butter

Pao de Queijo, GF Brazilian Cheese Bread

Somehow along the way my brain got wired to the belief that all food has a Platonic ideal - that is, an ideal interpretation, a dictionary definition of the way a certain thing should be. With that intolerance for nonsense, I've always approached desserts and bread with a purist's eye. What's the point of making a chocolate dessert if you have to substitute something for the chocolate, sugar, or flavor? To me, changing an essential quality of anything is like rerouting a river. We can try to change the boundaries, but why? Well for one, not everyone has a choice in the matter.

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Chive Blossom Butter

It's time like these when we take notice of the garden. Potato plants are popping and peas are climbing. Chives are almost done too, so you better hurry up and grab some blossoms while you can.

Every spring I soften a pound of butter and head into the garden for the tenderest of flowers - chives and sage, usually. On their own they teach us how brief the finest days are. Combined with butter, they teach us how wonderful the rest of our food can be.

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Sacaduros

Each month, Emma and I pull out our cookbooks and look for a recipe - usually bread - that will force us to practice some long-forgotten skill we acquired in school. It's a great chance for us to compare notes, talk techniques, and learn together.

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Homemade Herbed Butter

I think it was the abundance of herbs in the garden this weekend that gave me the idea to make compound butter. This is such a simple thing to do - and something you can enjoy for months if you store the butter in the freezer. And the best thing is - you can use this for anything. Want a little interesting something on that piece of grilled fish? A spread for that toasted bagel? Compound butter, or herb butter, is perfect for that.

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