Tarragon Chicken Salad with Champagne Grapes

For me, there are about ten “must grow” herbs in my deck potager, all of which are ready to harvest right about now. My weekly meal planning is designed around the use of these herbs, one of which is tarragon, one of my favorites in the group of “must grows.”  It's a pleasant looking little herb with thin leaves on long, graceful stems, making it a nice fill in plant in pots of flowers. It seems to enjoy very much being paired with the zinnias. 

Tarragon goes amazingly well with chicken.  I have a number of recipes combining these two, all of which are warm dishes. The other day I got to thinking that, in the same way in which it enhances a hot chicken dish, tarragon would similarly enhance a cold one, and thus added it to a batch of chicken salad. Oh my, was it good! A touch of sweetness from the champagne grapes (their small size allowing them to thoroughly intersperse with the chicken) made it darned near perfect. Heap it on a fresh croissant for a tasty sandwich, or mound it in a lettuce leaf for a light supper. Either way, you're going to love it. 

Tarragon Chicken Salad with Champagne Grapes

2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves, finely chopped 
Juice from half of a small lemon
1 cup celery, diced small
1/2 cup Melissa's Champagne Grapes
Pinch of Old Bay Seasoning
Freshly ground pepper and salt to taste 

Place the mayonnaise, tarragon leaves, lemon juice, celery,  and seasonings in a medium bowl and mix until combined. Fold in chicken and grapes. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours to blend flavors. Serve. 

This post is linked to:

Wow Us Wednesday
Work It Wednesday

What’s It Wednesday

The Scoop

Create It Thursday 

Full Plate Thursday

Magpie's Asparagus Soup

Four miles from my house is a charming eatery called Magpie Restaurant. It is located on the equally charming Historic Main Street in what was once the Spanish governor's home (In more recent history it became infamously known as “the witches house.”), in the lively city of Saint Charles, Missouri on the banks of the Missouri River, a city that was the gathering place for Lewis and Clark in1804.

Magpie oozes quaint ambiance indoors and out. I love to dine al fresco at a table on the lovely cobblestone patio with a view of the street where horse-drawn carriages are not unusual. They are known for their soups, salads, quiches, and mouthwatering desserts. I've previously shared their recipe for Baked Potato Soup here. Today, with asparagus season upon us, I am sharing their recipe for Asparagus Soup. I consider myself in the know when it comes to soups, so you can trust me when I tell you that this is, by leaps and bounds, the best asparagus soup I have ever eaten.

Magpie's Asparagus Soup

Yield: 4 1-1/2 cup servings

1 pound fresh Melissa’s organic asparagus

4 cups chicken stock

1 1/3 cups heavy cream

2 teaspoons dried tarragon

¼ cup cornstarch

1/3 cup cold water

4 teaspoons butter

Slice off asparagus tips and reserve. Slice off woody stems and discard. Cut remaining spears into 2-inch pieces.

In a large pot, bring chicken stock and asparagus pieces to a boil, once boiling, reduce heat and let simmer about 10 minutes.

Transfer mixture to a blender and puree. (Caution: To avoid spewing hot liquid, always puree hot liquids in batches, filling blender no more than half full at a time.)

Return mixture to pot, add reserved asparagus tips, cream and tarragon and bring just to a boil but do not allow to boil.

To thicken the soup, stir together cornstarch and water until smooth. Stir into soup and cook, stirring often, until soup thickens, then for 5 more minutes.

Stir in butter a teaspoon at a time, stirring until butter melts.

To serve Magpie’s-style, serve the hot soup with a slice of home-baked French bread on the side.  

The chive garnish was my idea.

This post is linked to:

Wow Us Wednesdays

Foodie Friday

Tarragon Chicken

As my mother's condition, sadly, continues to deteriorate, I find that even the simplest daily tasks can be quite overwhelming. While copious lists keep me on track, having a clear, achievable goal is what gets me through the day. Making a tasty and satisfying meal is a goal that I can embrace. The artistry satisfies my creative side, the repetition in the assembling and chopping of ingredients calms, and the heady aromas of my meal-in-the-making soothes.

