the weekend we went to the farm stand at the flea market in town and got a big bag of plum tomatoes to can (ours are almost ripe, but won't be anywhere near enough.) Cooked down, they yielded 5 1/2 quarts. Today, Christine and Milo picked all of our ripe many-colored cherry tomatoes- they magically just filled our 6 quart stockpot- and I cooked and strained them into 4 quart jars. Not enough to get us through the winter, but a start. If I can find a wholesale source for organic plum tomatoes I will do it again and fill the big pot as high as it will go. The pantry is starting to look respectable.

Quickly Good

The happy coexistence of leftover ratatouille and homemade pizza dough in the fridge led me inexorably (and lazily, but that's what leftovers are for) to a calzone. To accompany, fabulous salad from the newly exploding bed of fall lettuces, a side of chicken-of-the-woods sautéed quickly with guanciale, garlic, and parsley, and a sauce made from the few plum tomatoes that remained from canning. Good food for a rainy evening- hearty, but it is still summer after all.

Pasta

An easy but decadent one tonight: fat tomato with salt and oil, mash, chard, and whole wheat spaghetti with a sauce of Fleisher's ground beef & bacon mix (it's freakin' genius, especially for burgers) and more tomatoes & herbs. A Magnien Bourgogne rosé completed the picture (along with Milo.)

Grape Jelly

We are lucky to have some old, robust Concord grape vines behind the garage. 20 minutes spent with the step and extension ladders and a bowl and kitchen shears yielded- after tossing the stems, plus rotten and green fruit- 7 1/2 pounds of beautiful ripe grapes. Now I'm from Concord, MA, and grape picking and jelly-making were an annual ritual for us. My Grandmother was an expert jam & jelly maker, and my Mom was pretty good too. She always made time to go pick the grapes, and we had a couple of good spots not too far from the house that nobody else ever bothered with.

I find this to be true today, nearly everywhere I go; there's high-end wild food that goes untouched all over the place, whether here, or in Provence where we gathered almonds, figs, and cherries (not to mention wild arugula and herbs) or Puerto Rico where we got armloads of ripe avocados and mangoes by the side of the road, or in Vermont, where the berries droop off the vines. Now I know that in such places many people have their own sources- gardens or secret patches- but given the availabilty, preservability, and zero cost of such things, I do still find it surprising that more people aren't out foraging for these delicacies.

Our fruit, cooked down with a bit of honey and agave syrup, strained, then mixed with a low-sugar pectin (you add calcium which helps it set without excessive sugar) gave us 4 1/2 pints of beautiful jelly that's not too sweet and tastes exactly like the air behind the garage smells in these magically ripe late summer days- like my childhood.

Ratatouille

No, not the movie (which we still haven't seen.) But a combination of old and new- some of the party leftovers (Nina's ratatouille, all the grilled veggies that didn't fit in my pie, etc.) added to a heavenly mirepoix of our own onion, fennel, celery, carrot and blessed guanciale after deglazing with a few dregs also remaining in a couple of bottles.

A word on this mirepoix: I can honestly say that of the many smells that have risen from our stove, few compare to this in depth, clarity, and sheer delight. Being able to slice off a few glistening pieces of home-cured guanciale and gently render their fat, then add the just-picked vegetables and sweat them until it's time for the wine is the epitome of hedonistic local cooking, and reveals the core secret of eating this way: it tastes better and makes you happier than any other food.















This afternoon we went to visit Juliette and Michael at their recording studio/farm (Chris and John were there overdubbing the new record) so the kids could see the animals- the new calf and baby bunnies among them- and we could give them vegetables in exchange for milk and eggs (chicken and duck.) Upon return home, I made peach ice cream with some of the milk, cream, and eggs and we had it after dinner.

