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Our garden tarragon is the French or true culinary type (Artemesia dracunculus). It is a sturdy perennial that fits in well with flowering borders, bee attracting plants and the vegetable garden.
Photos show yesterday's harvested bundle of tarragon, and prepared for drying in a clean dishtowel. See January 24, 2010, post for more on drying herbs.
The chemical scientists identify the flavor components in tarragon as "pinene" (pine), "limonene" (citrus), and "estragole" (anise). Sounds like oenology doesn't it? In any case, tarragon is one of the most versatile of the herbs and it is easy to grow in a climate zone that occasionally reaches 30 below zero Fahrenheit. It happily returns each spring with its many gifts.
Tarragon is a classic seasoning herb for chicken in all preparations.
Three simple applications will be discussed today:
1) Roast a whole chicken with fresh tarragon branches in the cavity.
2) Poach chicken breasts in a broth of white wine and tarragon to use in chicken salads.
3) Saute (pan fry) chicken thighs with a dusting of flour and crushed dry tarragon.
If you enjoy outdoor seasonal grilling, split small chickens in half, flatten, and grill over coals or gas grill in your favorite way. Lay branches of tarragon right on the fire for a tarragon smoke that flavors the meat.
OVEN ROASTED CHICKEN WITH TARRAGON
Preheat oven to 425 F.
3# roasting chicken, remove any packets of liver, heart, etc., and discard. Rinse with cold water and pat dry. Salt the cavity and fill with folded-to-fit branches of fresh tarragon (or thyme, or lemon and mint). If no herbs at hand, slice a lemon and crush several cloves of garlic and stuff the cavity. The aroma from any herb combination is fantastic in the kitchen.
Rub with vegetable oil (or butter for the classic taste) and place, breast side down, on a roasting rack set in a roasting pan (even a cookie sheet). Roasting breast down is "self-basting" with the fats in the dark meat (back of bird) basting the breast. Breast will not be dry unless it is over baked. Saves basting! We even do holiday turkey this same way.
After ten minutes, turn heat down to 375 F and finish roasting. A 3# chicken should take just 90 minutes total.
Remove from oven, tent with foil and rest for 15 minutes, invert, and carve. There is nothing more delicious than a roast chicken--I know you can buy them at the market for very little money, but I have found that the meat isn't as good quality..... mushy. Overdone.
POACHED CHICKEN BREASTS FOR SALADS or SANDWICHES
2 whole chicken breasts--split, skinned and boned
1 quart water, flavored with 1 bay leaf
1 cup white wine or white vermouth
1 teaspoon salt
6 peppercorns or ground pepper
2 cloves fresh garlic, flattened
2 branches fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon ground tarragon (or more).
Bring broth ingredients to a boil in a sauce pan that will hold the breasts in a single layer. Simmer broth ten minutes to marry seasonings.
Slip in chicken breasts and cook at gentle simmer until breasts are poached--about 15 minutes, maximum. Test one with the sharp point of a knife to be sure it is cooked through, but not overdone and DRY. It seems like poaching techniques would keep meat moist, but poaching will not prevent "overdone" and DRY.
Remove breasts from broth and let cool to room temperature. Thinly slice across the grain at an angle and use for chicken salad or any other use you wish, including delicious chicken sandwiches. Strain broth, refrigerate or freeze for later use (soup?). See February 2010 posts for ideas.
CHICKEN THIGHS SAUTEED WITH TARRAGON
"Fried" has come to mean deep fried in popular jargon, so " fried in the pan" will be called saute to note the difference for purposes of this post.
6 chicken thighs (any dark meat pieces are fine).
If you are going to remove skin, do it before cooking--doing it after cooking loses all the flavor.
Flour dusting:
In a bag (lunch bag size good) put 1 cup flour, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons ground pepper, and a big handful of dried crushed-in-your-hand tarragon leaves (or 1 tablespoon commercial tarragon powder). Optional: if you want some "heat" add 1/2 teaspoon Chipotle or other chili powder. SHAKE to mix.
Rinse chicken pieces and pat dry with paper towels. Shake a few at a time in the flour dusting bag. Remove and shake off excess. Do not reuse this flour mix. It now contains bits of raw chicken. Discard bag.
Have a large skillet heated with your choice of cooking oil and/or butter combination, or non-stick spray if you desire.
Place dusted pieces in the hot skillet and "fry" or saute. Brown on one side, and turn with tongs to brown on second side. Depending on size of pieces, cooking time will vary. About 20 minutes total should do it. Test one piece by cutting into a small middle area with point of a sharp knife. Should be just past the pink stage. Remove pieces and drain on new paper towel. Keep warm and serve with your favorite salad or vegetable.
