I love butter. In my salad days, I used margarine. But no more. A few years ago, I decided I would use less butter, but use the real thing. I think most of my dishes have tasted better ever since. So I felt a kindred spirit when I read this ode to butter, entitled “the zen of butter”:
“imagine on the crown of your head
a mound of golden butter
it gets warmer as it melts
it slowly envelops you in a soothing glow
first your neck
your shoulders
arms
and all the way
down to your toes
the heat of the butter melts
all tension in your body
releasing all stress as it bathes you in
soft warm light.”
Written by an organic butter company as a way to spread the word, the butter poem and its soothing words front a beautiful booklet, filled with interesting butter facts.
For instance, did you know that Tibetan monks spend six months carving intricate butter sculptures for butter festivals? French married women parade 200-pound carved butters to the church to be blessed. And in China, Buddhists around 600 A.D. compared the stages of enlightenment to the stages of butter making.
I’m not sure about that, but I do know that adding a little butter to olive oil gives you great flavor without all the fat. I know there’s nothing better over Brussel’s sprouts than browned butter. And I’m sure that garlic bread would not be garlic bread without real melted butter. Just ask the Garlic Festival bread mavens what they use.
In Russia, “Maslyanitsa” is the festival that says goodbye to winter and welcomes summer. “Butter Week” is held just before Lenten fast days. Monday is the high point of the celebration when people cook pancakes (blini) served with honey, caviar, fresh cream and butter. The more butter there is, the hotter the sun is expected to be in the coming summer.
I’ll be piling on the butter this weekend. It’s a little late for “Maslyanitsa,” but what the heck. Everything will taste just heavenly and I’ll be stress-free, bathed in the soft, warm light of real butter.
– And to celebrate butter, here’s a fun recipe from reader Francis Boule, who says she really does use this much butter. It sounds delicious. You can use skate wing or halibut steaks, about 3/4 to an inch thick. If you want to cut down on the butter, use olive oil for sauteing the mushrooms and baking the fish. Drizzle the browned butter over the top at the end.
Halibut with Brown Butter and Mushrooms
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter
2 T. chopped fresh thyme
2 T. fresh lemon juice
6 halibut steaks
1/2 tsp. salt
Freshly ground pepper
4 shallots, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. oyster or other wild mushrooms
3 T. capers
Fresh chives or parsley
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Melt 3/4 cup of the butter in a skillet until butter begins to turn brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in thyme and lemon juice, and set aside.
Season fish with salt and pepper. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a large oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Add fish. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until fish is lightly brown and cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.
Melt remaining butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add shallots, garlic and mushrooms; cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add capers and heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Reheat browned butter mixture.
To serve, place fish on plates. Spoon mushroom mixture on top and drizzle browned butter mixture over the top. Garnish with chives or parsley, if desired.
– This recipe comes from “California Fresh Harvest” (see notes). The pork tenderloin is grilled for 20 minutes or so and then served sliced and drizzled with the sauce. The sauce may be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Heat before serving.
Pork Tenderloin with Apricot Ginger Sauce
Spice rub
1 1/2 T. curry powder
1 1/2 T. ground cumin
1 T. ground ginger
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. Tabasco sauce
Pork
2 16-oz. pork tenderloins
Olive oil
Apricot Ginger Sauce
20 California dried apricots
1 (11 oz.) can apricot nectar
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 T. minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 tsp. Asian chili sauce
To make pork: Combine all rub ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Prepare grill for indirect medium heat. Brush tenderloins with olive oil and pat rub over the surface of each tenderloin. Arrange on grill rack; close lid of grill.
Grill, turning occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 145 degrees. Remove tenderloins to a platter and tent with foil. Let sit for 10 minutes. Slice and arrange on a serving platter.
Drizzle with Apricot Ginger Sauce.
To make sauce: Combine all ingredients in a saucepan; mix well. Bring just to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Process sauce in a blender until smooth.
– Peas, please: This recipe goes well with fresh peas, which are on grocery shelves now. It takes just over half an hour and is a quick dinner for two, perfect with a salad, or a side dish for four. It’s from Gourmet Magazine’s fast and easy cooking section.
Risotto with Peas & Prosciutto
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice (12 oz)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup frozen baby peas, thawed
2 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto , cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips
1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3 T. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Bring broth to a simmer in a saucepan and keep at a bare simmer, covered. Cook onion in 2 tablespoons butter in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and simmer, stirring, until absorbed.
Stir in 1 cup simmering broth and cook at a strong simmer, stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed. Continue simmering risotto and adding
broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition become absorbed before adding next, until rice is just tender and creamy but still al dente, 18 to 20 minutes (there will be leftover broth).
Stir in peas, prosciutto, zest, 2/3 cup cheese, parsley, remaining 2 tablespoons butter, and salt and pepper to taste. If necessary, or if you want a soupier consistency, mix risotto with some of remaining broth. Serve immediately, with remaining 1/3 cup cheese.
Happy cooking!
Write to Jenny Midtgaard Derry c/o The Dispatch, PO Box 22365, Gilroy, CA, 95021. E-mail:
jd****@ga****.com
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