“Dinner With Jackson Pollock: Recipes, Art, and Nature”

By Robyn Lea

Assouline, $50

“Dinner With Jackson Pollock: Recipes, Art, and Nature” is not so much a cookbook as it is an assemblage, or collection of memories, imagined scenarios, and help from friends. The second half of the title is a more apt description of the book: “recipes, art, and nature,” for they are most certainly the primary focus and the “meat” as it were of this good-looking, well-researched tome.

The Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center is one of the best and most revealing artists’ residences one can tour. Ernest Hemingway’s house in Key West has the same atmosphere, that of the artist/writer having just stepped out for a dip (or a drink!), all the tools of their trade in place, jazz records scattered about by the stereo, and the kitchen visible nearby. Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner’s property is exquisite in its simplicity, rich in landscape and water views, but fairly sparse as a structure. (For their first year in residence they lived with only a coal stove for heat and cooking.)

When Robyn Lea, the book’s photographer and author, began her research, only 16 recipes turned up. But as she and the center’s director, Helen Harrison, began digging deeper, they found recipes squirreled away inside books and magazines; family recipes, especially from Pollock’s mother, Stella, a prolific cook, and well-spattered pages in “The Art of Fish Cookery” and “The Pocket Cookbook.”

Pollock was well known for his baking skills; his recipes are written carefully and neatly on unlined paper. Krasner’s, on the other hand, are scribbles on envelopes, haphazard and careless, accurately indicating that she wasn’t too fond of cooking.

Entertaining was another thing entirely. During their 11 years together in the house in Springs, Krasner put together lots of dinner parties for fellow artists. After Pollock’s death in a car accident, she bought a bigger dining table and continued to court collectors and curators, keeping the Pollock and Krasner flame burning bright.

Jackson Pollock’s family had an 18-acre ranch in Chico, Calif., and another when they moved to Phoenix. His father grew everything, his mother cooked everything, and Jackson’s job when a mere tot was to collect the hens’ eggs every morning. So it’s not surprising that he was an avid gardener in Springs and loved clamming in Accabonac Harbor. He was especially proud of his eggplants and would present them like jewels to friends.

While the recipes on the whole are not particularly unusual or different, they are evocative of the time and provide a glimpse into the couple’s lives. Yes, a cherry upside down cake is made with canned cherries, but they always were in the ’40s and ’50s. And a poached pear recipe concedes that Krasner probably made it with canned pears. Actually, she was an imperious delegator of culinary duties for parties. She would give a recipe to a friend, tell him or her exactly how it should be presented on the platter, and then have the friend make it and deliver it to the party.

Pollock, like most bakers, was meticulous in his bread baking and pie making. His apple pie won first place at the Fisherman’s Fair one year, and people would clamor and bid for it well in advance in subsequent years. In perusing the recipe, it looks like a good one in that he cooks the apples before placing them in the pie shell, which is labor-intensive but does cut down on fruit shrinkage once baked in the pie. The crust is also all butter, not a combo of butter and shortening, which means it would have been difficult to work with but oh so delicious.

Reading about their friends and their parties felt familiar as well. Their friend Lucia Wilcox (or Lucia Anavi-Cristofanetti, Lucia Kabbaz, or just plain Lucia) was also a great friend of my grandparents. Berton Rouche and Jeffrey and Penny Potter were friends with my parents, as well. Lucia would make Syrian-style picnics for her husband, Roger, and Pollock to take to the beach. They would clam for hours, while enjoying her stuffed grape leaves, hummus, and baba ghanoush.

There are recipes from Rita Benson, Elaine de Kooning, Hans Namuth, and John and Josephine Little. Pollock helped John Little fix up his Duck Creek Farm where Mr. Little planted a kitchen garden and fruit orchard.

The photography in the book is beautiful. There are a few vintage images of the couple together, one of them doing dishes, he with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Some pages have a snippet of a Pollock painting contrasting with an image of a recipe — green and white spatters across from a pea salad with Russian dressing or a recipe for cornbread across from a very yellow detail of his studio floor. “T.P.’s Boat in Menemsha Pond” looks as delicious and abstract as the creamy lobster stew on the next page. Krasner’s “Milkweed” is color-coordinated with a close-up of a can of Pittsburgh paint.

