It’s funny how food dominates my memory. Even as a child, the world stood still when I tasted something that rocked my taste buds.
I was invited to go away for the weekend with a friend and her family. I was over the moon. To spend the whole weekend at a trailer park was beyond my imagination. I had no idea what to expect which left every moment and meal an exciting adventure.
For our Saturday supper, her dad grilled the biggest steaks that I had ever seen over hot coals. I was captivated. My family did not bar-b-cue. I had only ever had steak fried to well done in a skillet. When the steaks were done to his satisfaction, he placed them on individual plates. He explained to me that the meat had to ‘rest’ before we ate so that the juices would reabsorb into the flesh.
‘Juice?’ – in my ‘well done’ experience I had never seen a dribble of juice. I was practically drooling as I impatiently waited for the steak to do its thing…
Then the piece de resistance… he placed a piece of salted butter in the middle of each steak. I watched as the butter began to soften and become liquid from the heat of the hot beef.
As I type this post, the taste of the medium rare beef embellished with a hint of warm salty butter, is a droolable memory.
Adding herbs to butter adds another layer of flavour to grilled meats. I love a combination of fresh chives and lemon zest. The truth is I have never met an herbed butter that I didn’t love. Play around with your favorite herbs, zests, minced garlic and see what kind of magic you can create. I guarantee your meal will become someone’s cherished memory!
Chive and Lemon Zest Butter
1/2 cup saled butter, softened
1/4 cup fresh chives, snipped
1 lemon, zested
Mix ingredients together
Place herbed butter on waxed paper and roll paper up into a log shape
Twist off each end to secure the butter and place in refrigerator until hardened.
Herbed butters are delicious on everything!
Thanks for reading
