An Alfredo?

You betcha. Sans endless salad and breadsticks. 

—Previously poached chicken (from such posts as "Chicken & Rice")

—Whole wheat fusili

—Onions, garlic, thyme, and kale from the garden, sauteed in butter

—Finished with lemon peel, parsley, grass-fed Jersey cream from our local dairy hookup, and parm/reg

Had with a snip of lemony Macon Village and Frankie Rose on the radio.

Chicken & Rice

Seriously, why don't people boil food anymore? Here's how this US/Singaporean thing went down:

—One of our chickens, gently bubbled away in water just to cover with aromatics (cilantro stems, star anise, ginger, shallots)

—That rich broth cooked the rice

—And both were served with some fiery sauces and some quickly sauteed Spring spinach. 

—Washed down with a little sparkling Vouvray. I like bubbles with my heat. 

Cradle of Flavor is a great book for these types of occasions. The Sambal we loved here was made with coconut oil, toasted shrimp paste, chilies, palm sugar, shallots, garlic, and lime. 

Given the type of week we've been having, a little pain with the pleasure makes perfect sense.

Spanish Style

This came together quickly. I was reading from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's The River Cottage Year and he mentioned something about chorizo and scallops. Since we had a spare chorizo sausage as a gift from the butcher, we put it to work.

—Last year's dragon tongue beans slow cooked with garlic, Spanish pimenton, chili, saffron, and a snip of wine

—The aforementioned chorizo
—Scallops cooked in the rendered red chorizo fat
—Parsley, lemon, and a drizzle of really top-notch Spanish olive oil

Served with a surprisingly fruity Touraine Sauvignon (and a nice pairing for that reason) from Theirry Puzelat. Louis Dressner never done steered me wrong.

Sablefish & Sorrel + Broccoli

I'll be happy to take more summer in March thanks.

We'll roll thusly:
—ILBS Black cod simply cooked in a cast steel pan
—Overwintered sorrel with butter
—Ladrach's Spring broccoli tossed with pounded garlic, salted capers, and lemon peel—with aromatic green olive oil

Also—a nip of old old fashioned and the rest of that 08 SC Zep.

Lamb & Beans

I'll take a summer night in March with...

—Last year's dried Amish beans

—This year's new growth of kale, parsley, and thyme

—Tender young lamb raised by friends, basted with homemade butter, garlic, and thyme

—Enjoyed with Zepaltas '08 Sonoma Coast pinot

Boiled Dinner

These grass fed beef short ribs were at a tremulous simmer for about 6 hours with the usual suspects. The broth was strained. Sprinkled with parsley and celery leaves and served alongside freshly dug horseradish and Jersey cream, yellow mustard, cellared potatoes just covered with water boiled with garlic, yellow beets, our sourdough, and pickled mexican sour gherkins from the garden.

2005 Biodynamic Bordeaux from Chateau Falfas. Could certainly be worse for a Monday.

Open Faced Banh Mi

Exceedingly few (if any) restaurant will ever serve all of these time-consuming and simple things at once:

—A chicken liver terrine with five spice and fish sauce from chickens they raised

—Crusty bread made in-house with a sourdough starter

—Garlic / siracha mayonnaise from scratch

—Homemade kimchi

But if they did—they'd have one incredible sandwich.