My favorite part of the humble chicken is the thigh, braised in a savory sauce until the meat is meltingly tender and falling off the bone. This recipe for Chicken Tenders with Meyer Lemon Salsa makes me temporarily forget the pleasures of darker meat in favor of quick and easy preparation with no waste and no trimming. Chicken tenders are so readily available that I end up using them for nearly all my recipes for chicken breast. Continue reading
The less done to fresh asparagus, the better. Brief blanching, quick roasting or a few hops in the saute pan will do. If you’re lucky enough to score some tender, first-of-the-season asparagus, no cooking at all is just fine. Shaved in a salad or finely diced, as in this Asparagus Salsa Verde, asparagus has a pleasantly grassy flavor and gentle crunch that is unlike any other vegetable. It needs a bright wake up from citrus or acid to come to life. This salsa combines fresh asparagus with lime juice and green as far as the eye can see—except for a few bits of red onion for flavor and contrast. Continue reading
One of my tasters for this dish was raised on a farm with real food. She swears these pork chops from Harlow Ridge Farm taste like the pure, unadulterated meat she enjoyed in her youth. I also have a memory of farm raised meats and chicken which had a richer taste and texture than today’s supermarket offerings. Family-owned Harlow Ridge Farm in nearby Hanover County, Virginia, has pasture raised Berkshire and Tamworth pigs as well as beef and poultry. They sell directly from the farm, at local farmer’s markets and at several small grocers. Some of Richmond’s finest dining establishments feature their meats. Continue reading
There was a time when purchased salsa meant watery tomato product flecked with a few bits and occasionally livened with something tart and something providing heat. Serviceable, but not very exciting, and certainly not worthy of your chips or quesadillas or other homemade dishes.
When apples are paired with meats, the usual suspects are pork and chicken. Rarely does one think of apple and beef. I hope to alter that perception with a spice rubbed grilled flat iron steak accompanied by a refreshing citrus kissed apple salsa.
Daybreak Farm sits on 90 acres outside Richmond, Virginia in Chesterfield County. Fully operational since 2008, the farm is owned by the DiSavino Family and managed well by powerhouse Dawn DiSavino, who gave a recent tour with daughter Annmarie and son Howie. This family lives off the land – they eat what is grown and raised – and most of the power used to keep the farm running is solar. Large freestanding solar panels resembling sports bleachers are visible just beyond the main house. Currently there are goats for soapmaking , beehives which should produce honey by spring, a fledgling fruit orchard, a well stocked fish pond and over one hundred laying hens, guarded by three roosters.
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