EATS

Penne Pomodoro in Snider Plaza closes tomorrow for a renovation that is expected to take about 10 days. Of course, it's never a safe bet to put your money on a restaurant opening as expected.

Speaking of, Royal China in Preston Royal – originally scheduled to reopen at the end of June – is now expected to open around July 15.

Former royal chef and current Plano resident Darren McGrady reminds us that today is Princess Diana's birthday. She would have been 47 years old. (Yikes, the 11 years since her death have flown right by.)

The personable chef was on Fox this morning making No-Bake Strawberry and Greek Yogurt Cheesecake with Chocolate-Amaretto Sauce which he used to make for the princess and the princes. He says it's perfect for the Fourth of July holiday. Just add some blueberries and you've got red, white and blue.

I used to see Dominion Farms pastured meats at Roy's Natural Market, but I never bought any till last weekend at the McKinney Farmers Market. I wanted pork chops, but they were already sold out. So I settled on the gourmet chop steak patties - almost an inch thick and, despite the seller's caution, not so lean as to require special treatment on the grill. The resulting hamburgers were thick, juicy and beefy. Good to the last finger-lickin' drop.

The partners - three related families - who raise this happy meat are right up the road in Denison. On the way to Texoma. Hmm. And they have a store at the farm. They also encourage you to come by for tours of the farm so you can see how their animals are raised. But they ask that you call first: 903-464-0224. Hey, I'm game.

Photo courtesy of Dominion Farms Web site.

Keep it hot, keep it clean, keep it lubricated.
This is advice from grill guru Steven Raichlen on how to grill chicken breasts, of course.
On a recent swing through Dallas, he gave freelance writer Tina Danze (nice apron!) a grilling lesson. What I really want to know is, how do you get those perfect cross-hatch grill marks? Easy: Let the bird (or steak, or whatever) cook long enough to get a nice set of stripes, then flip it, giving it a crisp quarter-turn in the process. Like this. You can see the results in the photo.
Get more on Steven Raichlen here.

It's out there. It seems like every media outlet has advice. Buzzfeed compiled this list of lists of things you should be, ought to be, but aren't, eating. The suggestions range from ostrich to beets, and there are even a few things you really would want to eat. Tip: Blueberries, in season now, are on several of the lists.