We always do about twice as much as one meal requires and have leftovers for a second meal. Gently reheat in the microwave.
All of these recipes are super EASY, and economical. Don't bother to buy commercial seasoned "coating mixes" that are full of sugar and preservatives. With the basic flour, herb, salt and pepper, you can develop your own flavors--ethnic or otherwise. We used tarragon today. But the possibilities are endless. You can do it!
Get creative with your cooking!
KGC
The region survived a tornado and hail on Father's Day, some record heat for a couple of days, and more rain than average. The perennial beds love this year's weather. The vegetable gardens are a little behind schedule. But we are ever optimistic that all will catch up with the sunny week currently forecast. Hail slightly damaged our early garden, but most of the peonies were still in the bud stage and the hail bounced off. We were lucky.
Photos include:
Gold yarrow (Achillea) contrasted with dark smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria) at dusk.
Pink Malva (Malvaceae: mallow) and baby's breath (Gypsophila) make a dainty mound anchored with day lilies (Hemerocallis).
Delphiniums (Ranunculaceae) are my favorite blues. Pacific Giants were started from seed years ago.
Patio Pots of herbs include rosemary, 2 basils, 2 parsleys, Greek oregano, and nasturtium grown for the blossoms which will go in our salads.
Two large containers with zucchini and Japanese (long variety) cucumber.
Two flat containers for early lettuce (they are just about spent). Black Simpson and Arugula.
We have good luck with patio containers for our very favorites---it is possible to protect them from sudden storms, etc., In addition to vegetables we have several containers of geraniums which were overwintered in the basement (see post February 16, 2010). They are very hardy , fast growing, and heavy blooming in this zone.
If you have a deck or patio, try a few containers. They will reward you. Plants can be started from seed, or purchased from your local nursery. It's easier to protect patio containers from cold weather--they are next to the house. We can't reliably plant in the back yard vegetable plot until Memorial Day. The patio "garden" gets a head start.
Because of the short, yet hot, summer season here, we have established our flower beds and borders with perennials and native plants. They are so forgiving in an unpredictable climate. With the exception of the patio containers, we do not put out any annuals except the geraniums--we're just getting too lazy! Annuals are an expense and very time consuming for just 3 months of summer.
We are cutting a second round of Swiss chard, and zucchinis are blossoming. Can't wait for a few on the grill.
Keep gardening!
KGC
At least once each summer I HAVE to have a cheesecake---the creamy cold dessert that no one resists. The cheesecake in this post is a combination of many experiments over the years. I love the taste of honey in it--and honey replaces granulated sugar as the main filling sweetener. I pay hommage to the great Joyce Goldstein of San Francisco's Square One restaurant for the honey idea. She was a food innovator without compare. We bonded forever when I discovered her Tartufo al Tre Scalini in her book "Back to Square One: Old World Food in a New World Kitchen." (William Morrow & Co. 1992). The tartufo is a famous Roman ice cream treat named for the fountains of the tre scalini (3 stairways) plaza. I ate one on the spot in 1966 during my first trip to Europe with two dear college friends. We enjoyed this divine taste while dipping our toes in the fountains. Unforgettable!
Cheesecakes are simple---just have the ingredients ready and at room temperature for smooth, lump free mixing, and be patient with cooling the cake in a couple of steps. This dessert must be completely chilled in the refrigerator at least 8 hours or ideally overnight before serving. If not cold, it will slowly collapse when cut.
Cheesecakes require baking in the oven in a water bath. Of course there is special equipment you can purchase to do this, but a 9" layer cake pan, at least 2" deep, or a 9" spring form pan (my preference) work perfectly. Select a roasting pan or any oven proof dish that will hold your cake pan with some extra room and fill with boiling water half way up the cake pan side. That's it. See photos for examples.
The basics of cheese cake are cream cheese + sour cream + eggs + flavoring. Flavors range from the classic lemon and vanilla to white chocolate (yes!) and ours today--a gingery crust with honey and orange flavored cream. Experiment and impress your guests.
SUMMER CHEESECAKE
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
The Crust: make quick work of this in the food processor if you have one, or crush crackers in a plastic bag with your rolling pin or a straight side wine bottle.
12 double graham crackers to make 2 cups crumbs
(use half graham crackers and half almonds or pecans if desired)
1/2 cup sugar
1 scant tablespoon powdered ginger
Pulse in food processor until crumbs are evenly crushed.
Generously butter your cake pan.
Dump in the crumb mix pat down smoothly.
Set aside while you mix the filling.
The Filling
Reminder: room temperature cream cheese mixes much more easily than cold.
