3 Courses of Fennel and 1 of Vanilla for 3

Squash and Fennel Soup with Candied Pumpkin Seeds
1 pound butternut squash
1 bulb fennel
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 cup onion
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
Scant 1/2 cup sherry
5+ cups chicken stock
Sour cream
Butter, olive oil, salt, pepper

Candied Pumpkin Seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp butter
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 Tbs sugar
Pinch each of cinnamon, paprika and cayenne
1 tsp honey
Salt


Pasta and Manilla Clams
3 pounds manilla clams
3/4 pounds spaghetti
1 spring thyme
1 sprig rosemary
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup diced fennel
1 cup diced onion
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup white wine
1 lemon
As much garlic as you can stand
Parsley, butter, olive oil, salt, pepper


Braised Pork Shoulder, Root Vegetables and Polenta
1 Tbs cumin seeds
2 Tbs coriander seeds
2 Tbs fennel seeds
1 tsp cayenne
3 pounds pork shoulder
6 garlic cloves
4 sprigs oregano
4 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs cilantro
1 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced carrot
1/4 cup diced fennel
2 bay leaves
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup white wine
2 cups beef stock
2 cups chicken stock
2 lemons

Root Vegetables
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 chopped parsley
3 medium carrots
3 medium parsnips
3 medium turnips
1 Tbs thyme
1 cup diced shallot
Butter, salt, pepper

Polenta
Polenta-y

Vanilla Pot de Cremes 
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 vanilla beans
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar


All recipes adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques: Seasonal Recipes from Market to Table.

For the soup, cut the squash and fennel into 1/2 inch wedges, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in a 400 degree oven until brown around the edges, about 40 minutes. While roasting, toast the fennel seeds in a dry saute pan on the stove top and crush them with a mortar and pestle. Heat some butter in a large soup pan and add the onion, fennel seeds, thyme, pepper flakes, bay leaf, salt and pepper and saute until the onions just start to brown. Add the roast vegetables to the pot, turn up the heat a bit and add the sherry. Reduce for a minute then add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Strain the soup with a colander over a pot to reserve all liquids and solids. Add half the solids to a blender and around a cup of stock and blend in batches, adjusting the liquid to solid ratio until it has the consistency of velvety heavy cream. Pour in to warm bowls and top with sour cream dollops and the candied pumpkin seeds.

To make the pumpkin seeds, toast the cumin seeds in a dry saute pan and crush with a mortar. Add the butter to the pan over medium lowish heat and add the pumpkin seeds and sugar, sprinkle the spices and big pinch of salt and cook for a few minutes to gain color. Remove from the heat and cool slightly, then add the honey. Spread out on a flat surface to cool.

For the pasta, dice all the vegetables and saute all but the garlic over medium heat in olive oil in a pan big enough to hold all the clams. Once the vegetables have softened and begin to brown, add the garlic and herbs and cook until fragrant. Deglaze with the wine and reduce slightly. Add the clams, cover and steam until they open, about 8 ish minutes.

Add slightly undercooked pasta to the clam mixture and stir to coat. Add a squeeze of lemon and chopped parsley, stir again and plate with shavings of parmesan.

For the pork shoulder, cut the meat into 1 1/2 to 2 inch pieces. Toast each type of seed separately in a dry saute pan and crush with a mortar. Add the toasted and crushed seeds to the meat, along with the cayenne, oregano and thyme. Toss together thoroughly and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, bring the meat to room temperature and season with salt and pepper. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Brown the meat in batches in a large braising pot in olive oil until seared on all sides. Remove the meat from the pot and add the onion, carrot and fennel and saute, scraping up all the tasty meat bits. Then, add the leftover marinade makins', bay leaf and pepper flakes and cook until everybody starts to caramelize. Add the wine, reduce by half then add the stocks and bring to a boil.

Remove from the heat and return the meat to the pan. Use a vegetable peeler to take long strips of lemon zest from the lemon and tuck them all around the meat along with the cilantro and oregano sprigs. Cover with foil and a tight fitting lid and braise for 2 1/2 hours in the oven.

Remove from the oven and turn up the heat to 400 degrees. Transfer the meat from the braising liquid to a sheet pan and strain the liquid into a bowl. Discard the vegetable solids. Once the oven has reached 400 degrees, roast the braised meat for about 15 minutes to deepen the color and add texture. Return the strained liquid to the pan and reduce to thicken for sauce.

Cut the carrots, parsnips and turnips into bite size pieces and pan roast with the shallot and thyme in butter until tender. Remove from the heat and mince the lemon zest, garlic and parsley together and toss with the vegetables along with salt and pepper.

Plate by placing the meat on top of a mound of polenta, spoon around the reduced braising liquid for a sauce, and add the root vegetables on top.

For the pot de cremes, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Add the cream and milk to a pot along with the vanilla seed scrapings. Bring to a boil, remove from the heat, cover and steep for 30 minutes. Using a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale yellow. Heat the milk mixture back to near boiling and add it to the egg mixture at low speed very slowly as to not curdle the egg. Let the mixture stand for 30 minutes and then scrape off all traces of foam.

Pour the mixture into ramekins and place them into a roasting pan. Surround the ramekins with hot water half way up their sides and bake for 30+ minutes (depending on the ramekin size.) They are done when the centers just quiver when jostled. Chill them for at least four hours. Serve them with chocolate cookies.