Of course it would be foolish to ignore the demons that possessed Mr. Pollock, even in a “cookbook,” because some of the “cures” offered by a pharmacist of that time play a part in the recipe collection. In an attempt to cure him of his alcoholism, it was suggested he subscribe to a diet of a soy-based emulsion, salt baths, mineral injections, Brussels sprouts, dandelion juice,  raw vegetables for lunch, and cooked vegetables for dinner. Perhaps a diet suitable for a Puritanical vegan of today, but sadly not something that would have cured his disease.

“Dinner With Jackson Pollock” is large, heavy, and padded like a coffee table art book. But open it up and you will find it is spiral-bound, with scraps of recipes, photos, and anecdotes, just like a homey collection of family and friends’ recipes would be. Jack the Dripper may have never found peace or a cure for his drinking, but as this book demonstrates, his time in Springs had moments of deep friendship, quiet clamming, and memorable meals shared around a little mosaic table, laden with homegrown vegetables, fruit, and bread from his own hands.

Click for recipes

Farming, cooking, and choosing well as a consumer will be the topics on the table Wednesday at a program at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton. Judiann Carmack-Fayyaz, a Bridgehampton School teacher who is the chairwoman of Slow Food East End and the president of Edible School Gardens, will discuss the recently published “Delicious Nutritious FoodBook,” along with several contributors to the book including Nadia Ernestus. Samples from recipes in the book will be served. The event will begin at noon; reservations are required and may be made by calling the library.

Wine Dinner

Fresh Hamptons restaurant and Lieb Cellars will pair up for a wine dinner at the Bridgehampton eatery tomorrow at 7 p.m. Lieb wines will be matched with hors d’oeuvres and four courses, plus dessert. The menu will include Peconic Bay oysters, Montauk sea scallops with wild lamb’s-quarter greens, local sea bass with lemon verbena vinaigrette, local asparagus and grilled bamboo shoots, duck confit with greens and local organic shiitake mushrooms, and Long Island duck breast with sugar snap peas and steamed Asian greens. The cost is $98 per person, plus tax and gratuity.

Save the Date

Tickets are on sale for the annual chef’s dinner at the Hayground School in Bridgehampton. To be held on July 26, the event features fare prepared by well-known chefs and raises money for Jeff’s Kitchen, a school culinary center commemorating the late Jeff Salaway, a founder of the school and proprietor of Nick and Toni’s restaurant in East Hampton.

Among the participating chefs will be Bobby Flay, Claudia Fleming, Christian Mir, Joseph Realmuto, and Jason Weiner. The event will honor Jonathan Waxman, also a chef, and feature live music and a live auction. Tickets, at $1,000 each, are limited, and may be purchased online at haygroundchefsdinner.org, or by sending an email to chefsdinner@ hayground.org.

At Solé East

Philippe Ruiz, a Michelin-starred chef, is the executive chef at the Backyard Restaurant at Montauk’s Solé East resort hotel, which is serving dinner beginning at 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Lunch is also served on weekends, and brunch, accompanied by live bossa nova music, is offered on Sundays.

The fare at the restaurant is “Mediterranean-influenced” and centered on local and seasonal ingredients. Choices include seared coriander-crusted bigeye tuna with wonton chips, red cabbage slaw and orange-chili sauce, lobster pasta, scallops, grilled Montauk tilefish fillet, and skirt steak with chimichurri sauce.

Scarpetta Beach

290 Old Montauk Highway

Montauk

631-668-1771

Open for Dinner

Tuesday through Sunday

New York City, Las Vegas, Miami — and now, Montauk! The upscale, Italian, fine-dining establishment Scarpetta has arrived at Gurney’s Montauk Resort and Seawater Spa, courtesy of LDV Hospitality. That LDV stands for “la dolce vita,” and who doesn’t like that?

Scarpetta Beach, as this outpost is called, will only be here for the summer of 2015, but it is a welcome and delightful change from last year’s whatever-it-was-called restaurant. Last year’s renovation has been re-renovated and this, too, is a great improvement. Some of the walls have barn-board paneling, sleek sconces, and several beautiful woven rope sculptures, which are apparently a Scarpetta signature design element but seem particularly appropriate by the sea. The atmosphere is light, airy, and modern. The view, of course, needed no renovation.

Upon our arrival we were greeted by a lovely and cheerful hostess, which is always a good sign. To begin, we were served a basket of excellent bread and a few slices of stromboli, one filled with provolone and salumi, the other with broccoli rabe. Along with this was a little dish with three compartments, one containing a quenelle of mascarpone butter spread, another with citrusy olive oil, and the third with a savory caponata. All delicious, and fresh as a daisy.

