This was a relatively traditional dinner: fish, noodles, and asparagus. The first two items were old favorite recipes, and the last one is brand new.

I had purchased one small black sea bass fillet last Sunday at Eataly Boston. After carefully extracting all of the small, sharp pin bones with strong food tweezers, I cooked it with one of my favorite recipes. It was by Pierre Franey, in his cookbook Cuisine Rapide. The fish is first bathed in milk (rice milk for us), then dredged lightly in flour, and sautéed in safflower oil until browned on both sides. It’s finished with a peeled, seeded, chopped plum tomato, and chopped scallions.

The starch was provided by Barbara, who was eager to make one of her standby dishes — Kugel, using egg noodles, almond milk ricotta cheese, apples, raisins, and apple juice. It roasts in the oven for a long time and crisps up nicely when the foil is removed.

I had a small bunch of plump Peruvian asparagus I wanted to eat, so I decided to try something new. I grabbed a Patricia Wells cookbook, Vegetable Harvest, to see what she had to offer. Bingo! I was intrigued by her recipe for Braised Asparagus, and it turned out to be a winner — and a new favorite.

The meal was essentially all French. However, in a bold departure from tradition, I decided to go with an open bottle of Italian wine — a Pecorino from Abruzzo. It was perfectly fine.