2 pounds cream cheese
1 cup sour cream (half of a 1 pound carton)
1 cup honey--lavender honey if you have it, but any intense flavored honey is fine
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs (4 if they aren't very large)
Optional: 1 scant tablespoon cornstarch which will help control any slight seepage after baking
2 teaspoons orange flower water, or the freshly grated zest of a lemon or orange
If you have neither of the above, use 2 teaspoons liquid vanilla.
In your mixer, beat cream cheese and sour cream until smooth.
Add honey and mix in well.
Add eggs one at a time (crack them all into a small bowl first and they are easy to slide into the mixer bowl one at a time).
Be sure to scrape sides of bowl with spatula so that no lumps of cream cheese are left
Add flavorings and mix another minute.
Turn mixture into cake pan on top of crust. Smooth top if necessary.
Spring form pans can leak if not tightly locked. I wrap some aluminum foil around the base of the pan before placing in roaster to prevent this and add the tea kettle full of boiling water. See photo.
Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Turn off oven and leave cake as is, with door closed. After one hour, open oven door, prop ajar with a wooden spoon, and let cake cool one more hour in there.
Remove all pans from the oven and set on counter. Lift out cake pan and set it on an absorbent dishtowel for a few minutes to blot up any water. Do not unmold until completely chilled. Cover cake top in its pan with plastic wrap, set it on a plate, and put in refrigerator overnight or at least 8 hours.
The spring form pan is a snap for unmolding. Run a table knife around the cake to loosen from the ring. Release the catch lock and carefully lift off the ring. Leave the cake on the flat base--it's great for support. Don't forget to lick the ring!
If you are using a standard layer pan, the unmolding is trickier. You will have to loosen the sides, cover the pan with a plate, reverse it and pray it comes out. If you don't want the crumb crust as a topping, reverse again, using a second plate.
The cake is perfect as it is---just needs some iced tea or coffee to accompany a nice big slice. If you want more color, serve with a few raspberries, strawberries, or a combination of colored fruit slices and a spring of fresh mint from your garden.
ENJOY!
KGC
Sorrel is an easy, delicious plant to cultivate in your garden. It doesn't take much room and offers many possibilities for cooking from the kitchen garden. It faithfully returns every year without even being asked. Give it a little liquid fertilizer after true leaves appear and your rewards will be great.
Our clump of sorrel must be used soon--it's starting to bolt (go to seed). When herbaceous plants do this, they think they can retire for the season and form their seeds for next year. Snip off the seed shoots and the plant will continue for a while longer. Repeat if necessary.
Sorrel (Fr. oesille), also commonly known as sour grass or lemon grass, is a very hardy perennial herb that dates back to 300 B. C. and still grows wild in Asia, Europe, and North America. Local nurseries usually carry a few starter plants in early spring, or seeds may be ordered from seed catalogs that carry herbs and started indoors. Our two plants are at least ten years old. They are one of the very first plants to burst up through the snow in late winter. We love picking the leaves for sauce on poached salmon (see post February 4, 2010 for sauce), sorrel soup, and as an omelet filling (yes!)
Sorrel looks and acts a lot like spinach, but usually grows in a clump rather than rows. See photo.
Select unblemished leaves, pick and wash in cold water as carefully as you would wash spinach, and drain well. If leaves are mature, remove stems. Grasp a leaf in one hand, fold with stem side up, and "strip" or pull off the stem up the length of the leaf and discard. This trick can also be used on mature spinach leaves. It makes even a large leaf extremely tender.
After washing and stemming, chop leaves crosswise into 1 inch pieces.
QUICK SORREL SOUP
In a large sauce pan, wilt 1 pound (4 cups) chopped sorrel in 1 Tablespoon olive oil.
Add 2-3 cloves crushed garlic
Add 1 quart chicken or vegetable stock (a light colored stock). If soup appears too thick, add more stock. This is not a "thick" soup like bean or lentil.
Add 1 large bay leaf
Add 1 teaspoon salt
Add 1/2 teaspoon fine grind pepper
Simmer 30 minutes.
For immediate service, cool stock slightly and process in a food processor or use your hand blender right in the cooking pot. Never pour boiling liquids into your processor---hot liquid will splash and could burn you.
Return to pot if you used the processor and reheat if necessary.
Serve in flat soup bowls with a garnish of croutons, minced sweet onion, minced scallion, or a pinch of oregano dusted on top.
Contrast the beautiful green color with a tomato or raw red or yellow bell pepper salad.
Stay tuned for our "omelet primer".