For appetizers, or primi piatti, we tried the creamy polenta, market salad, and fluke crudo. The serving of various dishes is executed with much fanfare. The polenta arrived in two dishes with lids, upon a napkin-lined platter. A young server removed the lids and helpfully started to spoon the mushroom fricassee onto the polenta, spilling a good bit as he did. (They also have a rather elaborate method of angling a napkin around the water pitcher before they pour so the water doesn’t splash you, although it still manages to splash upon the table as they pour.) Get some pitchers designed to pour down, duh.

The polenta was quite refined, creamy and rich with butter and perhaps mascarpone. The mushrooms were in a meaty demi-glace with just a whisper of truffle oil. The market salad was exquisite, delicate, and colorful. Most of the vegetables had been sliced on a mandolin, so they were paper-thin ribbons of zucchini, asparagus, radishes, beets, yellow squash, a few sprouts of arugula, and some dollops of truffled ricotta cheese.

The fluke crudo, four small slices topped with a lemony sunchoke dressing and some arugula microgreens, was a bit puny portion-wise, but delicious nonetheless. Somebody in the kitchen got a little too enthusiastic with the black Hawaiian sea salt garnish, but this did not deter too much from the delicacy of the mild fish.

For entrees we ordered the halibut en croute, spaghetti with tomato and basil, short rib agnolotti, and a side order of crispy vegetables. We’re not sure why the halibut was described as “en croute,” which means it would have been wrapped and baked in a pastry, but it was slightly crisp on one side. It was served with braised leeks and endive and had a nice vinegary caper sauce. I had ordered the simple spaghetti dish because sometimes this is a good indication of how much attention is paid to the simple dishes. This version was quite nice, the spaghetti made in-house (as are all the pastas at Scarpetta), a bit chewy and lacking uniformity, almost rustic compared to the other dishes. The strands were twirled into a nice little bundle, and it was lightly sauced, the way it’s done in Italy.

The agnolotti were truly beautiful and delicious, tiny pasta pockets filled with rich short ribs and bone marrow, with a hint of sweetness. A crunchy layer of fried garlic chips gave them texture and a sharp contrast to the decadence of the filling. A grating of fresh horseradish and plenty of chopped parsley throughout enhanced the whole.

The crispy vegetables were excellent, fried in a salty batter, not greasy at all, and paper-thin. There were bits of zucchini and potato, fried lemon slices, flat-leaf parsley, sage leaves, and rosemary.

The service on the night of our visit was very good. Our waiter knew the menu well even though Scarpetta Beach has only been open a few weeks. He does get one strike, however, for responding to the question, “Are the desserts made in-house?” with “Uh-huh.” Sorry — for these prices, the quality of the food, and the fanfare of every dish coming out under a ceramic dome, “yes” would have been a more polite response.

All of the staff were friendly, and the manager that evening was making the rounds to all of the tables, making sure all was well.

Scarpetta is expensive. First courses are $16 to $19, pastas are $24 to $32, entrees $28 to $49, and desserts are $12. There is a whole page dedicated to vegetarian dishes (with the option of being prepared vegan), which we found impressive.

We were quite full, so we only sampled two desserts. They were truly outstanding. One was a limoncello semifreddo. Semifreddo is a bit like half-frozen ice cream, usually a mix of whipped cream, whipped egg whites, and flavorings. This version was super-rich and not as airy as some, but it was intensely lemony. There was a thin layer of a citrus gelée on top, along with a delicate pistachio tuile, some finely diced and macerated strawberries, and a few blackberries. A dark, dainty scoop of blackberry basil sorbet was superb with the lemon flavors. The only dissonant notes to the dish were two blobs of pistachio cake set on top and on the side. This brought to mind Coco Chanel’s admonition to “always take one thing off before you leave the house.”

The second dessert, which was also insanely good, was the espresso budino. Budino is like a pudding or custard. It was served layered in an old fashioned glass, with the espresso budino on the bottom, layers of crumbled chocolate biscotti, salted caramel sauce, and hazelnut gelato. Little Miss Bossypants here made her guests try each layer individually to get the true essence of the flavors. The genius part was that the espresso layer was highly caffeinated but barely sweetened. Combined with the sweeter sauce, cool nutty gelato, and crisp crumbs, it was just heavenly.

