Tarragon

Flavored mustards are one of the easiest, cheap tricks to ad flavor to quick-cooking sauces.Mustard, when used in the right quantity, can help bring out the flavor in food rather than overwhelm it. During the 1980s we learned to go beyond ballpark mustard to French Dijon. These days we know that each time a different mustard is used, the flavor changes even when the formula for sauce making remains the same.Some flavored mustards are available in the supermarket, but the more exotic varieties come from the gourmet store.

This elegant fish dinner is fancy enough for a holiday dinner party. Yet it's simple to make and most cooks will need to buy just four ingredients. We served our fish with two kinds of sauteed squash. The fish sits on a bed of zucchini strips. We shaved thin slices off two large zucchini and sauteed the strips in a little olive oil with dried tarragon. The chopped yellow squash, on the side, was sauteed the same way.Nutritional breakdown)Serves four: each serving has:* Calories: 240* Protein: 32 grams* Carbohydrates: 2 grams* Fat: 10 grams* Cholesterol: 65 milligrams* Sodium: 330 milligramsShopping list*1 pounder flounder fillets* Ricotta cheese* Fresh parsley* Lemon* Pantry: dried tarragon, paprika, pepper and saltWHAT YOU NEED1 pound flounder fillets1/2 cup ricotta cheese2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley1 teaspoon dried tarragonteaspoon salt1/8 teaspoon peppermedium lemonPaprikaIf fish fillets are large, cut into four serving pieces, pat dry. Mix cheese, parsley, tarragon, salt and pepper.

TC NorthwoodsWhere: 609 Melvin Ave., AnnapolisHours: Open for lunch 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays to Fridays; dinner 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. SundaysCredit Cards: AE, CB, DC, MC, VFeatures: Continental and Italian cuisineCall: 268-2609 (direct from Baltimore) There don't seem to be any woods anywhere near the place, and no one would think of showing up in L. L. Bean flannels and lumberjack boots. Let's face it, Northwoods is a silly name for this restaurant, which is pretty in pale pink, serenely hung with Impressionist art, and located on a quiet suburban side street removed from Annapolis's historical and tourist hub. And while that name suggests rugged American chow (if not moose and lynx)

Fresh tarragon enhances certain foods like no other herb. Its refreshing aniselike flavor complements salads, lightly cooked vegetables and grilled chicken, meat or fish.The long, slender dark-green leaves traditionally are used in Bernaise sauce and chicken tarragon. But minced, fresh tarragon also adds zest to potato salad and deviled eggs, as well.M. F. K. Fisher once described tarragon as having a "faintly licorice flavor," but food authority Waverly Root disagrees, describing it as "a tart, subtle but strong flavor, which is opposite the namby-pamby almost sickly flavor of licorice."