Kitchen Garden Cook
Unfinished business--here is a promised photo of "security" plants from last posting. Please note the R. Rugosa, shrub rose) in full bloom. This rugged plant serves many purposes, primarily hardiness in our climate plus the gift of hundreds of beautiful blossoms in June. It also offers thick thorns on every stem--animals and intruders will not venture across a patch of shrub roses. If you take the time to "dead head" spent blooms, a second flush is promised. We dead head patiently, enjoy the second flush, and then leave the hips to ripen and cheer the with colors varying from bright yellow orange to wine red. See January 4, 2010, post for a picture of rose hips in the snow. winter landscape. Bees love it.
Our summer picnic supper menu can be enjoyed any day. If guests want to "bring something" encourage them---you'll discover new recipes! We enjoyed cocktails and nibbles on the patio, but brought supper indoors due to a threat of rain.
An informal centerpiece was needed for the table, so a few cuttings of tarragon (now chest high in the garden), the remaining peonies, and some gold yarrow were free. Never hesitate to snip plant material from the yard if you have no time or inclination to buy commercial flowers. Low glass or ceramic containers from the kitchen cupboard stimulate creativity. We prefer low arrangements on the dining table so all guests are in full view for good conversation. We dried the extra tarragon (see post January 24, 2010).
MENU Plate of cheeses, crackers, nuts, olives, and grapes for pre-supper nibbles with our drinks. Grilled all beef franks and buns Potato Salad with vinaigrette dressing Black Bean "Poor Man's Caviar" or Succotash salad Green bean & Hearts of Palm Salad Sorbets and cookies for dessert Coffee & Iced Tea
Everybody knows how to do the noble hot dog---grill outside or boil on the kitchen stove top.
Follow package instructions.
We split open our buns, butter them, and run under the broiler for about 2 minutes for a light toast.
You may also "toast" yours on the barbecue grill if that's how you are doing the franks.
4th of July Potato Salad
4 pounds Yukon gold potatoes (any waxy, thin skinned potato will do -- no Russets please)
Wash potatoes if needed and DO NOT PEEL. If potatoes are different sizes, select same size for even cooking, or cut large ones in half for cooking. Cover with water in a large saucepan and gently boil about 30 minutes, depending on size. Test for doneness with a kitchen fork--they should just pierce through--DO NOT OVERCOOK or they will fall apart in your salad.
Drain off cooking water and immediately cover with COLD water to stop cooking. When cool, drain well and let potatoes air dry a bit so dressing is better absorbed.
Dice one large onion (white, yellow, red, or your favorite). Add to the potatoes before dressing.
Quarter potatoes unless they are already bite size. It is desirable to have an open cut on each piece of potato to absorb dressing flavors. Place in a salad bowl and toss with 1-2 teaspoons salt. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup dry white wine or dry Vermouth. Toss gently and let stand a few minutes.
Potato Salad Vinaigrette Dressing (for those who don't like Mayonnaise)
Place ingredients in a pint glass jar (with fitting lid):
1 cup olive oil (or canola)
3 Tablespoons cider vinegar (use more if you want a "German" style taste)
1 teaspoon Dijon style mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper (black OK)
SHAKE well, let stand a few minutes, and taste for salt. Add more if needed--potatoes need a lot of salt.
If you like "heat", add 1/8 teaspoon Wasabi powder or 1/8 teaspoon red or green chili powder for a unique twist.
Dress the salad at least an hour before service. Salad may be made a day ahead and refrigerated. Start with just enough dressing to coat potatoes--if you have extra, store it in the refrigerator in the pint jar and use on your next salad, potato or otherwise.
Black Bean "Poor Man's Caviar" or "Succotash" Salad
The term "succotash" comes from the New England native American word for boiled corn kernels msickquatash. It is a food dish consisting mainly of corn and lima beans or other shell beans.
Succotash became popular during the Depression because it was inexpensive and made from readily available ingredients. Now we are interested in returning to use of local products so these simple ingredients enjoy a new vogue. There are many regional variations.
Combine the following ingredients in a salad bowl:
2 cups cooked and drained black beans (canned or pinto OK)
2 cups cooked and drained tender corn kernels (canned OK, or boil ears and cut off kernels)
1 large onion (any color) finely diced
2-3 cloves fresh garlic, pressed and scraped into bowl
Optional:
1 large cucumber, peeled and diced and/or
3 ribs young celery, diced
Dressing
1/3 cup vegetable oil (canola)
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup white sugar
Heat if in a hurry to dissolve sugar. Let cool.
Add 1 teaspoon salt
Add 1/4 teaspoon chipotle or other red chili powder
Add juice of one lime
Shake or mix and dress salad.
Best if made one day ahead and refrigerated until service.
At service, top portions with fresh chopped cilantro.
Happy picnicking!
Kitchen Garden Cook