When we complimented our waiter and the manager on the biscotti, they brought us a few more; these were different, lightly spiced with a bit of cinnamon or allspice and faint heat from pepper.

Translated, “scarpetta” means “little shoe,” but is also a word to describe your last bit of bread used to scoop up the last bits of deliciousness on your plate. This place lives up to its name.

The East End Community Organic Farm, known as EECO, which is on Long Lane in East Hampton, not only provides plots for community members to plant and tend, and acreage leased by local farmers, but is a place to go to purchase produce and related items. The EECO farmstand is now open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursdays through Sundays.

At Nick and Toni’s

Julie Berger is the new manager at Nick and Toni’s restaurant in East Hampton, where she has worked her way up through coat-checker, table-busser, server, sommelier, and wine director for all of the Honest Man Restaurant Group’s properties, including Rowdy Hall in East Hampton and Townline BBQ in Sagaponack. Her experience includes a few years in California and a year at Jean Georges, the Michelin three-star restaurant in Manhattan.

Clam Bar Returns

The Clam Bar on Napeague is open again for the season, serving daily from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Old favorites include spicy crab and sweet corn chowder, fresh grilled tuna, lobster rolls, fried soft shell crab sandwiches, and fried oysters with — what else — fries.

Detox Classes

A new series of classes began this week at Fresh restaurant in Bridgehampton, focusing on healthy eating while including a few indulgences as well as a detoxification program. A series of three classes started Tuesday, but a single class will be offered on June 27 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. It costs $199 and includes lunch, a personalized detox program, and support.

Lobster Special

Every night presents a new opportunity to order a lobster dinner at the Harbor Grill in East Hampton, which serves dinner daily beginning at 5 p.m.

The special includes a 1.5-pound lobster with soup or salad, rice, corn on the cob, and butter, at market price.

On Father’s Day

Dads will get a free beer or Bloody Mary on Sunday, Father’s Day, at Navy Beach restaurant in Montauk. The drink will be served along with lunch orders beginning at noon.

At the Topping Rose House in Bridgehampton, Father’s Day will bring a pig roast. Four courses will be served beginning at 6 p.m., along with beers from the Greenport Harbor Brewing Company. For $95 per person, diners will get barbecued chicharrones and headcheese with homemade pickles as hors d’oeuvres followed by a salad of local microgreens with watermelon, mint, and homemade ricotta, a main course of the pork accompanied by homemade bratwurst and sides such as potato salad, grilled asparagus, turnip sauerkraut, and corn bread, and beer-flavored ice cream for dessert. The cost for children aged 5 to 12 will be $55.

Topping Rose will continue its pig roasts each Sunday through the end of September.

Takeout Organic

A new Tracy Anderson fitness studio on Park Place in East Hampton will sell healthy food items in a line called 3 Green Hearts. Ms. Anderson has partnered with the actress Gwyneth Paltrow and a third partner, Maria Baum, who serves as the company’s chief executive officer, to offer organic takeout meals, juices, and smoothies.

Items will include gluten-free pastas and cookies, quinoa salads, grilled salmon, fish tacos, and kale ravioli. The foods are selected to help those interested in fitness avoid additives and allergens, to reduce inflammation in the body, to maximize energy, and to help people lose weight. The company intends to extend the 3 Green Hearts line to Ms. Anderson’s other studios, and to add green cleaning products and beauty products to its offerings.

Shame on you, Mark Bittman, for slamming spinach in your April 12, 2012, New York Times column. In it you refer to spinach as the “homework” of vegetables, you slam the ’70s fad of spinach salads, and say this is the “least convincing” or tasty way to prepare Spinacia oleracea, honorable member of the beet family. I admire you, sir, but here you are dead wrong.

Mr. Bittman does go on with some delicious sounding methods of beating the tender leaf into submission, from wilting, steaming, braising, and slow cooking with butter and a cup of cream.

I feel sorry for people whose only experience with spinach is in the form of the bagged stuff at the supermarket, chopped and frozen by the Green Giant, or hidden in some greasy artichoke dip at Applebee’s.

We are lucky out here to be able to grow our own, or buy freshly picked bundles at the farmers markets and local grocery stores. Yes, spinach is mild, but it is not tasteless. I rather like the French culinary description “cire vierge,” meaning “virgin beeswax,” in that the spinach is capable of receiving and absorbing any and all other flavors it is combined with. Most other vegetables assert their own flavors; spinach is the mellow, stoner-surfer dude, willing to be flash-fried, cream­ed, sauteed, a-a-a-and, served raw. Whatever, dude.