Tarragon Chicken is one of my “go to” comfort foods, and one of my favorite recipes is Chicken Louisa that I showed you here. Today's version is slightly more sophisticated, is designed for the Crockpot, and found in The Gourmet Slow Cooker cookbook. The end result is a moist and delicious chicken with an earthy, aromatic taste that will send your taste buds on a trip to Paris.

Tarragon Chicken

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 chicken, cut I to serving pieces and skinned

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup chicken stock

6 sprigs tarragon

1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half

Combine the 3/4 cup flour and salt in a resealable plastic bag. Add chicken to the bag, several pieces at a time, and shake to coat completely.

Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat, and add the butter and oil. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, for 8 to 10 minutes, until browned on both sides. Using tongs, transfer chicken to paper towels to drain, then arrange pieces in the slow cooker.

Set the sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the onion and the 2 tablespoons flour. Sauté, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Gradually add the wine, stirring to scrape up browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add stock and cook, stirring frequently, for 10 to 15 minutes, until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Pour the sauce over the chicken in the slow cooker and lay 2 sprigs of the tarragon on top.

Cover and cook on low for 3 to 8 hours, until chicken is tender.  At 3 to 4 hours, the chicken will still be firm and hold its shape. At 6 to 8 hours, the meat will be falling off the bone.  Pour in the cream and stir well. Cover and cook 10 to 15 minutes to heat thoroughly.

While the chicken finishes cooking, strip leaves from remaining 4 tarragon sprigs and coarsely chop. Remove and discard tarragon sprigs from slow cooker and stir in freshly chopped leaves.

Turn off slow cooker. Divide chicken and sauce among plates; serve immediately.

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Chicken Louisa

The tarragon in this picture is from a windowsill kitchen garden.  It did very little all winter long, but come spring, it shot up over a foot in less than two weeks.  Isn't it funny how Mother Nature just seems to know when it's time to grow and when it's time to remain dormant?

Gathering ingredients for making dinner.

Here's a chicken recipe from a 2000 issue of Gourmet magazine.  A lover of both growing tarragon and using it as a flavoring, I’m always on the lookout for recipes that not only call for it as an ingredient, but do so in the fresh stage.  This dish is a wonderful weekday meal, but its simple elegance also makes it perfect for a party.

CHICKEN LOUISA

Makes 4 servings.

4 (1/3-inch-thick) chicken cutlets (1 1/2 lb)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 medium shallot, finely chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth

3/4 cup heavy cream

4 or 5 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon

1/2 extra-large chicken-bouillon cube, crumbled

Garnish: finely chopped fresh chives

Preparation

Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper.

Heat oil and butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides. Brown chicken on both sides in 2 batches, about 3 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken to a plate and keep warm.

Add shallot to skillet and cook, stirring, until tender, about 1 minute. Add wine and deglaze by boiling over high heat, scraping up brown bits, until reduced by half. Stir in cream, tomatoes, tarragon, and bouillon cube, then simmer, stirring, until tomatoes are softened and sauce begins to thicken, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Return chicken, with any juices accumulated on plate, to skillet and simmer until cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes.

Serve immediately.

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Cast Party Wednesday

Show Me What Ya Got

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Tarragon Chicken

You know me and cooking magazines -- I'm crazy about them!  So I had to try something from the new Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine that appeared in my mailbox on Wednesday.  

The word "Crockpot" leapt at me from the cover, most probably because it was 104 degrees at the time and a Crockpot seemed the only way to go.  As it turned out, it was.  I don't think I've ever had a tastier, more tender chicken than the one in this recipe.  Making the sauce outside of the Crockpot ensured a dish far more elegant that what is usually, umm, "crocked," and doing a bit of advanced prep (gathering, cleaning, and chopping herbs, zesting and juicing a lemon), made this a very easy meal.  There's a lot more to love in this issue, and I'll let you know as I test each recipe, but trust me on this one, it is, as Rachael would say, "Yum-o!"

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Simply Delish Saturday
Savory Sunday

For a subscription to Everyday with Rachael Ray, click the image below: