Comments on: Elements: Compound Butter

By: ruhlman

ruhlman — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

and she just added that she feels bad for not answering, is very grateful for all the good comments and will be happy to answer other questions!

By: Dick Black

Dick Black — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Why thanks Bob. Good to have another expert on board here at Michaels blog. Hope to read more of your sage advice soon.

By: gfweb

gfweb — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Does the word “aromats” really need to exist? I know its picky, but the standard word ‘aromatics’ is a perfectly good one and does a better job of communication, I think.

By: Cape Cathy

Cape Cathy — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

“First of all — steaks on the grill in February, yum! There’s nothing better than grilling in the snow. ”

Standing in the snow for 5 minutes beats scrubbing a broiler for 20 any day!

By: Natalie Sztern

Natalie Sztern — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

I want Donna to start giving tutorials on her own website requiring homework!!! I will start with Lesson 1….how much for the first lesson?

By: Heidi

Heidi — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Many thanks for answering the “Donna” questions. Such gorgeous work.

By: Carole

Carole — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Loved your comments on So Beach
Butter compound does make a difference but have never tried all of your variations..very helpful…everyone should have a fresh herb garden on their kitchen window sill..
Any thoughts on where you would like to eat in the Palm Beaches?

By: Bob delGrosso

Bob delGrosso — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Dick Black

Compound butter is a French thing. And an old thing too…

By: ruhlman

ruhlman — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

donna’s been busy but just asked her details. correct, she uses a Nikon D200 and uses her 55 macro lens a lot and is also especially fond of her 85mm 1.4 lens. she spends a good deal of time lighting her shots. I should take a picture of her shooting one of these shots.

By: White On Rice Couple

White On Rice Couple — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Every year when corn is in season, we bar-b-que a ton of it for our guests. Right along the condiment table is a selection of about 4-5 different compound butters to spread on the hot, roasted corn. Yummy! The problem with it is that everyone wants to try each butter , so we have to have EXTRA corn. Your photograph is beautiful!

By: Andy

Andy — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Heidi, the EXIF data in the photo says it was taken with a Nikon D200, ISO 100, manual exposure. Hope that helps.

By: Sues is not Martha

Sues is not Martha — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

That’s a beautiful photo. I love the Elements of Cooking, but I’m loving the photos you’re adding here

By: Heidi

Heidi — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Fantastic photo. Any chance of getting Donna to comment on what type of camera, lens and other she uses?

By: Natalie Sztern

Natalie Sztern — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Thanky’all and H. Alexander I shall first try out ur suggestion….using a microplane for grating and then further to a pat. Actually I never looked at it like making a sauce…”soupnancy” am I right when I make the statement that in Montreal it is not a habit for a steakhouse to serve steak with butter of any kind, unless it specifically calls for a sauce like a pepper sauce….gibby’s,moishe’s, rib n reef, queue de cheval – i have eaten steak there many times but I have never had it served with any compound butter on top and if it is not a ribsteak then it is a filet mignon…soupnancy u would know if i am right, unless it is a french-canadian mode d’emploi?

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

I love compound butters so much. They are such a simple way to add a touch of elegance and a burst of flavor to something as simple as a pork chop. I love them!

By: Dick Black

Dick Black — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

I too have eaten steak in all of Montreal’s better steakjoints as well as some of Toronto’s (Barberians, Bigliardi’s ) and they don’t serve compound butters with the steaks either.

It must be a USA thing.

Are you trying to enhance the beef flavour of the steak ? I dunno.

By: Shelley

Shelley — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Recently I bought a FoodSaver gadget so I could vacuum-seal stuff for my new deep freezer. That was the rationalization, anyway. Secretly, I also wanted to use it to try to use “sous vide” as a cooking technique.*

So there I am in the kitchen, pondering what kind of compound butter I would create to pack with chicken breasts in my first low-tech stovetop attempt at sous vide, when my nine-year-old asks if she can help cook dinner.

After I explain what a compound butter is and what we’re going to do with it, she dashes to the pantry and pulls out her favorite spice blend: Penzey’s Pizza Seasoning. I don’t want to discourage my favorite aspiring chef, so what the heck? We made a pizza-inspired compound butter and somehow it turned out great.

(The chicken was beautifully moist and intensely flavored after our sous vide run, but I did sprinkle it with breadcrumbs and run it under the broiler to give it some crunch factor. Just thought you should know.)

Is there a moral to this story? Maybe it’s to let loose and have more fun with your butter.

*See ELEMENTS, page 221. ;]

By: Hank

Hank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Regarding the idea of compound butter on a steak, I have never really liked it on a good ribeye or T-bone because these cuts are pretty fatty in and of themselves.

Now put it on a venison steak? Mmmmm…

By: soupnancy

soupnancy — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

I love compound butters not just to sauce steak, meat or fish, but to finish sauces or even a pasta dish. The only thing I hate is getting a steak in a bistro with a rock hard disc of cold butter straight from the fridge on top -ugh.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Grating the log over game meats sounds like a terrific idea. So many herb combinations to play with…