A dispatch from Steve:
Thanks to area farmers, artisans, and chefs, I recently enjoyed two wonderfully different local food dinners. On June 10, about a hundred foodies hid from a pounding rainstorm in the best possible shelter—Palladio Restaurant at Barboursville Vineyards—for a “Meet the Farmer” gourmet dinner organized by the fine folks at Buy Fresh Buy Local
(http://www.pecva.org/anx/
Palladio chef Melissa Close and guest chef Jonathan Hayward (I can’t wait to check out his new gig at Gordonsville Deli) created a four-course feast that included good stuff from Caromont Farm, Evorona Dairy, Green Fence Farm, Perfect Flavor, Planet Earth Diversified, Roundabout Farm, and Spring Lake Farm. As befits the event’s name, several of the farmers and artisans were in attendance.
When the courses started arriving, I’m not sure anyone even noticed the tempest raging outside any longer. Special mmm-outs go to the Barboursville vintage rosé 2007, roasted beet salad, rabbit with wild mushroom ragu, and vanilla ice cream with honey-marinated cherries. (A little birdie at Perfect Flavor— www.perfectflavor.com—tells me that chefs always request vanilla.) Luckily, the deluge subsided around the time the dessert plates were being licked clean. But, hey, I’d swim through heck and high water both ways for that meal again.
Dinner the next night was a little more down home, but no less satisfying. Inspired by a recipe handed to me by Collins Huff at Gryffon’s Aerie (it also appeared in a recent issue of In the Kitchen), I cooked up a heaping helping of chicken fried steak. (I love that in the South we have fried chicken AND we can chicken-fry just about anything else.)
Wow, did that hit the spot! I’d like to give the credit to my trusty black-iron skillet, but the truth is that the Gryffon’s Aerie (www.gryffonsaerie.com) cube steak is no ordinary lesser cut. Not only is the Devon beef grass fed, but it’s tender enough that no pounding is necessary. I also was lucky to have saved some Gryffon’s Aerie bacon grease as my frying medium. It lent a great golden color and a hint of bacon flavor—never a bad thing.
I’m also a big fan of Collins’ pan gravy recipe. Too often, making gravy is more complicated than making the main dish it’s supposed to smother. Collins’ version is quick, simple, and very good. Hmm, I wonder how it would taste on ice cream? Okay, just kidding..sorta.
COLLINS’ CHICKEN FRIED STEAK
3 pounds Gryffon’s Aerie cub steak
2 ½ teaspoons coarse sea salt
1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
4 whole eggs, beaten
1/3 cup bacon grease (vegetable oil may be substituted)
2 ½ cups chicken broth
2/3 cup whole milk
½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Preheat over to 230 degrees F.
Season each steak on both sides with salt (light) and pepper. Place flour into a shallow pan. Place eggs into another shallow pan. Dredge meat in flour, followed by egg, then flour again. Repeat with each piece and put meat on a plate for 5 or more minutes.
Put enough bacon grease to fill the bottom of a large cast iron skillet on medium-high heat. Once grease is hot, add meat, but don’t overcrowd skillet. Cook until golden brown and flip, then repeat. Put cooked steaks on a sheet pan in the warm oven.
For gravy:
Put 2 tablespoons of grease in skillet. Whisk in 4 tablespoons flour. Pour in chicken broth and deglaze skillet. Keep stirring and bring gravy to a boil. Keep stirring as gravy thickens. Pour in milk; keep stirring until gravy is thick, approximately 8 minutes. Season to taste with thyme and pepper. Apply gravy generously to steaks.
