Baked Lemon Tarragon Chicken

When dinner has to be quick-and-easy, I don’t usually think of baked chicken. But this recipe fits the bill.  You can make it in less than an hour and most of that time the chicken bakes unattended. The dish requires few ingredients and it is delicious cold if there are leftovers. 

If those attributes aren’t enough, baked lemon tarragon chicken is a budget meal too. I made enough for 4 people for about $8, including the price of the seasonings. With rice and a salad, this meal costs less per serving than a Chipotle chicken burrito, a McDonald’s McChicken meal, or a grilled chicken sandwich at Potbelly Sandwich Shop. And it tastes a heck of a lot better too!

As you are making this recipe, remember the chicken basics, especially rules #1-7 and #10.  It’s always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to handling poultry.

Lemon Tarragon Chicken

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Matzo for Mother's Day?

My pal MarocMama kidded me that I should do a post entitled "Matzo in May" after I bemoaned having so much matzo (and matzo meal) left over after Passover. Instead I am writing about the Streit’s matzo company this month and this post has nothing to do with my leftover matzos, Passover, or even Jewish cooking. 

I’ve never been a brand loyalist when it comes to matzo and other Passover foods. I don’t keep kosher, so I don’t look at the religious certifications displayed by Streit’s and other companies producing kosher foods. Up until this year, I’ve bought matzo to eat and for matzo pudding, matzo meal for my Passover rolls, and other products such as matzo farfel (small broken up pieces of matzo that I use for pseudo-granola during Passover) from whichever company’s products I found at my local grocery. 

But this year, after a rather random call to the Streit’s consumer number for help with a question, I made a special effort to reward that company with my business. I blogged about my experience with Streit’s and Rabbi Kirchner, but after Passover, I thought little about Streit’s or matzo, despite the 2 leftover boxes in my cupboard. Until last week. 

Then I saw this:

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Currant Scones

Even if my husband weren’t Irish-American, I would love scones.  Buttery, crumbly, and altogether lovely, they melt in your mouth.  During my vanillathon with Kelly last weekend, I started playing around with a favorite scone recipe that features candied ginger.  Substituting currants and vanilla for the ginger takes the scones back to their traditional roots, but retains the fantastic crumbly texture of the original recipe.  After a few tweaks and another taste test by the resident scone-master, these currant scones are now ready for prime time.

Why use currants and not raisins?  Both currants and raisins are dried grapes. The difference is in the type of grape they come from, and consequently the size and taste of the dried fruit.  Currants are dried red grapes, typically the zante variety native to Greece.  Raisins (including the type known as golden raisins in the U.S. and sultanas in Great Britain) are dried green grapes.  In general, currants are smaller and a bit more tart than raisins.  Traditionally scones are made with currants and I prefer them in this recipe for their size and taste.

Three Notes About This Recipe:

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