Chive-A-Palooza with 26 recipes

It is a Chive-A-Palooza friends. The only plant more forgiving than the Rhubarb plant is a trusty cluster of Chives! Chives are virtually impossible to kill and can be tucked into container gardens or grown in almost any place in your lawn or garden that you won’t mind them spreading. The Spring brings a beautiful edible pink flower, and you can make all kinds of things with chives!

We start with Chive Vinegar and the 5 things you can make with it.

Chive Blossom Infused Vinegar

Yield: 2 cups

Spring Chives lend themselves to a pink, floral vinegar perfect for salads

Ingredients

1/1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
2 1/2 cups chive blossoms snipped right beneath the head

Instructions

Heat the vinegar in a small saucepan over low heat until just warm
Stuff a Mason jar full of purple Chive flowers
Pour the warm vinegar into the jar just to submerge the blossoms
Leave 2 inches at the top of your jar so the vinegar doesn't come in contact with the metal lid.
Let the vinegar cool
Place the container in a dark, cool spot in a cupboard or your basement or even your refrigerator and steep for two weeks.
When you're happy with the strength of the vinegar, strain it through a sieve and toss the spent blossoms.
Pour the vinegar into your favorite bottle

Notes

Feel free to experiment with other kinds of vinegar-like White Wine or Champagne Vinegar

5 ways to use Chive Blossom Vinegar

Make a Salad dressing with 1 Tablespoon Chive Vinegar and 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil a pinch of salt and cracked pepper
Make a Bloody Mary with 1 Tablespoon of Chive Vinegar infusion.
Make a Gibson cocktail in a coupe glass. Add a Teaspoon of chilled Chive vinegar to the coup glass and swirl around to line the glass insides and dump the rest. In a shaker with ice mix a 2 1/2 oz London Dry Gin and 1/2 oz dry vermouth. Shake and pour into a Chive vinegar lined glass and garnish with a chive blossom.
Quick Pickle your favorite vegetables (Onions or Daikon Radishes work well here. Pack the vegetables into the jars, making sure there is a 1/2 inch of space from the rim of the jar to the tops of the vegetables. Pack them in as tightly as you can without smashing them. Fill with equal parts water and Chive blossom vinegar.
Add 2 Tablespoons to your favorite Potato Salad recipe for a slightly floral oniony flavor

How about Chive butter and the 10 things you can do with it, including freezing it for later or as a hostess gift throughout the season.

Chive Butter

Yield: 1 log

Chive butter is easy to make and a delicious way to maximize your chive crop

Ingredients

1 stick of unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 cup chopped chives
sprinkling of salt

Instructions

1. Fully soften the butter by leaving it at room temperature overnight

2. Use a rubber spatula to fold the softened butter and the chive together with a pinch of salt.

3. Use parchment paper or a rubber spatula to help you form the butter into a log. (optional, you can press chive blossoms or petals into the sides of the log for decoration)

4. Wrap in parchment paper or plastic wrap, store in an airtight container, and freeze for up to 6 months.

5. When you're ready to use the butter, simply slice off the amount you want to use and put the rest back in the freezer.

Notes

Use in mashed potatoes or as a garnish for grilled fish or meats or to top a baked potato or omelet

10 ways to use Chive Butter

Make a spread for savory muffins, grilled Sourdough slices of bread or English muffins
As a finishing butter for scrambled eggs or fancy French omelets
As a compound butter for Rib Eye Steaks or Grilled Salmon
As a spread for grilled cheese
As a butter for baked potatoes or steamed red new potatoes
As a finishing butter for grilled chicken breasts or grilled vegetables
As a flavoring for buttered noodles
As a flavoring for steamed rice
As a spread for breadsticks and crackers on a charcuterie board
Make a Savory shortbread cookie

Easy Chive drop biscuits? Yes Please.

Sour Cream and Chive Quick Drop Biscuits

Yield: 12 biscuits

These biscuits are savory, flaky, and easy and require no rolling or kneading

Ingredients

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small pea size cubes
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese plus 2 Tablespoons reserved for biscuit topping
1/4 cup fresh chopped chives (you can substitute thinly sliced green onions)
1/3 cup sour cream
1 cup milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450
Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Cut in butter with two knives, a party cutter, or a fork until dough is crumbly.
Add Parmesan cheese, chives, and sour cream, and mix in milk. The batter will be moist and sticky and lumpy
With a heaping Tablespoons spoonful, place about 1/8 cup of dough on an ungreased baking sheet about 1 and a half inches apart
Sprinkle a few grains or shreds of Parmesan on top of each biscuit
Bake 12-15 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown

Are there other recipes worth giving a go with your chives – here are 10 winners?

Chive Cheese Cornbread
Chive Crab Cakes
Chive Smashed Potatoes
Chivey Scrambled Eggs
Pork and Chive Potstickers
Chivey Cheese Spread
Spring Lamb with Herbs
Baked three – cheese onion dip
Bacon Cheddar Scones
Parsnip and Garlic Chive Home Fries from Heartbeet Kitchen’s Amanda Paa who is a wonderful recipe developer from the Twin Cities who I podcasted with earlier this Spring. Follow Amanda on Instagram @HeartbeetKitchen or subscribe to her newsletter for all her latest recipes. You can listen to the podcast here: