I can’t recall the name of it, but the host would always feature the ‘obedient ingredient.’ 

That’s exactly what I did this morning.  I bought a few too many avocados this week so I’m turning them into serving vessels.  Our Herbed Scrambled Eggs were quite happy in their avocado boats.

And then there are my fresh herb pots that are virtually exploding into bloom with this glorious summer sun.  Herb bouquets make me smile.

Fresh herbs sprinkled into soft scrambled eggs. 

Simple. 

Delightful.

All my best,
xo Libby

Print

Herbed Scrambled Eggs {in Avocado Boats}

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 1 -2

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1 Tbl. fresh herbs such as lemony thyme, tarragon, chives, cilantro
• 1 tsp. finely diced red onion
• salt & pepper
• butter for pan
• 1 avocado

Instructions

• Scramble egg and egg whites until lightly set. Sprinkle with fresh herbs, salt & pepper. Remove from heat. Gently stir.
• Cut avocado in half. Remove pit and discard. Sprinkle avocado halves with salt & pepper. Spoon scrambled eggs into avocados to serve. Sprinkle with diced red onion.

Here are some other ways to incorporate our obedient ingredient Avocados.

~ Curried Chicken Salad in Avocado ~ 

~ Baked Eggs in Avocado ~

~ Ceviche {with Halibut, Scallops & Shrimp} ~

The post Herbed Scrambled Eggs {in Avocado Boats} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Breakfast.  Often a highlight of the weekend.  Preparing fresh dishes when I have time to thoughtfully consider the ingredients is so rewarding.  It’s my creative outlet for certain.  This morning we had Baked Grits & Eggs {with Spinach & Fresh Herbs}.

I made a batch of grits, added some cheeses (Laughing Cow Light Garlic & Herb and a little shredded cheddar), then stirred in a handful of fresh spinach leaves, and some chopped fresh herbs (lemony thyme, tarragon, and sage).  The grits on their own were so tasty.  Not sure why I don’t add fresh spinach & herbs….always.  When ready to assemble, I spooned grits into oiled ramekins, made a well in the center of each and added an egg.

The grits and eggs are baked at 400 degrees for 20 minutes until the whites are set.  A final sprinkling of cheese and salt & pepper and you’re ready to enjoy this carefully thought out and freshly delivered breakfast of Baked Grits & Eggs with Spinach & Fresh Herbs.

Print

Baked Grits & Eggs {with Spinach & Fresh Herbs}

Course Breakfast, Brunch

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• olive oil for coating dishes
• 1 cup quick grits
• 1 cup fresh spinach
• 2 Tbl. fresh herbs like lemony thyme, sage, tarragon
• 1/4 cup grated cheese like cheddar or parmesan
• 2 wedges Laughing Cow Light garlic & herb
• 1 Tbl. butter
• 4 large eggs
• salt & pepper

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush four 8-ounce ramekins with olive oil.
• Prepare grits according to package instructions, then stir in fresh spinach & herbs, 2 Tbl. shredded cheese, 2 Laughing Cow wedges and cook until cheeses melt. Season with salt and pepper.
• Divide grits among dishes, make a well in each, then crack an egg into each well; season. Bake on a baking dish for 20 minutes or until whites are set, rotating pan once halfway through.
• To serve top with remaining shredded cheese and freshly cracked pepper.

The post Baked Grits & Eggs {with Spinach & Fresh Herbs} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Hints of citrus and sweet tarragon & fennel infuse flavor into this Slow-Roasted Salmon dish.  This luxurious recipe from Food & Wine is wonderful for the holidays.  To begin, a seasoning mixture is made from melted butter, thinly sliced garlic & shallots, ground fennel seeds, fresh tarragon & lemony thyme, lemon & orange zest, and coarsely ground pepper. 

The seasoning mixture is spread over both sides of a beautiful whole salmon fillet, before it is surrounded by orange juice and slow roasted.  Once again, a recipe by Food & Wine that brings together uniquely different flavors to create harmony.  The fish is oh so moist and the orange sauce is beautiful and bright.  We served ours with cauliflower mash, however rice, couscous, or even a bed of baby greens would be an equally delicious way to capture this fabulous sauce.

