Monday, March 23, 2009

Steak but Different: Compound Butter

I was craving something different to have with my steak and mashed potatoes. Béarnaise sauce or Mushroom Wine Sauce would be delicious, but the process of making them was more complex and time-consuming than I wanted.

I came across a recipe for Maitre d’hôtel Butter in one of my cookbooks. It is a classic compound butter used in French cuisine. It is basically butter flavored with fresh parsley and lemon juice. I ended up using a recipe from Emeril Lagasse, halved (I knew we wouldn't use that much butter, and we still had a good amount left over).

I put some of the butter on my steak and mashed potatoes. When it melted, it added a subtle buttery-yet-fresh flavor to the food. I had a lot left over to use next time, so I put the butter roll still wrapped in the plastic wrap in a freezer bag and froze it.

What is your favorite sauce for steak? Please share!
Posted by at
Labels: , ,

7 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 24, 2009 at 10:13 AM

    Worcestershire sauce, or HP sauce. But the best steak shouldn't really need it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. KirstenMarch 24, 2009 at 11:15 AM

    I don't eat steak anymore, but when I did I loved Ina Garten's method of preparing steak - just good olive oil, salt and pepper. I'm a purist :)

    But, as far as sauces go, any good wine reduction was my very favorite.

    Heidi has some great compound butter recipes on her blog (www.101cookbooks.com). I bet the smoked paprika would be great on steak - it would give it a little Southwest flavor.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Cooking AccountantMarch 24, 2009 at 1:39 PM

    Hi Anonymous,
    I usually don't use a sauce, just salt, pepper, oregano and it tastes so good. But I wanted something different yesterday. Thanks for the tips. I've had Worcestershire sauce, but not HP. I will have to try it.
    Thanks for reading!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Cooking AccountantMarch 24, 2009 at 1:42 PM

    Hi Kirsten,
    Ina Garten's method sounds good!
    I will definitely check out Heidi's blog. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  5. MelitaMarch 24, 2009 at 2:08 PM

    sounds like a wonderful meal. i, like kirsten, love ina garten and am a big fan of 101 cookbooks too. i found this online and it looks promising:

    http://www.squidoo.com/steaksauces

    i don't have a fav but i like simple sauces that enhance the flavor of steaks instead of mask it.

    thanks for commenting on my blog, it makes my heart smile :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. MelitaMarch 24, 2009 at 2:21 PM

    i tried to find this website earlier and couldn't remember the name. but here it is

    http://rouxbe.com/

    we have found this very handy. enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  7. The Cooking AccountantMarch 24, 2009 at 2:29 PM

    Hi Melita,
    Thanks for the links (rouxbe looks really cool!) They will certainly give me some ideas to try next time. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)