Flavored Butters

Hey,

Yesterday I wrote a post about chive-flavored butter. Today I thought I would follow up by including a  list of flavored-butters.

These butters can be used on fish, beef, pork, chicken, potatoes, and pasta. Depending on your personal taste, you can alter the mixtures; but I wanted to share some general rules regarding the preparation.

What You Should Have Beforehand:

• Unsalted butter, 1 stick
• Kosher salt, 1 teaspoon
• Fresh herbs: parsley, basil, cilantro, etc., 1/4 cup minced
• Parmesan cheese, to your own taste
• Members from the Allium family, such as garlic, shallot
• Spices, including: coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
• Citrus zest, 1 lemon, 1 lime, or 1 orange
• Citrus juice, 1/4 Cup



English: Four aluminum measuring spoons on a ring, in United States customary units of tablespoon, teaspoon, and fractions of a teaspoon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Other ingredients you may include: chipotle in adobo, sun dried tomatoes, ginger, soy sauce (1/4 Cup of any will do).

Directions:

Soften the butter and mix in one teaspoon Kosher salt, 1/4 Cup fresh herbs, and other ingredients of your choice. Combine all ingredients thoroughly, Wrap in plastic, and store the butter in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to a month.

Recipes:

Basil/Parm/Roasted tomato - Combine one stick softened unsalted butter, Kosher salt, 1/4 Cup minced basil, 1/4 Cup Parmesan cheese, and 1/4 Cup roasted tomato.

Chili/Coriander/Lime- Combine one stick softened unsalted butter, one teaspoon Kosher salt, one teaspoon chili powder, one teaspoon coriander, the zest of one lime plus the juice of one lime. Mix all the ingredients through and wrap in plastic to form.

Chipotle-cilantro - Add one chipotle in adobo, one teaspoon Kosher salt, and 1/4 Cup chopped cilantro to one stick softened unsalted butter. Combine thoroughly and wrap.

Soy/Ginger - Mix into one stick unsalted. softened butter 1/4 Cup soy sauce and one Tablespoon minced ginger. Wrap in plastic wrap to form and chill.

Wrapping up:

If frozen, allow to thaw before use. To use these butters slice off a 1/4 inch slice for each entree. Place on the protein during the last 2-3 minutes of cook time so that the butter melts and adds the flavor to you meat.

That's it, I hope that you try these soon! Let me know how they work for you.

Chive Flavored Butter

About midway through Spring, I divided my chives. Right about the time they flowered, I cut them all off at ground level, and saved them while I divided the chives.

My Chives early in Spring!

With the flowering chives, I decided to make a chive butter.

I used Organic unsalted butter.

Use softened butter.

Mise en place.

 Have everything ready to go before you begin.

Kosher salt.

Mix it all together.

I used one stick unsalted butter, with one teaspoon Kosher salt, and 1/4 Cup minced chives. Once you have everything gathered and prepped, combine everything in a small bowl and mash it with a fork.

Spread it on a sheet of plastic wrap, and roll it into a tube. Set it in the freezer to set up. It will keep in the freezer for 3 months.

To use it cut off the amount needed and allow to thaw.

It can be used on potatoes, or to thicken up noodle dishes.

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• Are you a better chef than gardener? Grow your own herbs!

Basil Pesto: Favorite Accompaniment of Summer

As an avid herb gardener, I have to find ways to use my herbs on a regular basis.

For me this summer, it was basil; and my go to recipe for basil is pesto.

I had so much basil this year that I had to make a double batch of the green goddess sauce.

You can use pesto as a dressing for pasta or as a spread to use on bread for sandwiches.

I'd love to hear how you use pesto in your home.

Here's how I made it: Single batch

Basil, 4 cups
Garlic, 2 cloves

Parmesan cheese, 1/2 Cup

Roasted Almonds, 1/2 Cup

EVOO, Enough to pull sauce together, plus enough to coat so basil doesn't brown.

Throw your basil into a food processor with the cheese. garlic and nuts, and rough chop it. When it is fully minced, stream the olive oil into the food processor until it is well combined. It should take about 1 Cup of olive oil.

Like I said, I had made it twice within one week; and my favorite way to use Basil Pesto is to toss it with Linguine and top with more Parmesano Regiano, and a nice crusty bread, topped with EVOO.

Related articles

• Summertime Pastas
• Asiago Parmesan Cheese Spread Recipe
• Parmesan Cashew Crusted Salmon
• How Natalie Morales cuts carbs, not flavor: Try her zucchini pasta with pesto
• Easy summer picnic foods

Welcome to Flavor Coaxing!

Welcome to Flavor Coaxing, where we explore how to coax flavor out of meals. I believe meals should be good for us and the environment; but I also believe that our meals should taste great!

This website explores different methods of cooking, including: grilling, roasting, broiling, and smoking, how to incorporate umami in dishes, and where to buy organic, free-range, grass-fed meats.

The eating experience is said to be only 10% taste; the other 90% we experience comes from the smell. The basic tastes can be described as: salty, sweet, sour, and bitter. These flavors are pretty easily attained through the ingredients. The fifth flavor, umami, takes on a whole new aspect of flavor.

Umami is created whenever there is a large number of glutamates in food. To understand what umami tastes like; think of aged cheddar cheese, cured meats, pickled dishes, mushrooms, Parmesan
cheese. When these ingredients are present, they create  a flavor explosion in our mouths; and our taste buds thank us!

In the past, I have been known to load meals with heavy cream, butter, and other sources of fat just to improve the flavor of my meals. Over time, I have learned the value of healthy, organic ingredients used in a collaborative effort with herbs and spices cooked with different methods resulting in delicious meals that are also good for me.

My goal is to inspire home cooks to venture into using methods of cooking they have been intimidated by.