Compound butters

Fresh butter doesn't need much improvement, but with the addition of a few well-chosen flavourings, compound butters can dress up a plain piece of meat, take a vegetable from everyday to elegant, or add a touch of class to a breakfast tray. A few different flavors stored in the freezer are like money in the bank.

Start with ½ cup of the best unsalted butter at room temperature.
Use a spoon or a small spatula to work in the flavouring ingredients until thoroughly blended.
Season to taste with salt if appropriate, and then either put the butter in a serving bowl or roll it in wax paper to make a tube from which you can slice off disks.
Well-sealed compound butter will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week and in the freezer for several months.

• For meat or fish steaks or fillets, set a chilled disk or spoonful of compound butter on the warm meat or fish as it rest after cooking.
• Place disks under the skin of chicken or in the middle of burger patties before cooking.
• Add a dollup to the hot broth of steamed shellfish right before serving.
• To make a quick pan sauce for meat, fish, or pasta, whisk compound butter by the tablespoonful into half a cup of hot, pasta water, stock, or wine (off the flame) until the desired consistency is achieved.

Blue cheese and black pepper butter : Work in 2 tablespoons blue cheese and 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper. Use on beef, venison, burgers, pork, chicken, pasta, green beans, baked potatoes.

1. Caper and parsley butter : Work in 2 tablespoons drained and coarsely chopped capers, 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, ½ anchovy, finely minced. Use on fish, chicken, steamed shellfish, cauliflower.
2. Goat cheese butter : Work in ¼ cup soft cream goat cheese at room temperature. Use on chicken, sweet potatoes, winter squash, pasta, vegetables such as peas, green beans, broccoli.
3. Honey-sage butter : Work in 2 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon fresh sage, finely minced. Use on chicken, duck, pork, delicate fish such as trout or tilapia, breakfast muffins or tea scones.
4. Horseradish butter : Work in 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish. Use on beef, burgers, crab cakes, baked potatoes, salmon, ham.
5. Mint-lemon butter : Work in 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint, 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice. Use on lamb, white fish, chicken, vegetables such as asparagus, summer squash, peas, green beans.
6. Mustard butter : Work in 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard. Use on beef, burgers, salmon, pork, chicken, meaty white fish such as cod or halibut, green beans.
7. Orange-rosemary butter : Work in 2 tablespoons orange marmelade, 2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary. Use on pork, duck, breakfast muffins or tea scones.
8. Peach-sage butter : Work in 2 tablespoons peach or apricot jam, 2 teaspoons finely chopped sage. Use on ham, pork, breakfast muffins or tea scones.
9. Strawberry-tarragon butter : Work in 2 tablespoons strawberry jam, 2 teaspoons finely chopped tarragon. Use on breakfast muffins or tea scones.

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