Say it with me now, in your best Jersey mobster accent: “It’s like buttah!”
Because, hey, you gotta love “buttah!” Especially compound butters! What the heck is compound butter? It’s butter mixed with anything you like- something sweet, savory, salty or spicy. It’s a great way to liven up your cooking as well as baked goods. And they’re so good, you’ll catch yourself “talkin’ like you’re from Jersey (JOY-sey) and singin’ to yourself about…buttah!”
All joking aside, my friend Lilly Brock has some great recipe ideas for compound butters in her book, Food Gifts from Nature’s Bounty: Easy & Delicious Recipes To Make and Share For Every Occasion, which is free Sunday (11/15) and Monday (11/16) on Amazon.com! So pick up a copy and cook along with us!
Tonight I made her Chive and Parsley Butter, and it came out wonderfully! I slathered some on organic whole grain bread. Mmm. Nummy! I put the rest in a ramekin and covered it with plastic wrap, then refrigerated it. I plan to use this on boiled potatoes for a “parsley potato” dish sometime this week. It would also be great on pasta, baked potatoes, broiled fish, or steamed veggies. So many frugal foodie possibilities! I used herbs from my garden, so the only cost was the butter itself!
- 1 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
- 2 tbsp chopped parsely
- 1 tbsp chopped chives
- Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
- Pinch of sea salt
- Pinch of freshly ground pepper
- Beat the herbs into the butter. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. (Can be refrigerated or frozen.)
I got creative with a second batch and took out the lemon, then added fresh garlic, rosemary, thyme and oregano. I used a Magic Bullet to chop up the herbs and garlic very fine, then mixed them into softened butter. This was smeared on pork chops, which I baked for an hour in a covered pan. The results were delicious!
So you have my permission to have fun and go play with your buttah!
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