Spinach seems to have first turned up on the table in ancient Persia, then in India and China. By the 14th century it was popular in England and France, and when Catherine de Medici became Queen of France in 1533, she apparently liked it so much that she wanted it served at every meal. She was born in Florence, which is why many dishes served with spinach nowadays are referred to as “Florentine.”

The nutritional value of spinach is off the charts, but some people should be wary of some ingredients. It is full of iron and calcium but also contains oxalates, which make absorption of the aforementioned nutrients difficult. The oxalates are also what cause that fuzzy feeling on your tongue or gritty feeling on your teeth when eating cooked spinach. People with kidney or gallbladder issues should also restrict consumption of spinach as it can lead to the formation of pesky stones. Other than that, spinach is full of vitamins A, C, K, magnesium, manganese,  folate, and several B vitamins.

The “popularity” of spinach started by the cartoon “Popeye” in the 1930s actually came about due to scientific mistakes and misinformation that led consumers to believe spinach had many, many times its actual iron content. Quite sad when you think of all the poor children who were forced to eat spinach, most likely canned, and then boiled forever.

There are two basic types of spinach we are familiar with and that are most commonly found at the store. One is Bloomsdale, whose crinkly dark green leaves look like they are made of big green bubbles, similar to Savoy cabbage or black kale. The flat-leaf varieties (the kind you most often see bagged and called baby spinach) have a goosefoot shape and are smaller and flatter.

You want to buy spinach that is very fresh. It should be bright, not floppy or soggy or yellowing. To cook spinach, keep in mind that one pound will only yield three-quarters to one cup cooked. I admit that I am lazy and often buy the bagged “baby” and/or pre-washed spinach. This seems to shrink even more and be even waterier than good, fresh, still-on-the-root spinach. And, yes, washing it can be a bore, but it’s important because grit is no fun to bite into and some varieties have been sprayed and irradiated.

After washing spinach, I just add it gradually to a super hot frying pan, the water evaporates, and as the spinach shrinks down, I add more. To get rid of all the moisture, I just keep it on high heat until I have a little dark green blob of deliciousness.

Our cool climate and sandy soil are quite hospitable to spinach, so I encourage you to try some fresh, locally grown varieties soon, whether creamed or steamed, sauteed or raw in a salad. You too, Mr. Bittman.

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Momi Ramen, a noodle house in Miami, has opened an East Hampton location in the Pantigo Road space formerly occupied by Turtle Crossing. The restaurant makes fresh noodles in-house several times a day and adds them to concoctions using a rich pork-bone broth called tonkotsu. On the menu are hot and cold ramen dishes, including vegetarian and seafood options, as well as Japanese specialties such as shu mai and gyoza dumplings, oshinko (Japanese pickles), barbecued short ribs, and salads. The beverage choices include a number of sakes. The shop opens at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, with hours till midnight on Friday and 11 the earlier days of the week, and on Saturday and Sunday starting at noon — till midnight on Saturday and 10 p.m. on Sunday.

Overlooking the Water

A new happy hour at the Inlet Cafe at the Gosman’s Dock complex in Montauk from 4 to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays just through the end of June features half-priced rum punch, domestic beers for $3, and $10 food specials. The cafe also features new hot menu items and sushi to order and eat on site or for takeout. Local restaurants are geared up for the season, with chefs and other staff members getting their bearings before the busiest days of the summer. Bostwick’s Chowder House on Pantigo Road in East Hampton is now open seven days a week, as is Duryea’s Lobster Deck in Montauk.

Baron’s Cove

31 West Water Street, Sag Harbor

725-2101

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily

Having never been to Baron’s Cove in Sag Harbor in its previous life, I did not know what to expect. I must say, the renovation is quite impressive.

From the outside the main building looks like a plantation — a big porch above and a big porch below, Adirondack chairs, rocking chairs, and Colonel Sanders in the corner nursing a mint julep. Okay, that last part isn’t true but it could be. The downstairs bar and lobby are rather dark, with glossy black paint trim, grey and white wallpaper, and enough nautical memorabilia to remind you, lest you forget, that you are near water and marinas and boats and birdies and fish. The downstairs bar appears to be a scene, the music is loud, and the girls wear sequins. There are fireplaces inside and out.