Please forgive the not so clear pictures, as I pulled these from the archives.  Yet this recipe is so very deserving of a post.  So it seems keeping up with a brand new puppy  (who’s so stinking cute I can barely put her down) is a little more work than I remembered.  I’ll be back to cooking tomorrow.

Print

Slow-Roasted Salmon with Tarragon and Citrus

Course Seafood

Author Food & Wine

Ingredients

• 4 Tbl. unsalted butter melted
• 4 garlic cloves thinly sliced
• 3 medium shallots minced
• 2 Tbl. fennel seeds coarsely ground in a spice grinder
• Finely grated zest of 3 lemons plus 1 1/2 Tbl. fresh lemon juice
• Finely grated zest of 1 orange plus juice of 1 orange
• 2 Tbl. chopped tarragon
• 1 Tbl. coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 tsp. chopped lemony thyme
• Olive oil for the baking dish
• 2 1/2 lbs. whole skinned salmon fillet
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• Sea salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• In a bowl, combine melted butter with the garlic, shallots, fennel seeds, zests, tarragon, black pepper, and lemony thyme.
• Brush a ceramic baking dish with olive oil. Lightly season the salmon fillet with kosher salt. Spread half of the seasoning mixture on the skinned side of the fish.
• Place skinned side down in baking dish and top with remaining seasoning mixture.
• Sprinkle with cayenne pepper.
• Let the salmon sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.
• Carefully pour the orange juice into the baking dish and cover the dish tightly with foil.
• Bake the salmon for 35 minutes, until the fish is barely opaque in the center.

The post Slow-Roasted Salmon with Tarragon and Citrus appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Cod is a wonderfully mild white flaky fish.  It’s happy seasoned with anything from fresh herbs to punchy marinades.  It’s beautiful baked or grilled and when leftover it begs to be the star in a batch of fish chowder.  After recently learning about freezing fresh herbs in butter or olive oil, I began to do a little compound butter research and decided Montpellier Butter would be the perfect pairing with our baked cod.

Compound butters, like a sauce, are a great way to enhance the flavors in a dish.  They can be as simple as a one ingredient add, like parsley or red pepper.  Or they can combine a number of ingredients creating more complex flavors.  Since cod is so mild, it welcomed this flavor packed Montpellier Butter.

The recipe includes several different herbs and leafy greens, which are all blanched for 1 minute before being incorporated with the remaining ingredients in a small food processor (or by using a mortar and pestle).  Once all ingredients are well chopped and combined, they are rolled into a log using plastic wrap and then chilled.

One pat of this beautiful Montpellier Butter made this Cod by God!!  Wow.  And we returned the unused compound butter to the freezer for a quick go-to flavor add at our finger tips.  Just one more way we’re hanging on to our fresh herb flavors!!

Print

Baked Cod with Montpellier Butter

Baked Cod is a wonderfully mild white flaky fish begging for added flavor. This beautiful Montpellier Butter was the perfect add.

Course Sauce, Seafood

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For the Montpellier Butter…

• 1/2 lb. unsalted butter softened
• 2 Tbl. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup watercress leaves
• 1/4 cup spinach leaves
• 1/4 cup parsley leaves
• 2-3 Tbl. tarragon leaves
• 1 shallot fine diced
• 1 garlic clove fine diced
• 2 cornichons
• 1 tsp. capers
• 2 anchovy fillets or 1 tsp. of anchovy paste
• 2 yolks of hard boiled eggs
• pinch cayenne pepper
• sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

For the cod…

• 1 lb. cod fillet washed and dried

Instructions

For the butter…

• Blanch herbs and leafy greens in boiling water for 1 minute, then plunge in cold water bath before drying completely.
• Combine all other ingredients except butter and olive oil in small food processor or mortar and pestle and grind until smooth.
• Empty processor bowl into small bowl and add butter and olive oil mixing with wooden spoon until well combined.
• Spoon butter mixture onto plastic wrap and roll into a log.
• Chill until well set.

For the cod…

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Wash and dry cod and place in baking dish coated with cooking spray.
• Season with salt & pepper.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
• Top with a Montpellier butter slice just before serving.

