From the fields this week
The board changes when the market changes. Right now it smells like woodsmoke and quince.
The root cellar is doing the heavy lifting — celery root, parsnips, a squash we roast whole in the coals until the skin blisters. The last of the orchard came in as quince and small hard pears that want long, slow heat.
There is a little game on now too. A brace of birds from a farm two towns over, hung the right number of days and cooked simply, because that is all they need.
What to order first
Start with the fire-roasted squash. It is the plainest thing on the board and the one that tells you the most about the kitchen — sweet from the coals, salted hard, a spoon of crème fraîche and nothing else.
After that, the bird, and a glass of something red enough to stand up to the smoke. Save room: the quince turns up again at the end, baked until it goes the colour of brick.