Quick Compound Butters
Compound Butter Basics
Start with 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter or margarine, then flavor it in three easy steps:
1. Soften butter to room temperature.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine butter and flavorings. Mash with a spatula until well combined.
3. Transfer butter to a sheet of parchment paper. Roll it into a log, twist the ends together, then chill for at least 1 hour. When ready to use, simply slice what you need and re-wrap the rest.
Tip: Whether you’re making compound butter or cooking with it, chances are you’ll be left with messy dishes. Keep clean up simple by using Cascade® Complete® Pacs™ in your dishwasher—they power away 24-hour stuck-on food so you don’t have to.
Flavor Variations
With compound butter, the possibilities are endless. Experiment with your favorite ingredients, or try one of our easy combinations:
Lemon Herb Butter: 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1-2 teaspoons lemon zest and 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh herbs—try dill, parsley, tarragon, thyme, oregano or a blend.
Chili Lime Butter: 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, 1-2 teaspoons fresh lime zest and 2 teaspoons red chili flakes.
Blue Cheese Butter: 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese and 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives (optional).
Cinnamon Butter: 1 tablespoon cinnamon and honey (or superfine sugar) to taste.
Fig Butter: 1 jar fig preserves—chop up any large bits of fig—1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg.
Tip: Blending butter is quick and easy, so why shouldn’t dishwashing be the same? With Cascade Complete Pacs, there’s no need to pre-wash, so you can spend less time cleaning mixing bowls and measuring cups and more time doing what you love.
Cooking with Compound Butters
Pair your gourmet butters with fresh-baked bread, or get creative with them:
Toss pasta with lemon herb or blue cheese butter—or a little bit of both!
Sauté cod filets in herb, chili lime or fig butter.
Whip mashed potatoes with savory butters, or let slices melt atop baked potatoes.
Melt chili lime butter, then drizzle over corn on the cob.
Spread waffles, pancakes and scones with cinnamon, fig or butterscotch butter.
Finish steaks with slices of herb or blue cheese butter.
Add sweet butters—fig, cinnamon and beyond—to oatmeal, rice pudding and other porridges.
Tip: Butter isn’t the only condiment you can flavor in unexpected ways. From rosemary mustard to cilantro sour cream, get more ideas in our article Spice Up Your Condiments.
Source: Homemadesimple
