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Killer App: Creamy Shrimp Crostini

Katie Sweeney — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 16:00:35 PST

There are certain dishes that I'm obsessed with. Among them are shrimp appetizers and crostini, so imagine my delight when I came across Giada de Laurentiis's recipe for a shrimp crostini appetizer! The most important part of this dish is the bread; select a loaf that's sturdy and can hold the gooey thick topping. It's a mixture of plump pink shrimp, vibrant peppery arugula, and juicy fresh tomatoes. There's a slight creaminess thanks to the addition of mascarpone cheese that also provides a great richness. These finger-licking good hors d'oeuvres are excellent with a glass of crisp white wine. Ready for the recipe? Read more.

Come Party With Me: Beach Cleanup - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:00:19 PDT

Nothing says picnic more than lemonade, and for an Earth Day themed beach cleanup I'm packing an icebox filled with the citrus cooler. Tarragon is an unexpected flavoring agent that makes this lemonade recipe special. It takes the nostalgic childhood pitcher drink to a whole new gourmet level. It also provides a subtle herbaceous quality to the refreshing beverage. The syrup needs time to steep and cool, so get started on this concoction the day before your picnic. Look at the easy recipe when you

Tarragon Lemonade
From Food & Wine

Ingredients

10 cups water
2 1/4 cups sugar
17 tarragon sprigs
6 cups fresh lemon juice, strained (from about 40 lemons), plus 12 thin lemon slices for garnish
Salt
Ice

Directions

In a medium saucepan, combine 4 cups of water with the sugar and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Simmer over moderately high heat until reduced to 3 1/4 cups, about 25 minutes.
Remove from the heat and add 5 of the tarragon sprigs. Let stand, stirring often, until cooled to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Discard the tarragon sprigs.
In a large glass pitcher, combine the remaining 6 cups of water with the tarragon syrup and fresh lemon juice. Add a pinch of salt, stirring until it dissolves.
Serve the tarragon lemonade over ice, garnished with the lemon slices and the remaining 12 tarragon sprigs.

Serves 12.

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Monday's Leftovers: Egg Salad Sandwiches With Salmon

YumSugar — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 09:00:29 PDT

Tarragon's not exactly my favorite herb, but I do enjoy it on occasion in a good salsa verde drizzled over lamb. Tonight, I plan on making the most of leftover eggs, tarragon, and capers from yesterday's Easter celebration and last night's dinner by putting together a hearty smoked salmon and egg salad sandwich in a matter of minutes. For the recipe, keep reading.

Let's Dish: What's Your Least Favorite Herb?

YumSugar — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:50:21 PST

Yesterday, a few of us got into a discussion about herbs at the office. I mentioned how dill, the starring herb in my homemade chicken noodle soup, is one of my favorite herbs of all time. "Really?" Party responded, surprised. "It's one I rarely cook with." That got me wondering what my least favorite herb is. It has to be tarragon, which has a licorice flavor that's almost spicy-floral. I often find it overpowering. How about you? What's your least favorite herb?

Reader Recipe: Tarragon Pasta Salad With Asparagus and Tofu

Yum Community — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:50:32 PST

This story was written by member girlA and comes from The Dairy Free Diva Recipe Exchange group in the YumSugar Community. This is a wonderful take on pasta salads! With the flavor of the roasted asparagus, the baked tofu and shallots, there's no need for a heavy, rich mayo-sour cream dressing. The lemon juice and cayenne dressing is the perfect accompaniment to the other flavors. I just made a couple of small changes to the recipe for convenience, but I'll list the original recipe and my changes.

To get her recipe, keep reading.

Come Party With Me: Father's Day - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:30:28 PDT

For your Father's Day celebration, skip the froufrou-fruity cocktails and serve a potent classic instead. Since the only libation my dad drinks is a Tanqueray and tonic, this is what we'll be mixing.

To make it more special than his everyday drink, I'm adding fresh herbs. They'll give the drink an extra layer of flavor. We'll also stock up on beer, wine, and soda. Look at the jazzed-up gin and tonic recipe when you

Summer Gin and Tonic
From Food & Wine

Ingredients

Ice
2 1/2 ounces gin
2 finely chopped tarragon sprigs
4 ounces chilled tonic water

Directions
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the gin and tarragon sprigs and shake well. Strain into an ice-filled highball glass and top with the tonic water.

Makes 1 drink.

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Fast & Easy Dinner: Two-Bean Salad with Tarragon Dressing

partysugar — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:03:31 PDT

My brother has recently decided to change his diet. Instead of eating tons of fast food, he wants to consume more vegetables. I suggested he eat one hearty and filling salad a day. This two bean salad is perfect for him because it's chock full of flavorful vegetables. The beans provide much needed protein and a simple but well seasoned dressing is made with balsamic vinegar and dijon mustard.