Labor Day

Word spread, and many showed up for a pot luck party. Highlights from the food included ceviche of halibut and grilled side of wild salmon, roasted potato salad, braised seitan with port, ratatouille, and the six chickens I smoked and served over homegrown and fermented kale shredded like sauerkraut. I also made a torta rustica- a many-layered vegetable and cheese pie encased in pizza crust- which tasted great but fell apart once cut open. The wines drunk (many of which were supplied by John) included a 2005 Martin Alfaro chardonnay, a 2003 White Barn rosé, made according to the winemaker's instruction by mixing a bottle each of his grenache and viognier, a 1967 Francesco Rinaldi Barolo, a magnum of 1987 Orion, a Sine Qua Non "Poker Face" syrah, a 1995 Tignanello, a 2001 Pierre Usseglio CDP, and a 2002 Bouley Volnay "Clos des Chênes."

That's how we roll. I forgot to take pictures.

Rehearsal Dinner

Jody, Anna, and Isabel joined us for the weekend, and a party started to coalesce around Monday afternoon, so we kept it simple for their first night. A 28-day dry aged top sirloin from Fleisher's was the centerpiece- this is one of the great steaks of the world, with intense flavor and the perfect balance of tenderness and chewy character; normally we don't eat much beef, preferring the more flavorful lamb and duck or pork, but this meat is insane. Insanity was well abetted by mash, purple rice, sautéed chard, and yellow squash, which all enhanced certain aspects of the meat and its red wine reduction. We drank a 2006 Hacienda Monasterio and a 2005 Château St. Jean Cinq Cépages; two takes on Bordeaux from two places not Bordeaux. A great prelude to Sunday's Bacchanale.

Lumpy Gravy

The perfect freshness and intense complexity of our homegrown mirepoix has really made an impression on me, and I want to use it in everything. To that end, I plan on chopping a vast quantity and then blanching and freezing the mixture in small bags for use throughout the winter. Who knew celery could actually be exciting? So tonight, a clean take on fried chicken and gravy: cornmeal/spice crusted chicken legs well browned in the iron pan- with some extra oil to get them going- atop the veggie mix plus chard, sorrel, and tomatoes, all thickened with a pinch of flour so it could handle a splash each of water and wine at the end to make a lovely gravy. Perched on top of some purple Thai rice, it covered the spectrum from crisp to creamy, crunchy to al dente, lemony sorrel fresh to deep gravy funk.

Taco Belle

We went over to C&S's house, bringing some of the duck confit (Chris' favorite) plus the salsa, tortillas, a smoked coffee-tamarind-molasses-red wine-agave reduction to go with the duck (which tasted like mutant hoisin sauce) and some red snapper. I made a ceviche with the fish, citrus juice, celery, onion, and cilantro, and they made a salad, guacamole, and pulled out a turnip-hijiki dish from the day before. So we had soft tacos with either ceviche or duck and various sauces, accompanied by a 2003 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sclossberg Riesling Spätlese and then a 2002 Domaine du Closel "Clos du Papillon" Savennières, which were both remarkable matches- the first with the ceviche and the second with the duck.

Variations

Given a pound of ground beef the options are limited only by what else is in the kitchen. Having a garden means being able to make a million dinners on any given day. One of my go-to dishes is a Bolognese pasta- especially on a day like today, which I spent cutting an entire sheet of MDF into ornate shapes with a jigsaw- so I modified the usual recipe to include nothing but our own vegetables. Thus: meat browned with mirepoix (same as last night) and then simmered with many herbs and lots of tomatoes. Chiffonaded kale got a quick blanch in the pasta water before a toss with salt, pepper, oil, and cider vinegar, and I made a big bowl of mash with the favored galia endive. Simple, humble, satisfying (the mash is killer with all things meat) local, and extra good with a 2000 Carver Sutro petite sirah.

Hard To Argue

I pickled beets and turnips a couple of days ago, and had one of each left over, so I steamed them until soft, then puréed them and added egg yolk and rye flour to make gnocchi dough. Today we used it, along with tilapia and garden goodies. Fennel, celery, onion, and carrot sweated while I rolled, cut, and boiled the gnocchi. Then veggies out and gnocchi into the same pan but with duck fat to brown all over. The fish got a cornmeal and spice dredge, and replaced the gnocchi along with a bit of oil to keep it going. Last, lots of multicolored cherry tomatoes and herbs deglazed with wine dissolved all the gorgeous brown stuff off the bottom of the now well-seasoned pan. Fish, atop gnocchi/mirepoix mixture, surrounded by tomatoes and topped with fennel frond is what you see here: rich, crusty fishy goodness with superfresh al dente fennel crunch, chewy earthy gnocchi and sweet, tangy tomatoes all melded together into a perfect late summer meal.

