The Blends
Poultry Blend:
Poultry Blend consists of marjoram, sage and thyme and is a natural for chicken,turkey, duck, Cornish hens, and game birds.
Tips:
Chop and add to any basic stuffing or dressing mix, or rice and pastas you might cook in chicken broth.
Slide some sprigs of the herbs under the skin on the breast and thighs before roasting or baking in an outdoor grill.
When making stock from trimmings and bones, add a generous amount of herbs at the end of the cooking time to enrich the flavors of the broth.
Put whole thyme sprigs in canning jars when making pickled beets, herbed cucumbers and mixed pickles.
Salad Blend:
Salad Blend consists of basil, chives and parsley which emphasize tomatoes, lettuces and vegetables cut up in salads.
- Recipes:
- Green Goddess Dressing
- see all recipes
Tips:
Chop four tablespoons the herbs and add to a good vinegar and oil dressing (1/3 cup vinegar, 1 cup oil, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 mashed clove of garlic) and whisk or shake together. This can hold in the fridge for a week.
Drop whole sprigs into warm oil (about 250 degrees) and remove from heat. Cover and let infuse for 2 hours. Strain and use as the oil in a salad dressing, as a baste for meats, to fry eggplant and zucchini. This can hold in the fridge for 5 days.
Mince four tablespoons of the herbs and drop into the water to cook two cups of rice. Chill the rice and dress with a light vinaigrette (as above) for a wonderful rice salad. Chopped meats, seafoods or pickled vegetables work nicely with this.
Chop two tablespoons of each herb and add to a cup of simmering vinegar. Cover and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain and add 1/2 cup white wine, 1/2 cup broth and 1/2 cup light olive oil. Chill. Marinate poultry or pork overnight. Or cut vegetables for grilling.
Seafood Blend:
Seafood Blend consists of chives, dill and lemon grass, all used in seafood cookery because of their strong, sympathetic flavors.
- Recipes:
- Fish Chowder
- see all recipes
Tips:
For each person, mince finely two tablespoons of the herbs, saute, briefly in a tablespoon of butter and spoon a bed of these herbs onto dinner plates to set pieces of broiled fish on.
Chop coarsely almost a whole package of herbs and add to two quarts of simmering water along with an onion studded with ten cloves. Lower fish filets into it and cook for ten minutes per inch of thickness measured at the thickest point. Serve the fish with the remaining herbs very finely minced and mixed with two tablespoons mayo spread lightly on the fish pieces.
Add almost a whole package of herbs, a bottle of beer and four garlic cloves to a pot of water to cook shrimp. Bring to a boil, drop in the shrimp and stir for 3 minutes. Drain and serve the shrimp with the remaining herbs minced and added to two sticks of melted butter for dipping.
Chop three tablespoons of the herbs and add to your normal tuna salad recipe. Or grill and cool a salmon filet and finish as for tuna salad and add the herbs to it.
Soup Blend:
Soup Blend consists of oregano, rosemary and thyme and is one of the important herb combinations for minestrone and other hearty soups.
Tips:
Tuck a whole package of herbs into a small square of culinary cheesecloth, tie with twine and drop into the soup pot when making big, bold soups - beef or heavy chicken soups. They should cook for about 1/2 hour at the end of cooking time to deliver maximum flavor.
Slide 1/2 the package of herbs under the skin of a chicken and roast it. Let it cool and pull the meat off the bones. Put meat and bones into a pot with water to just cover. Finely chop the remaining herbs and add to the pot. Simmer gently for 45 minutes and discard the bones. Add pasta, rice and any other ingredients and cook another 15 minutes. Serve.
In vegetarian soups, add herbs in the last thirty minutes of simmering. They work especially well with beans, root vegetables and grains.
Very finely chop four tablespoons herbs and add to the broth to make risotto with two cups of rice. Simmer the broth and finish the rice as directed in your recipe, making it slightly more liquid than usual. Present with a good grating of Parmesan cheese.
Roasting Blend:
Roasting Blend consists of parsley, rosemary and thyme and is one of the favored combinations around the Mediterranean for roasts.
- Recipes:
- Simply Roasted Risotto
- see all recipes
Tips:
Mince the herbs finely, mix with a little soft butter and rub all over the outside of meats to roast. During the roasting time, do this two more times. The pan juices should have a good, strong meat and herb flavor to make gravy.
Put quartered potatoes and carrots (that you have tossed with a little oil to coat) around the rack you're roasting meat on during the last hour of cooking. Chop three tablespoons of herbs and sprinkle over the vegetables.
Chop herbs very finely and mix well with several cloves of well-mashed garlic and a little olive oil. Make lots of little cuts a couple inches apart in a leg of lamb or veal and insert teaspoons of the mixture in the cuts. Spread any remaining over the outside and roast as usual.
Lay the herbs on a flank or skirt steak with minced garlic and roll it like a jellyroll and tie with twine. Brush the outside with oil and roast at low temperature (250-300) until medium rare (130 center temperature). Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes. Slice thinly across the grain and serve with pan juices and buttered parsley potatoes.