Lemon Tarragon Butter

Fresh leafy herbs are kind of like buttermilk.  You always buy them with good intentions of using all of it before it goes bad, but sometimes it's just not possible.  Because they're so perishable, everyday that it sits in the fridge means there's more and more of it that can't be salvaged. 

I bought what seemed to be the biggest bunch of tarragon last week.  I was able to use most of it, but was trying to come up with ideas to use up the leftovers.  A simple syrup?  Hollandaise?  But the only practical solution was to use it to flavor butter.  A compound butter if you're in a professional kitchen.

Lemony Buttermilk Dressing

What to do with that little bit of buttermilk left over? After using it to make some breakfast muesli scones (recipe coming up soon), I've only used half of the carton. I always buy buttermilk for a recipe with good intentions of actually using all the buttermilk. But each and everytime I have failed. Slowly day by day as I rummage through the fridge looking for other things, it gets pushed to the back and eventually I forget about it... until I find it a few weeks later to discover that its gone bad. So my buttermilk repertoire never expands.

This time it's different. I actually made an effort to use up the buttermilk. A lemony dressing kissed with delicate herbs and just a hint of garlic.