First off, lunch was tasty but ultimately not very filling. The spaghetti sauce tasted a little weird (overly fruity) when I touched it to test for heat, but when added to the ravioli and used as a dipping sauce for the garlic toast, it was fine.
Tonight I cooked a relatively extravagant dinner for Alex, as an apology for letting my own feelings of annoyance get in the way of cheering him up last night. We ate on our wedding china (for the first time) and had wine (for the first time in months at our apartment), and I got out the bread basket and everything.
I made seared chicken with a butter-shallot-tarragon sauce, which I had made before and which was once again very tasty, as well as crumbled cauliflower (was supposed to be mashed but for the life of me I couldn't get it mushy enough to be mashable), canned green beans (would have used fresh but the stuff in the fridge had developed a weird white coating to it--some sort of preservative, cause when I initially opened the bag a week ago it had a STRANGE soapy smell, and when I rinsed the white goop off the beans were kind of soft and I said "forget it"), storebought baked-at-home garlic bread, and an apple pie that had been sitting in the freezer for months.
It was a good clean-out-the-fridge night: got rid of the cauliflower, the green beans (inadvertently), the pie and chicken out of the freezer, a stick of butter, a bag of shallot, and a package of tarragon. The tarragon is probably still usable and I should put it back but yet.
Also dinner was quite tasty and even though the wine didn't have a chance to chill before we drank it, it was still very good. Chateau Ste. Michelle riesling is our favorite wine.
Showing posts with label tarragon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tarragon. Show all posts
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Tuna Salad w/ Fennel, Cucumber, and Tarragon
It could have been so good. The pita was tasty, the cucumber was crisp and fresh, the tuna, while not being the high-quality olive-oil-packed kind they called for in the recipe, wasn't bad (and I'm not sure a higher-quality tuna would have saved it).
The problem, I think, was in the assortment of flavors. Cucumber, fennel, and tarragon DO go together, they all have a sort of watery, fresh, almost bitter taste. But together I think they amplified each other too much for my palate. I would have almost preferred to make the tuna-mayo-relish kind of tuna salad and slathered that on a pita. The pita was nice anyway.
This was my second time cooking with fennel bulbs; the previous time had been amid other roasted vegetables (carrot, turnip, parsnip, etc). This was also my second time working with tarragon as a major flavor; the previous time was in a DELICIOUS beurre blanc (my first time successfully making that, might I add) that I served atop seared chicken cutlets. Cucumber is cucumber; this was English cucumber but aside from the seed thing I noticed no real difference.
I'm not willing to give up on fennel yet. I've seen it used in salads/slaws with apples, which could be interesting; maybe the tartness of the apple would counteract the licoricey bitterness of the fennel. Also I didn't have any problems with it roasted (then again, I think there was less fennel in that dish than any of the other veg).
As I think this was an issue of my palate rather than an issue of a recipe just not working, here's the recipe.
Tuna Salad with Fennel, Cucumber and Tarragon
1/2 small shallot, finely chopped
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tbsp chopped tarragon
1/2 small fennel bulb, cored and small diced
1/4 English cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 6-oz can tuna in vegetable oil, drained
Salt and pepper
Pita bread
In a small bowl, whisk shallot, vinegar, oil, sugar and tarragon. Add fennel and cucumber, let stand 5 minutes. Add tuna, season with salt and pepper, and serve atop pita bread. Serves 2.
The problem, I think, was in the assortment of flavors. Cucumber, fennel, and tarragon DO go together, they all have a sort of watery, fresh, almost bitter taste. But together I think they amplified each other too much for my palate. I would have almost preferred to make the tuna-mayo-relish kind of tuna salad and slathered that on a pita. The pita was nice anyway.
This was my second time cooking with fennel bulbs; the previous time had been amid other roasted vegetables (carrot, turnip, parsnip, etc). This was also my second time working with tarragon as a major flavor; the previous time was in a DELICIOUS beurre blanc (my first time successfully making that, might I add) that I served atop seared chicken cutlets. Cucumber is cucumber; this was English cucumber but aside from the seed thing I noticed no real difference.
I'm not willing to give up on fennel yet. I've seen it used in salads/slaws with apples, which could be interesting; maybe the tartness of the apple would counteract the licoricey bitterness of the fennel. Also I didn't have any problems with it roasted (then again, I think there was less fennel in that dish than any of the other veg).
As I think this was an issue of my palate rather than an issue of a recipe just not working, here's the recipe.
Tuna Salad with Fennel, Cucumber and Tarragon
1/2 small shallot, finely chopped
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tbsp chopped tarragon
1/2 small fennel bulb, cored and small diced
1/4 English cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 6-oz can tuna in vegetable oil, drained
Salt and pepper
Pita bread
In a small bowl, whisk shallot, vinegar, oil, sugar and tarragon. Add fennel and cucumber, let stand 5 minutes. Add tuna, season with salt and pepper, and serve atop pita bread. Serves 2.
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