Osso Bucco on the Farm

Plus: Diana's Salmon, The Best Brownies, and Potting More Herbs.

Hey everyone,

We’re gearing up to go to Copenhagen next week! But are we taking it easy? Nope: we’re still on the go go go.

On Friday, we hopped a train at Grand Central station and took it to Irvington, New York where we visited our pals Mark and Diana, their daughter Phoebe, and their boys Teddy and Gabe. (This is Phoebe reading from her original book: POTATO COP.)

Diana, ever the hostess, whipped up the most gorgeous plate of salmon I’ve laid eyes on in years. She used Eric Kim’s recipe for Gochugaru Salmon with Crispy Rice, adding some quick-pickled vegetables on the side.

The fact that she crisped the salmon skin and sliced the vegetables on a mandoline made feel guilty for taking shortcuts when the only kid I have is a dog named Winston.

She also whipped up my favorite brownies, a recipe that I once declared The Best Brownies of Your Life.

These brownies — Alice Merdrich’s recipe — are such a cinch to make and make such a huge impact. If you’ve never made them, you’re in for a treat.

On Saturday night, the kids stayed with a babysitter and we grown-ups (am I a grown-up yet?) drove to Tarrytown for dinner at Blue Hill Cafeteria.

I’ve been to Blue Hill Stone Barns a few times, all of those times over a decade ago, and I loved every experience for the exquisite way the ingredients grown on the farm just outside the window are elevated to the level of “fine dining.”

But in 2024, are we really in the mood for that? Probably not. (Especially after seeing The Menu.)

Which is why Blue Hill Cafeteria is such a good idea: it’s the same concept — food grown on the farm just outside the window — only you’re at a communal table and everything is much more casual.

Look how happy we are at the end of the communal table!

To start out, Craig and I shared a chamomile Cognac cocktail (it’s actually designed for two).

This was so smooth and floral, I really didn’t taste any alcohol — but I knew it was in there because I definitely felt a buzz when it was over.

Our first course was a gorgeous array of vegetables grown on the farm and a loaf of bread (not pictured) served warm with freshly-churned butter.

Next up was a “salad” that was more like cooked greens, roasted mushrooms, and cheese. As simple as this looks, it was so complex and delicious.

For the entree course, we started with fish tacos:

The tortillas had a wheatiness to them that was quite unique.

This cannelloni floored me, with its creamy mushroom filling and gorgeous crepe-like texture.

For our entree, we had the titular Osso Bucco — you can see that in the lead pic — and it was so exemplary, I would pay good money to learn how they made it. Like: how did they get it so dark on the outside and yet keep it so moist on the inside? It was a marvel.

For dessert, we each got our own individual chocolate pear cake.

Careful observers will notice another dessert behind that: we were belatedly celebrating my birthday (very belatedly: my birthday was in February!) but Diana had it on the original reservation which got pushed because of Covid. So we enjoyed a roulade with rhubarb. Yum.

When I got back to Brooklyn, there were herbs waiting for me to pot in my own mini farm on my porch.

I ordered these from Grower’s Exchange (figured it was a better way to start gardening than to try to work with seeds) and they arrived in pretty good shape.

Here’s how I potted them: I put three kinds of basil in one pot (Thai basil, Amethyst basil, and Genovese basil); I put purple sage and tarragon in another pot; and I put chives in the third pot.

How will they fare out there on my deck? They have good drainage and plenty of sun. So here goes nothing! Any tips on keeping herbs alive are welcome in the comments.

Let’s look at some links:

• Joanna Goddard’s Grub Street Diet is a great read (Grub Street);

• Eating like a salmon is better than eating salmon (Food & Wine);

• Not food, but The Best Broadway Songs of All Time… I know almost all of them! (Time Out).

That’s all for today, folks.

See you back here on Thursday….

Your pal,

Adam