Three Lefts Make A Right

So two mornings ago I started a pre-ferment for the same whole wheat recipe I made last time, intending to bake it in the Dutch oven for a better shape and crust. Come evening, lo and behold, we were out of white flour, and low on whole wheat. So I used rye to make up the difference and kneaded in the pre-ferment and let it sit overnight to develop further and end up like the no-knead recipe. Shaped, rested, then dumped into the hot pot (seam-side up, which avoids having to score a blob at the bottom of a 450˚ casserole) then baked, it came out pretty well. The crust is the best yet, and the crumb is lovely. The change in flour wants a pinch more salt for flavor and a bit more water for crust, but overall a winner. The Dutch oven method guarantees a beautiful shape, and a better crust than most home ovens can achieve. I'm going to use it for most loaves from now on. Steaming, schmeaming.

Ken's Birthday

On short notice, Kris invited me down to the city to join them for a celebration. It was well worth the trip. Excellent food, wine, and company. Here's the menu:

Crab Cake and Smoked Trout on Toast
1997 Bollinger Grande Cuvée

Mushroom Soup with Bellota Ham of Joselito, Shiitake Mushrooms, 7-day cooked egg yolk & Arbequina Olive Oil Air
1951 Barbeito Sercial Riserva Velha Madeira (from his birth year)

Alaskan Wild Scallops with Corn Sauce, Papadum, and Flowering Chives
1982 Dauvissat "Les Preuses" Chablis

Grilled Langoustine, Langoustine & Vegetable Tempura with Honey-Pecan Butter
1989 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne

Lamb Belly with Gazpacho Jelly, Gazpacho emulsion, and "Chlorophyll" Foam
1995 Pignan

Piemonte Beef, Potato Purée and Haricots Verts
1997 Poggio Antico Brunello

Selection of Cheeses: Valencay, Pecorino Rosselino, and Saint Vernier (Savoie)
(plus my pork pâté)
2003 Luce, 1994 Pignan

Mocha Chocolate Layer Cake and Lemon Tart

Needless to say, Kris outdid himself yet again. The portions were so perfect- and the number of people divided each bottle so ideally- that I even drove 100 miles afterwards so I could wake up here rather than in Brooklyn and thus have a full Sunday with the family.

Back From The Shadows

Needless to say, I got sick too, though not as badly. (Let's hear it for massive doses of vitamins and echinacea.) Today we all started to feel like normal people again, and the weather shifted from the cold, rainy 60s we've had all week to the hot, muggy 80s in the blink of an eye. I caught up on some gardening and preserving: 3 bags of green beans blanched and frozen, another big crock of cucumber pickles put down below to ferment, and 2 quarts of this lovely salsa made from our many-colored cherry tomatoes (red, orange, yellow, green, white) plus serrano chiles, onion, and cilantro. The only non-garden ingredients were some lemon juice, cider vinegar, and salt. We had porcini agnolotti (from the store) with a stilton/butter/fromage blanc sauce and sautéed zucchini since it was all I could manage.

Loafing

This is a recipe from Bread that uses a pre-ferment for those of us too lazy to get our own sourdough starter going (and keep it going; they're like pets once you have one.) I made one freeform loaf, and threw the other half in a pan so I could put the first one on the stone with the peel and then plunk the other down next to it. They crusted up pretty well, though next time I will steam the oven more; another possibility would be to try it in the preheated Dutch oven like the no-knead recipe I tried a while back. But the crumb is nice, and the flavor is pretty great, especially with local cultured butter. Plus the house smells incredible.

Lasagna

A cold, rainy day and sick wife and son called for straight-up comfort food. I made this with almost no fancy flourishes- just plain and simple. Ground beef, pasta, tomato sauce, local fromage blanc- all organic- and mozzarella on top. The goat cheese added a nice touch, so next time I might use ground lamb in place of beef, and throw in some olives. But this time it was all about easy and quick. And yummy.