When you go upstairs to the dining room, the atmosphere changes into what looks like a yacht club circa 1968. The salt and pepper shakers are those itty bitty hotel dining room kind. The candle holders are cut glass set into faux brass bases. There are blue banquettes, black chairs with royal blue cushions, and a high ceiling with huge Edison bulb chandeliers. There are wooden boat half-models and nautical flags and International Code Signal pennants everywhere on the bur­lapped walls. The blue water goblets on the tables would fit in just as easily at Medieval Times, they are that huge.

We arrived on time for our 5:45 p.m. (gaaack!) reservation but were asked nonetheless if we could be finished by 7. We were, but the dining room remained only about a third full the entire time.

After being seated, we got one Parker House roll each and a dish of butter. We began our meal with the beet salad, calamari, and a side order of the hand-cut fries. The beet salad was dainty and quite good. The pale, golden beets were quite vinegary, topped with frisee, crumbled goat cheese, and almond brittle. If you forgot about the brittle, it was disconcerting to bite down on the crystallized sugar chunks, but the combination was original and interesting. The calamari was very good, lots of tender little rings, a few tentacles, and other deep-fried items, some of which worked, some of which didn’t. There were thin rings of jalapeno peppers, slices of lemon, and large green olives. The odd addition was cherry tomato halves, which are too moist to hold the crunch of the batter. The calamari was served with a very mild lemon garlic aioli, more mayo than zesty sharpness. The hand-cut fries were excellent, though not really crisp, more like fluffy, and flecked with parsley.

For entrees we tried the duck breast, black bass, and ribeye steak. The duck was good, cooked medium, and served with some quinoa with dark, pickled cherries and steamed spinach. The steamed spinach was a bit dull as an accompaniment. The black bass was served on top of a mixture of sauteed wild mushrooms, Swiss chard, and some roasted tomatoes. It was good, but needed a bit more seasoning. The ribeye steak was cooked to medium rare as requested but this, too, lacked seasoning and was not as tender as good ribeye should be.

The mixed grill offerings on the menu include one side dish and one sauce choice. We got the parsleyed new potatoes and blue cheese sauce (as our waiter said the chef would suggest this combination). The potatoes were fine, the sauce bland and not very blue cheesy.

The service on the night of our visit was very good.  Our waiter, Scott, was friendly and knowledgeable and our Gigantor goblets were refilled as needed.

The prices at Baron’s Cove are moderate to expensive. Appetizers are $8 to $19, entrees are $18 to $52, mixed grill items are $34 to $88 (that’s for two), sides are $7, desserts $8 to $10.

There were only two desserts available, other than ice cream and sorbet; we tried both. One was billed as strawberry rhubarb crisp but it did not have any strawberries in it. It was inexplicably served cold in a cereal bowl (as opposed to a ramekin in which it could have been heated).

The rhubarb compote was very tart, and the topping was tasty, but lacked crunch. The second dessert, described as pound cake with berries, only had three blackberries on top, so I’d say that’s more like a garnish, not an element of the dish. It was dense and a bit lemony, pretty good.

Perhaps the menu is intentionally simple — chops, fish, chicken, cole­slaw, Cobb salad, and the like, because it is attached to a hotel. Overall, it was a pleasant experience in an attractive setting.

After duck, lamb is my absolute favorite meat. It is healthy, delicious in many forms, and sadly, quite expensive. Since I don’t cook a lot of meat, cooking lamb intimidates me. So I order it in restaurants, which is really expensive.

Braising and stewing are good methods for cooking tougher cuts, while a quick sear, broil, or grill are best for the tender chops. The terminology used to describe types of lamb is as confusing as chicken. “Natural” is a meaningless term, as may be “pasture-raised.” “Grass-fed” is more specific. Better yet, look for organic “100 percent grass-fed.” Baby lamb and spring lamb are also somewhat misleading or confusing descriptions. Baby lambs (usually around 20 pounds) are available in spring and are usually roasted whole. Spring lambs are born in spring and best served in fall. There is also a huge difference between Australian and New Zealand lamb and domestic lamb. The imported lamb cuts are considerably younger and smaller. A rack of New Zealand lamb will only serve two people, whereas an American rack will serve four.

Lamb is most popular in the Middle East, Mediterranean countries, and India. New Zealanders and Australians consume approximately 25 pounds of lamb per person per year, according to the Agricultural Marketing Research Center. That’s a lot compared to Americans, who consume about half a pound per year. Because lamb is usually lumped in with “the other red meat,” beef, its nutritional value can be overlooked. It is rich in conjugated linoleic acid, a “a health supportive omega-6 fatty acid,” and is an excellent source of vitamin B12 and niacin. Keep in mind, however, that we are talking about four ounces of lean, humanely raised, 100 percent grass-fed lamb!

