Tarragon and Chives

Salade Kale Quinoa Apple Pecan with Feta  1&1/2 cups water or vegetable broth  3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained 1/2 cup dried cranberries  6 cups curly leaf kale, washed, rinsed, trimmed and chopped Sea salt  1 Fuji apple, cored and thinly sliced 1 small shallot, thinly sliced 1/3 cup toasted pecans, chopped 2 ounces crumbled Feta 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard  1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon maple syrup 1 tablespoon lemon juice Piment d’Espelette, to taste, or a generous pinch Freshly ground fermented white pepper, to taste In a medium saucepan bring the water or vegetable broth to a boil and add the quinoa, reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender.  Fluff with a fork and place the cranberries on top.  Cover the pan and let steam for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place the kale in a large salad bowl and season with the sea salt, rub in about 1 teaspoon salt and massage with y...

We loved this dense chocolate-y not too sweet cake made with my favorite unsalted Irish butter, unsweetened cocoa powder and Guinness extra stout.  This simple dark chocolate cake is then iced with a luscious cream cheese frosting that transforms the cake into a lookalike frothy pint.  I'm thinking this will be my go to chocolate cake for a gathering, serves 12 generously.  Wonderful for a Saint Patrick celebration with family and friends. This recipe comes from Nigella Lawson (NYT food section) I have made a few adjustments to the following recipe for my taste.  For the Cake 1 cup Guinness extra stout 10 tablespoons unsalted Kerrygold Irish ☘️  butter, cut into pieces 3/4 Cup unsweetened European style cocoa powder 2 cups extra fine sugar 3/4 cup sour cream 2 large eggs 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 & 1/2 teaspoons baking soda For the Frosting 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature  1 & 1/2 cups confectioners sugar 1/3...

 This rich and tender lemony almond flavored pound cake uses at least two of the Meyer lemons from my fully loaded potted Meyer lemon tree.  I can't think of a better use of my lemons.  My side yard neighbor has a huge lemon tree covered with lemons all year round, I see it from my kitchen window -which is very nice. I asked him what he does with all his lemons and he told me that each year he donates bags of lemons to a crab feed.  I noticed that he also leaves bags of lemons in front of his house for neighbors. I'm sharing this lemon almond pound cake recipe because it's just so good baked with the sliced almonds on top and lemony glaze, not bad looking either. 1&1/2 cups all-purpose flour 4 large eggs, room temperature 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus 1/4 cup -for the glaze 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest, plus 3 tablespoons lemon juice, divided-for the glaze 1 cup almond flour 1&1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 tea...

Carrot and leek soup is a bowl of sunshine in winter, specifically for dinner on a rainy gray January evening.  A bight flavored easy to make carrot soup embellished with a spoonful of mellow miso, a dusting of Rangpur lime zest with freshly snipped marjoram minced over warm creamy tops with a sprinkle of fleur de sel, reminding me of warmer al fresco dinners in the south of France.  This is the first installment of my soup and wine blog series.  I'm starting with a light but tasty winter soup, a soup that goes well with wine.  We start our soup and wine night by greeting guests with a Kir Royale, made with French champagne Laurent-Perrier and a spoonful of Crème de Cassis served in a flute.  I like to serve cheesy  gougères  from my blog to nibble, followed by a glass of Williams Selyem "Estate Vineyard" Russian River Valley Chardonnay to accompany our carrot and leek soup with miso, lime and marjoram.  A fun evening was had by all.  I ...

  The world's easiest deep dish cheesy pizza just became easier when I discovered SF Joe's Original house made pizza dough and sauce available for pick up anytime.  The first time I made a deep dish pizza in a skillet I used traditional homemade tomato pizza sauce, caprese mozzarella balls and homemade pesto sauce.  We loved this simple cheesy pizza with crispy edges and pesto flavors.  I've made it a few times for dinner, served with a green salad and a glass of red wine.  But after I discovered the pizza dough and sauce at Joe's, pizza became easier to make and it certainly is better homemade right out of the oven. I also like to use basil leaves in place of pesto for variety, even easier to prepare.  The 9" cast iron skillet is just the right size for the purchased pizza dough.  I had a little leftover pizza sauce after spooning it around the mozzarella balls over the risen pizza crust before baking in a hot oven.  I tucked sweet basil leaves a...

  My cookie exchange food blogger group continues to inspire my baking.  The week after our potluck cookie exchange party is always the kick off of my Christmas 🎄 cookie baking season.  I've had this excellent cut-out sugar cookie recipe from my friend Gina from one of our first get togethers and now it's time to share it.  We made sugar cookies to decorate for Valentines day with a small group at my house about ten years ago.  I was just checking our the pictures and I think we did a pretty impressive job on our homemade cookies.  My friend Lisa gifted us all a snowflake cookie cutter which I happily used to make my cut-out sugar cookies.  My daughter Katie gave me a small bag of candy cane Christmas sprinkles from Etsy and it was just time to put all of these wonderful things together to create a new blog post as I have fallen way behind on my usual posting.  I started this blog to share my recipes with friends and family during covid, which si...