Salmon and asparagus with a creamy tarragon sauce

Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables and tarragon is swiftly becoming one of my favorite herbs. 

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Tarragon was pretty unfamiliar to me until a few years ago when I first had it in a chicken salad. From then on, I was hooked on this herb and it is a perfect match with asparagus and salmon. 

This sauce was something I threw together with some items I had on hand and it turned out very nicely. I also served a simple pasta salad with this meal that was just cooked orzo tossed with extra virgin olive oil, halved baby tomatoes, lemon zest, and some salt and pepper. 

It was really fresh and bright and accompanied the rich salmon and creamy sauce quite well (plus the lemon juice goes in the sauce). I made this dish for two, but you can cook up more fish and asparagus as needed.  

Tarragon chicken

Another simple, elegant, and delicious dish from Nigella Kitchen. I really loved this chicken. It was so tender and flavorful and the sauce was so easy to make. 

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If you like tarragon, this chicken is definitely for you. If you've never had tarragon before, give it a try. It has a licorice-like taste that pairs nicely with chicken (it's often used in chicken salad). Herbs take food to the next level of greatness and have such wonderful tastes and aromas.

I modified Nigella's recipe ever so slightly to the one below. I served this chicken with some fresh green beans and baked potatoes. It will serve about three people depending on the sides (the green beans went really well with this and the potato was great for soaking up the extra sauce). 

This recipe makes enough sauce that you can add probably up to four chicken breasts and there will still be enough sauce for each piece.

Hot quinoa breakfast cereal

I have always loved oatmeal and oatbran and recently discovered the wonders of overnight oatmeal. But with all these great grains and seeds that are becoming popular, there's a world of possibilities when it comes to a hot cereal breakfast. I saw a recipe for a hot quinoa cereal in Martha Stewart Living and was inspired to finally try a new hot breakfast cereal that didn't involve oats. I usually use quinoa in a similar way as rice, often as a side dish with herbs and/or vegetables. It has a unique texture that I enjoy (but I think my husband is still on the fence). As with oatmeal, you can flavor this cereal any way you like. I used bananas and honey with some spices. Any combination of fruit, nuts, spices, and sweeteners (honey, maple syrup, agave nectar) that you like would be perfect. This recipe will serve two (just double it for more - you will want a two to one ratio of milk to quinoa). Maybe next time I'll try red quinoa or millet...

Skillet pasta puttanesca

I had never had puttanesca sauce before so I wasn't really sure what to expect. 

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But, my husband and I both really like olives (and pasta and cheese), so I thought that this would be a hit. I found a recipe on my friend Christine's blog, Christine's Cuisine, which she had made from a Cook's Illustrated recipe. The recipe was really easy and it was tasty. 

An extra bonus was that it was a one skillet meal (Thanks, Christine)! We ate this on a blustery day with some fresh garlic bread and were quite happy. The recipe below is a slightly modified version. 

My husband is very salt sensitive, so I lowered the salt amount - especially with the salty olives, anchovies, and Parmesan cheese. We also love garlic and red pepper, so I bumped these ingredients up. 

I also used penne pasta instead of ziti. But, overall the recipe is basically the same. I never cooked with anchovies before, but they were not all all offensive in any way and probably help to give the sauce a depth of flavor. This recipe will serve 4 to 6 people. 

Sausage gravy

Happy New Year! I'm always surprised at how quickly each year seems to pass. 2011? Really? I'm not one for making New Year's resolutions, but I am committing to continuing to learn to cook and record the recipes and experiences. 2010 was my first full year of this blog and I'm really enjoying it so far. I'm really happy when I receive a comment or have someone tell me that they tried a recipe and liked it. It makes my day!

The recipe I'm posting today has been a staple at my family's Christmas breakfast as long as I can remember. I did not make it this Christmas because I was not feeling well and had made an easy cranberry-walnut quick bread to take instead. My husband really looks forward to the sausage gravy though, so I promised him that I would make it for us another day. I decided that it would make a good New Year's breakfast, so I just made it this morning. It's a delicious treat that is full of sage flavor that really reminds you of the holidays. I'm not exactly sure where the original recipe came from for the sausage gravy. This is my slightly modified version of the recipe I got from my mother. It will serve about four people.