The popular cuts of lamb and how to cook them are as follows. The shoulder, which includes shank and shoulder chop, is good for braising, poaching, stewing, and roasting. The chop is good for sauteing, grilling, and broiling. The rack (which includes the rib chop) is best sauteed, roasted, grilled, and broiled. The loin (saddle and loin chops) is also good sauteed, roasted, grilled, and broiled. The leg, shank, and breast are best roasted, braised, and grilled. Lamb meat is very perishable, so it is best to consume the various cuts within three days of purchase and ground lamb within two days of purchase. The lighter the color, the younger the meat. Baby lamb should be pale pink, regular lamb pinkish-red.

Lamb is particularly delicious when prepared with Middle Eastern and Indian seasonings such as cumin, coriander, garlic, and mint. The lamb of Bordeaux is a match made in heaven when cooked in and served with, you guessed it, Bordeaux! Butterflied and grilled leg of lamb is great when marinated for a day with a heavy dose of garlic and rosemary. In James Peterson’s “Meat: A Kitchen Education,” he suggests trying lamb chops with fresh marjoram, shanks braised with shallots, and a tagine (made with shoulder meat) full of raisins, almonds, and saffron. And of course, there’s the old English method of lamb chops with mint jelly.

“Lamb” is a word with a German root meaning “a wee sheep.” In the Middle Ages the plural of lamb was the same as ox and child, as in “lambren.” Lamb becomes “hogg” or “hoggett” after one year, and then “mutton” as the years progress and the flavor gets a bit stronger.

Because some cuts of lamb are quite fatty, they are frequently cooked with an acid. In Spain wine and wine vinegar are used, and in Greece a sauce of egg yolks and lemon juice is popular. In the Middle East apricots and quince are stewed with the meat. In India yogurt serves the dual purpose of tenderizing and adding some tang to compliment lamb’s richness.

Probably due to its high price, lamb was not often served in our household. As in many other frugal homes, it was saved for special occasions, usually religious. I’m going to try to get over my fear of ruining an expensive cut of meat and tackle some lamb recipes this summer.

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M.J. Dowling’s

3360 Noyac Road, Noyac

725-4444

Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to midnight. Friday through Sunday, noon to midnight

M.J. Dowling’s Steakhouse and Tavern, which calls itself “a friendly neighborhood pub,” is just that. It has a friendly atmosphere and very reasonably priced food, especially on its specials nights. For sports bar fans there are four flat screen TVs above the long bar by the entrance. For game fans there is a back room with two pool tables, Ms. Pacman, and Hoops. Feel like shooting something? Try the Big Buck Safari video game!

The menu is fairly simple as befits a pub grub joint.  You ain’t gonna find a kale salad or any dish with a Wellness Foundation-approved symbol. The dining area is composed of comfortable booths and banquettes all around and lots of license plates and photos and local directional signs adorning the walls. The bar area is pretty action-packed early in the evening. There is also a spacious patio in front, with picnic tables and screening that almost helps you forget you are smack dab on Noyac Road.

We began our meal with chicken wings, calamari, and an appetizer special of spicy beef spring rolls.

The wings were excellent although not as spicy hot as we had hoped and had ordered. It was a generous helping with carrots, celery sticks, and blue cheese dressing. The wings were very crisp and the vinegary hot sauce nice and salty. The calamari was also very good, with a crunchy coating, some lemon slices, and a dish of mild marinara sauce for dipping.

The spicy beef spring rolls appetizer special was, unfortunately, an epic fail. They were large, kind of greasy egg roll wrappers filled with a ground beef mixture. “Shepherd’s pie in an egg roll” is how my witty foodie offspring described it. The dipping sauce appeared to be high-sodium soy sauce with a few flakes of crushed red pepper in it. No Asian flavors involved as far as we could tell.

For entrees we ordered a burger, ribs, bratwurst, and ribeye steak. The burger was made of high quality meat but was underseasoned and undercooked. It was ordered medium rare but was very rare. The bun and garnish of lettuce, tomato, and red onion slice were good. The ribs were excellent, nicely charred and tender. They were served on top of a huge pile of hand-cut, skin-on French fries, which were delicious. I was the “when in Rome” guest who ordered the bratwurst with sauteed onions. Ever since reading the comedian Jim Gaffigan’s book “Food: A Love Story,” I have been wanting to try a nice grilled brat, one of his favorite meals. It was tasty, but I couldn’t finish it. It was also served with the excellent fries, coleslaw, and a pickle.

