Dragoncello Sauce

Oh, the weather outside is... disgusting.

If I could bear the thought of storing a picture on my iPhone of my front yard so I could post it for you, I would.  But looking outside makes me figuratively ill.  Realizing my truck's gas gauge was on 'E' and needing to make a late night gas run in the middle of an almost-blizzard... that made me literally ill.

I've lived in upstate New York all of my life.  I should be fairly proficient at shoveling snow and walking on ice and all of those talents that all good northerners should have.  You would think.  Unfortunately, every year, as much as I enjoy the snow on occasion, I spend about 90% of the time either ignoring or fighting with winter.

Don't get me wrong.  There are tons of fun things to do in winter if you just look for them.  I'm all for ice skating, snowmobiling, fishing and sledding.  And yes, I'm 26 but sledding is still a hobby of mine.  The trouble is, when you're done with the snow, the snow is not done with you.  It doesn't care that you're boots have no traction, or your tires for that matter.  It doesn't care that the Vitamin D in your system is virtually depleted and you're on the brink of a nasty case of Seasonal Affective Disorder.  It doesn't care if your pipes burst, or if your power goes out, or if an icicle-covered tree branch falls on your most important possessions.  As much as New Yorkers love the stuff, we readily admit that it's a pain in the butt about 90% of the time.

So where am I going with this?  Well, thanks for asking.  When winter comes, I invariably become a huge hermit by where I don't leave me house unless someone is paying me to.  It also means I have to be a little bit more creative because the things I take for granted in the summertime are no longer in reach for me.  That includes my snack shop and coffee shop stops.  In fact, if you look back through some other posts, you might notice a trend where my fast food copycats are more commonly posted in winter months.  That's no coincidence when you consider there's about 10 miles of below zero weather separating me from my favorite foods.

So, in honor of my newfound hermit status for 2014, I am sharing a list of some of my favorite copycat recipes from restaurants I love. 

I first tried this sauce a couple months ago at a fancy schmancy restaurant that I would otherwise never visit again.  No offense, but I can't stand the idea of dropping $100 on a plate that I could make at home for duckets (I don't know what unit of currency a ducket is, but I like it).  Plus, eating at home is becoming more and more fun for me.  I really hate eating a great meal in a terribly decorated environment with awful lighting and strangers everywhere.  I've got my list of favorites, but for the most part, I stick to home-cooked meals nowadays.

Anyway, the name is the only reason I ordered it.  I wanted to scratch something called 'dragoncello' off of my culinary bucket list.  I had no idea that it was just a simple terragon sauce.  I mean, don't get me wrong, it was a spectacular sauce, as you will find out when you make it.  But, something about the name 'dragoncello' made me think of something mythically great.  Turns out I really just need to learn Italian...

I can think of a number of things that this sauce would be tasty on, but I ate it on chicken.  Don't discount seafood, though.  I think this would be super on an oversized filet of white fish or maybe even some lobster....  the ideas are officially swirling...







Dragoncello Sauce

1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup finely diced terragon
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. lemon juice
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil


Combine vinegar, terragon, garlic, lemon juice and seasoning in a bowl.  Use a whisk to stir in the olive oil slowly, allowing the mixture to emulsify.