Too long between posts - again!

I just can't seem to keep up. I turn around and months have gone by. We've been cooking a lot but I'm still working on getting Denis to write down ingredients and directions. Last night he made pierogies and I made a yummy Cherry Tomato Salad and some green beans with tarragon.

Cherry Tomato Salad with Tarragon and Blue Cheese (Cooks Illustrated)

For a cherry tomato salad recipe that wasn’t soggy, it was necessary to get rid of some of the tomato juice without losing the flavor. So we quartered, salted, and drained the tomatoes before whirling them in a salad spinner to separate the seeds and jelly from the flesh. After we strained and discarded the seeds, we reduced the jelly to a flavorful concentrate, reuniting it with the tomatoes, minus the excess liquid.

2 pints cherry tomatoes, ripe, quartered (about 4 cups) (see note)
Table salt
½ teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 teaspoons honey
1 medium shallot, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Ground black pepper
½ cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
2 ounces crumbled blue cheese
1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

1. Toss tomatoes, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and sugar in medium bowl; let stand for 30 minutes. Transfer tomatoes to salad spinner and spin until seeds and excess liquid have been removed, 45 to 60 seconds, stirring to redistribute tomatoes several times during spinning. Return tomatoes to bowl and set aside. Strain tomato liquid through fine-mesh strainer into liquid measuring cup, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible.

2. Bring 1/2 cup tomato liquid (discard any extra), mustard, honey, shallot, and vinegar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until reduced to 3 tablespoons, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer mixture to small bowl and cool to room temperature, about 5 minutes. Whisk in oil and pepper to taste until combined. Taste and season with up to 1/8 teaspoon table salt.

3. Add pecans, cheese, dressing, and tarragon to bowl with tomatoes; toss gently and serve.


Note: If in-season cherry tomatoes are unavailable, substitute vine-ripened cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes from the supermarket. Cut grape tomatoes in half along the equator (rather than quartering them). If you don’t have a salad spinner, after the salted tomatoes have stood for 30 minutes, wrap the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and gently shake to remove seeds and excess liquid. Strain the liquid and proceed with the recipe as directed. The amount of liquid given off by the tomatoes will depend on their ripeness. If you have less than 1/2 cup of juice after spinning, proceed with the recipe using the entire amount of juice and reduce it to 3 tablespoons as directed (the cooking time will be shorter).


Tarragon Green Beans

Servings/Yield: 8 servings
Source: Martha Stewart

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large shallot, finely chopped (½ cup)
2 lbs. green beans, trimmed
½ cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh tarragon, plus sprigs for garnish
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Melt butter in a large, high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add shallot; cook, stirring constantly, until soft and translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add beans, and gently toss to coat with shallot mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes.

2. Add wine. Raise heat to medium-high; cook, stirring often, 12 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, and cook until beans are tender, 3 to 5 minutes more. Stir in tarragon, and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with tarragon sprigs.


Notes: I halved the recipe so needed to add a little water after the wine cooked down and put the lid on to finish cooking the green beans. Didn't seem to change the flavor at all. Great flavors!