The ribeye steak was cooked as ordered and was tasty and reasonably priced. The mashed potatoes were delicious but lukewarm, which always makes me sad. The vegetable side was a few florets of broccoli and baby carrots, steamed. Snore. I reckon this is not a place for vegetable lovers.

The service on the night of our visit was good, and our waiter was personable and knowledgeable.

Prices are $5 to $20 for soups, appetizers, and salads, $11 to $17 for burgers, pizza, sandwiches, and quesadillas, $18 to $39 for steaks and other entrees. Sides are $4 to $7 and desserts are $7 and $8.

Some, but not all of the desserts are made in house. We tried the pear bread pudding, profiteroles, and brownie sundae. All of them were pretty good, or as my aforementioned son said, “they don’t taste not homemade.” They tasted fresh and the chocolate sauce on the brownie sundae was a good bittersweet version.

You probably wouldn’t choose this place for your vegetarian friends and family or someone on a diet. But for those who love beer and burgers and Buffalo wings at reasonable prices, M.J. Dowling’s is a nice neighborhood place to go.

Reopenings

Bay Kitchen and Bar, the restaurant at Harbor Marina on Three Mile Harbor in Springs, will reopen for the season tonight and serve dinner on Thursdays through Sundays until July, when it will be open daily. From 4 to 7 p.m. nightly, the restaurant has a happy hour at the bar, with $1 oysters and $5 glasses of rosé.

New menu items this year include red snapper ceviche, mustard and herb-crusted Montauk tuna, seafood pasta, and mushroom fricassee polenta. A new beverage director, Maura Mc­Guigan, has joined Eric and Adam Miller, the restaurant’s father-and-son co-owners, and will be offering new libations.

Also open again this week is Rowdy Hall in East Hampton, which suffered damage in a fire that gutted most of a neighboring Main Street building last month. The restaurant opened its doors last Thursday for a thank-you party for emergency responders, and was back to regular lunch and dinner service on Friday.

New Hampton Seafood

The Hampton Seafood Co. in East Hampton has new ownership and an executive chef, Ian Lowell. Catering services include a clambake menu, barbecue menu, and a la carte dishes including appetizers, hors d’oeuvres, entrees, sides, desserts, and raw bar items.

Parties can also be catered with a variety of food stations: a taco station, pasta station, slider station, and “artisanal” station featuring fruit, cured meats, dips, crackers, cheeses, and vegetables.

The shop continues to offer a takeout menu with tacos, burritos, and sides, as well as fresh fish and shellfish.

Montauk Eateries

O’Murphy’s in Montauk has decamped from the circle downtown and reopened near the harbor at the Tipperary Inn on West Lake Drive. The restaurant is serving lunch and dinner every day, and breakfast on Sunday.

Dave’s Grill, with a spot overlooking the docks, reopens for the season tonight and will be serving dinner Thursdays through Sundays.

Juice and More

Lisa’s Lovely organic juice bar has opened on Race Lane in East Hampton. The menu includes a wide selection of juices and smoothies as well as acai bowls and daily salad specials. A selection of local and organic products is offered as well.

Get Happy

Bar food, tap beers, and house wine and liquor are half-price at Fresh Hamptons in Bridgehampton each day between 4 and 6 p.m. Among the specially priced menu items are grass-fed beef sliders, organic whole wheat pizza, fish or spicy vegetarian tacos, and snacks such as baked kale chips, steamed edamame, and hand-cut Sagaponack potato fries.

A new happy hour at Indian Wells Tavern in Amagansett will be held Mondays through Fridays from 4 to 6 p.m. and feature discounted drinks and a wide selection of half-price dishes. They include chicken wings, calamari, mussels and fries, nachos, quesadillas, potstickers, and a Medi­terranean platter with pita bread, hummus, olives, and eggplant caponata. House wine and well drinks will be $6.

Little Leaguers’ Dinner

At the Harbor Grill in East Hampton, East Hampton Little League players who dine at the restaurant with their families after a game will get a burger for half price, and receive a free scoop of strawberry, vanilla, or chocolate ice cream to top off their meal. They must be in uniform to be offered the deal.