The post Baked Cod with Montpellier Butter appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Salmon & Snow Pea Pasta with Tarragon Cream Sauce.  Doesn’t that just sound so creamy and delicious.  It was.  I’m not sure who decided that Salmon & Peas are two peas in a pod…but I’m right there.  I know I can’t claim everything as comfort food but….buttery baked salmon, mild snow peas, pasta tossed with an ultra creamy tarragon sauce….muah!!

Print

Salmon & Snow Pea Pasta with Tarragon Cream Sauce

Course Pasta, Seafood

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For Salmon…

• 1 lb. Salmon fillets
• 1/2 tsp. Mrs. Dash Garlic Herb seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt

For Pasta & Peas…

• 6 oz. Farfalle Bowtie pasta
• 1 10 oz. pkg. Birds Eye Steamfresh Sugar frozen Snap Peas steamed according to package directions

For cream sauce…

• 2 Tbl. butter
• 2 Tbl. flour
• 1 cup milk or half & half
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 Tbl. fresh tarragon minced
• sea salt & fresh cracked pepper

Instructions

For Salmon…

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Sprinkle salmon fillets with Mrs. Dash seasoning, sea salt, and fresh cracked pepper.
• Bake for 17 minutes.

For Pasta and Peas…

• Cook Pasta according to package instructions.
• Steam Snow Peas according to package instructions.

For cream sauce…

• In heavy sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.
• Add flour and whisk until bubbly and blended.
• Quickly add milk, sour cream, and cream cheese and stir to incorporate.
• Bring sauce to a light boil, stirring constantly, reduce heat.
• Add garlic powder, tarragon, and salt & pepper to taste.
• Spoon over pasta with salmon and snow peas.

The post Salmon & Snow Pea Pasta with Tarragon Cream Sauce appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Finding these gorgeous Haricot Verts at the Farmers’ Market warranted a special recipe.  Something just as fresh with flavor as they are.  Hmm…green beans, first thing that came to mind is Green Bean Casserole. Not envisioning the from a can variety but instead a bed of creamy mushroom & thyme sauce, topped with these vibrant green beans, sprinkled with crispy onions and shaved Parmesan cheese.  Now that could be amazing.

And so this was my first attempt at Deconstructed Green Bean Casserole.  I think it’s a keeper.  I’m tempted to call this comfort food, our definition “Comfort Food becomes awesome when it becomes a little bit uncomfortable.”  Not sure this was uncomfortable, but we did add tarragon as a late add…strong flavor for sure…did it make the dish…completely!!  The other thought from the evening I must share is…”The way to make comfort food pop is to never involve Campbell’s Soup.”

Print

Green Bean Casserole {Deconstructed}

A bed of creamy mushroom & thyme sauce, topped with vibrant green beans, sprinkled with crispy onions and shaved Parmesan cheese.

Course Side Dish

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 lb. fresh green beans ends removed
• 1/2 lb. mushrooms sliced
• 1 shallot thin sliced
• 1 Tbl. butter
• 2 Tbl. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 sprigs fresh lemony thyme leaves only
• 1 tsp. fresh tarragon minced
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 2 Tbl. dry white wine
• 1 tsp. flour
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• sea salt & fresh cracked pepper extra pepper = yum
• 1 small onion thin sliced
• 2 Tbl. flour
• 1 cup canola oil for frying
• 2 Tbl. shaved Parmesan cheese
• lemon wedges

Instructions

• Sauté sliced mushrooms and shallot in butter and olive oil over med-low until mushrooms have released all their liquid, about 10 minutes. Add thyme leaves, tarragon, and garlic and sauté 2 minutes more. Add wine and stir deglazing pan for 1 minute. Sprinkle flour over mushroom mixture. Add heavy cream and continue cooking 3-4 minutes until sauce thickens. Season with salt & generous amount of pepper to taste.
• While mushrooms are cooking, heat canola oil over med-high heat in saute pan. Toss onion slices in flour, shaking to remove excess. Gently fry onions in canola oil until brown and crispy, remove to paper towels.
• Just before serving, blanch green beans in salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes.
• Spread generous spoonful of sauce on plates. Top with a bundle of green beans.
• Sprinkle with crispy onions, shaved Parmesan, freshly cracked pepper and lemon wedges.
• Serve with lemon wedge.

The post Green Bean Casserole {Deconstructed} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.