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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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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Summer Rolls

I came to summer rolls late in life.  When I was a kid, growing up in a New York suburb (during the Mad Men era of chow mein), the only Asian appetizer rolls I knew were so-called Chinese egg rolls.  They were always fried or baked, filled mostly with cabbage, and definitely boring.  I had no idea that infinitely better-tasting and healthier Asian appetizer rolls existed.

Now that I’ve discovered them, I’ve got the zeal of a convert, spreading the word that summer rolls are quick, easy, and inexpensive.  Perhaps their most attractive feature is that summer rolls can be whatever you want or need them to be.  A salad you can hold?  A repository for leftovers that cry out to be used?  A refreshing appetizer for a stir-fry meal?  An elegant and quick contribution to a pot-luck?  A vegetarian dish that easily accommodates adding meat or seafood? The possibilities are endless, and (for those who need or want to avoid gluten), they are gluten-free too.  

This is a guide to making summer rolls, rather than a recipe with specific measurements.  The only required ingredient is the rice wrapper.  I bought a package of more than 30 wrappers at an Asian grocery for $1.75.  In Washington, D.C., the price for 2 summer rolls at local Asian restaurants hovers around $4.50 - 5.50.  Check the menu of a restaurant near you that serves summer (sometimes called spring) rolls, and calculate how much money you’ll save by making these at home.

5 Tips for Making Great Summer Rolls

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