Tarragon Talk

Tarragon is such a complex herb...licorice-y and earthy...I used to love it as the "secret" ingredient in my chicken cheese ball. Since I haven't been making chicken cheese balls much lately, I've sort of forgotten about tarragon. This past weekend, Oscar was invited to a birthday party at the park and as has been common for a good many parties for his friends, a set of twins whom he absolutely adores were among the guests. I think that birthday parties where these girls are invited must always fall on their dad's "weekend," as he often accompanies them. Their dad is very personable and easy to talk to and we often end up talking as, even though he is younger than me, we are still the only forty-ish parents there among the twenty somethings that make up all the other parents of preschooler party set. This past weekend, we talked of a restaurant here in our town that was always a special "date night" place to dine and consequently, he used to wait tables there. It was the only fine dining spot in our small town back then and one of the special places where my husband took me while we were dating. The Greenhouse, as it was named, had many specialites de maison, and one of those was the chef's delicious tarragon-based sauce that covered the escargot. Her house dressing also had tarragon as a key ingredient and all this "tarragon talk" had me wanting to experiment with a creamy tarragon salad dressing. I served it tonight to David atop baby Italian greens with dried cranberries, sliced baby portabellos and toasted pecans...I think it's a keeper. Here's to Ursula and Jerry for the inspiration...

Creamy Tarragon Dressing

2 T. mayo (I used Reduced fat Veganaise)

3 T. agave nectar

2 T. champagne vinegar

1/4 t. salt

freshly ground pepper to taste

1 T. dried tarragon

1-2 T. water, to thin as needed

1 T. sweet white miso (I like MisoMaster)

Mix all ingredients except water well, whisking to emulsify. Add in water as needed to thin to desired consistency. Serve on dark leafy salad greens such as mesclun or baby Italian lettuces.