Compound butters…
While in Santa Fe back in September we had these wonderful Blue Corn Muffins served with chipotle butter. The butter was so good and had a little heat and a little sweetness to it and got me thinking about the compound butter post I had started years ago and never finished.
Compound butter is simply butter with elegance added and we all are aware that anything with butter is all that much better and when we are starting to see our herbs come to the end of their summer lives what better way to resurect them than to make a compound butter to put in your freezer for those cold (or chilly) months and remember what your herbs gave up for you. Typically compound butters are rolled into a cylinder shape and chilled or frozen and then pats of the butter are served on the steak, fish or even vegetables or even better a sweet butter with a warm scone.
I love making compound butters because it makes whatever you put it on so delicious. A compound butter simply means that there is some sort of flavoring or seasoning added to the butter. It can be a savory butter or a sweet butter to go along with your morning scones.
I think the first time I ever made a compound butter was when I made Chicken Kiev as a newlywed and wow, how wonderful it made something that wasn’t much more than a fancy fried chicken breast, rolled around a piece of butter and deep fried. But, when you cut in the Chicken Kiev and that herbed butter streamed all over the rice you had set it on, I knew then that I was going to like this new adventure of cooking for my family.