Spread holiday cheer with flavored butters
Saturday, November 18 2006, 12:05 AM EST
Contributed by: Jennifer Mastroianni
DRESSED FOR SUCCESS
It's a simple truth: Life is better with butter. And now we have even more ways to enjoy this delicious gift of nature: Homemade flavored butters.
With the addition of a few choice ingredients inspired by the season, butter can take on unexpected and exciting new tastes. Flavored butters are easy to make, and their uses are endless in both sweet and savory dishes, whether for spreading on breads, melting on vegetables or adorning meats.
Take for instance, Pumpkin Five-Spice Butter. Slather it on honey-nut muffins, and you'll swoon.
But it's just as tasty melted over roasted pork loin or glazed carrots.
Serving flavored butter is a simple. When you've finished mixing, scrape the butter into a small bowl, crock or butter mold and cover tightly.
Or you can shape it into a long roll on plastic, wax paper or parchment paper and then store and slice as needed. If you're making a log, dress it up even more by rolling it in chopped nuts, fresh herbs or dried fruit bits prior to serving. And with holiday entertaining approaching, keep in mind that butter logs make a thoughtful hostess gift. Simply wrap the log with a colorful bow and include your favorite recipe for using the butter.
Get a jump-start on Thanksgiving by making your butter now. Butters can be frozen for up to a month. A day before you plan to use it, thaw the butter in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, allow refrigerated crocks or containers to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving. If using a log, slice chilled log into 1/2-inch thick rounds and arrange on butter dish or butter plates 15 minutes prior to serving.
Pomegranate-Clementine Butter: With its head-turning hue and sweet-tart flavor, Pomegranate Clementine Butter is lovely for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Serve alongside bread, muffins, waffles, turkey, ham, sweet potatoes or vegetables.
FESTIVE SPREAD
Five-Spice-Pumpkin Butter: Great on the table to accompany everything from breakfast pastries to dinner breads, or melt over meats such as turkey, ham or chicken. Fragrant and flavorful, it also adds richness to root vegetables such as sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips and beets.
Marjoram-Shallot Butter: Serve this herb-flecked butter on everything from mashed potatoes to dinner rolls. It's also ideal for rubbing under the skin of turkey and chicken prior to roasting.
Cranberry-Sage Brown Butter: This flavorful butter is equally good with or without dried cranberries. Use it during the holidays on potatoes, vegetables or meats. It also is delicious year round tossed with pasta or as the final touch on broiled or grilled fish.
Honey-Sesame Butter: Such versatile butter turns simple vegetables into stunning side dishes. Add a pat or two to green beans, snap peas, asparagus, carrots, and parsnips. The sweetness from the honey also makes it perfect for spreading on dinner rolls, breakfast breads or bagels, and for topping pancakes, French toast and waffles.
Bittersweet Chocolate-Orange Butter: This decadent mix makes even the simplest bread or roll special. Try it on toast, biscuits, pancakes, French toast, waffles, bread pudding or banana bread. It especially pairs well with ethnic holiday breads such as Italian pannetone, Swedish cardamom bread and stollen, the German bread studded with fruit.
POMEGRANATE-CLEMENTINE BUTTER
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
1/4 pomegranate syrup, chilled
2 tablespoon Clementine zest, finely grated (see note)
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar, or more to taste
Yields about 1 1/4 cups.
Place butter in medium mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides. Beat in pomegranate syrup, Clementine zest and sugar, scraping sides of bowl as needed to incorporate ingredients.
Optional: Add 1/4 cup toasted and chopped almonds, hazelnuts or pecans if desired.
Note: Any orange or mandarin variety may be substituted for Clementines.
FIVE-SPICE-PUMPKIN BUTTER
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup canned or fresh pumpkin puree, strained (to remove any excess water)
1 tablespoon orange or lemon zest, finely grated
1 to 2 tablespoons Chinese five-spice powder (see note)
Salt, to taste
Yields about 2 cups.
Place butter in medium mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides. Add pumpkin puree, zest and five-spice powder, scrapping down sides of bowl, and beat to incorporate ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings, to taste.
Variations: Add confectioners' sugar for sweeter applications. Add 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, if desired.
Note: Bottled five-spice powder can be found in supermarket spice aisles.
MARJORAM-SHALLOT BUTTER
1 cup and 1 tablespoon (2 sticks and 1 tablespoon) salted butter, room temperature (divided use)
1/4 cup finely diced shallots
Salt, to taste
2 tablespoons dry vermouth (or dry white wine)
2 tablespoons fresh, sweet marjoram, finely chopped (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1/8 teaspoon finely ground white pepper
Yields about 2 cups.
Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and season with a pinch of salt. Saute until soft, but do not brown. Add vermouth, and simmer until pan is almost dry. Set aside to cool completely. Place butter in medium mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides.
Add marjoram and pepper, beat to incorporate, scraping down sides. Add cooled shallot mixture and beat to combine. Adjust salt and pepper, to taste.
CRANBERRY-SAGE BROWN BUTTER
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened (divided use)
1/2 cup onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground
1/4 cup dried cranberries, finely diced
Yields about 2 cups.
In a medium skillet, melt 1 stick butter over moderate heat. When butter begins to foam, add onion and garlic and continue cooking until butter turns a nut brown color. Remove from heat and stir in sage, salt, to taste, and pepper; cool completely.
Place remaining butter in a medium mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides. Add brown butter mixture and beat to incorporate, scraping down sides. Stir in cranberries.
HONEY-SESAME BUTTER
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoons lightly toasted sesame seeds (use a mix of black and white sesame seeds if desired) (see note)
Salt, to taste
Yields about 1 1/4 cups.
Place butter in medium mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides.
Add honey, sesame oil and sesame seeds and beat to incorporate, scraping down sides. Add salt, to taste.
Note: To toast sesame seeds, place seeds in single layer in an ungreased, shallow pan. Bake at 350 F for 5 to 10 min., or until golden brown. Remove from pan to cool.
BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE-ORANGE BUTTER
3 ounces bittersweet (at least 70 percent cocoa) chocolate, chopped (see note)
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, slightly chilled
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons orange zest, finely grated
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Yields about 1 1/4 cups.
Melt chocolate in microwave-safe bowl on low at 1 minute intervals, stirring until just melted and smooth. Allow melted chocolate to cool enough to touch. Place cooled butter in a medium mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy.
Scrape down sides. Beat in cooled chocolate, cocoa, zest and sugar scraping sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed to incorporate ingredients.
Variation: 1/2 cup roasted and salted pistachios add a welcome textural contrast. Or use a different toasted nut, chopped into halves and quarters.
Note: This is a place to use the best quality chocolate you can find, preferably 1 with 70 percent to 85 percent cocoa content.
- Real Butter.
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