To check out the recipe,

Two-Bean Salad with Tarragon Dressing
From Vegetarian Times magazine

Ingredients

Two-Bean Salad
1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1 15-oz. can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 6-oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
1/4 cup sliced red onion
1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
Tarragon Dressing
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. maple syrup
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/4 cups olive oil
1 Tbs. fresh tarragon

Directions

To make Two-Bean Salad: fill large pot with 1 inch water and set steamer basket in pot. Cover, and bring water to a boil.
Place green beans in steamer basket. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and steam 2 to 3 minutes, or until green beans are crisp-tender. Let cool slightly.
Meanwhile make the Tarragon Dressing: blend vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, garlic, salt and pepper in blender or food processor until smooth.
With machine running, gradually add oil and tarragon through feed tube, and blend until smooth.
Toss green beans with all remaining salad ingredients in large serving bowl. Pour dressing over salad, and toss to coat. Serve at room temperature.

Serves 8.

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Fast & Easy Dinner: Eggplant and Goat-Cheese Sandwiches

partysugar — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 06:01:18 PST

Cutting back on your bread intake is a great way to reduce daily carb levels. Instead of using bread to make a sandwich, get creative by substituting vegetables. In tonight's dinner, thick slices of eggplant act as bread by sandwiching gooey goat cheese. Served on a bed of chunky, tomato-tarragon sauce, this dish is like a deconstructed version of eggplant Parmesan. For the simple and deliciously rewarding recipe,

Eggplant and Goat-Cheese Sandwiches
From Food and Wine magazine

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 cups canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree (one 28-ounce can)
1 1/2 teaspoons dried tarragon
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
2 eggplants, peeled and cut to make sixteen 1/2-inch-thick slices in all
4 eggs, beaten to mix
Cooking oil, for frying
1/2 pound mild goat cheese, such as Montrachet, cut into 8 rounds

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, tarragon, 3/4 teaspoon of the salt, and the sugar and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper.
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Dip each slice of eggplant in the eggs and then in the bread-crumb mixture, coating well. In a large frying pan, heat about half an inch of cooking oil over moderate heat until very hot. Fry the eggplant in the hot oil, in batches, turning once, until golden and cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.
Arrange half of the eggplant slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Put a slice of goat cheese on top of each and then top with the remaining eggplant slices. Bake until the cheese melts, about 10 minutes. Put the sauce on plates and top with the eggplant.

Serves 4.

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Tips For Beating Bad Breath

FitSugar — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 02:30:00 PDT

Nothing is worse than having bad breath. Unless you're talking to someone who has bad breath, because that can be pretty bad too! Unfortunately you can not really do anything about someone else's bad breath, but you can do something about your own. MSNBC gives us these five food ideas to help combat bad breath:

Chew on this. Move over parsley, there are some new halitosis-fighting herbs in town. “Coriander, spearmint, tarragon, eucalyptus, rosemary and cardamom are all good for fighting bad breath,” says Dr. Christine Gerbstadt, who has lectured on oral health. You can chew on fresh herbs or make tonics by steeping them in hot water (as a tea). These herbs make an excellent digestive as well-doubling the benefits of ending a meal this way.

There's four more ideas, so

Get some active culture. No, not a Broadway play, but yogurt. A recent study found that a serving of yogurt each day reduces the level of odor-causing hydrogen sulfide in the mouth. Apparently it also cuts back on bacteria in the mouth-plaque and gum disease were reduced in the study’s yogurt eaters as well. Plus, the American Dietetic Association (ADA) recommends getting enough vitamin D from yogurt, cheese and milk if you’re worried about halitosis because this vitamin creates an inhospitable environment for bacteria growth. Be sure to get the kind of yogurt with active cultures-not overly processed or sugar-added varieties.
Crunchy types. Apples, carrots, celery-basically any fiber-rich fruit or vegetable is your friend when it comes to fighting halitosis. “Inside your mouth, plaque build-up causes odors,” explains Cynthia Sass, ADA spokeswoman and registered dietician. “Eating foods that increase saliva production keep the mouth moist-and rinsed out. Also, many carbs and proteins can get stuck in your teeth-even healthy foods like whole grain cereal or chicken breast.” So follow a meal with a Granny Smith (feel the saliva kick in at the mention of it?) to cleanse the mouth.
Masking techniques. Sugarless gum shouldn’t replace brushing your teeth after a meal, but in a pinch it can freshen breath (masking odors) and is another way to increase saliva production to rinse away plaque and bacteria. Mints can mask as well, but only briefly-and go for sugarless. Sugar creates plaque, and no one wants a mint that makes breath worse.
High C’s. Eating berries, citrus fruits, melons and other vitamin C-rich foods create an inhospitable environment for bacteria growth. A diet rich in vitamin C is also is important for preventing gum disease and gingivitis-both major causes of halitosis. Get your C in foods, not supplements, which can cause gastrointestinal upset in some, according to Sass, and exacerbate bad breath.

Source

Savory Sight: Roasted Artichokes With Lemon Tarragon Butter

Yum Community — Tue, 01 May 2012 03:05:55 PDT

You simply can't go wrong roasting fresh Spring produce with brightly flavored butter, as Sevimel demonstrates.

A surprisingly simple, yet sophisticated side dish!

Find out how to make this seasonal side on her blog. Upload your own recipes and photos to our Savory Sights community group.