Butter Love Affair

Talk about having a hit of the munchies.. I’ve been craving a mélange of tastes, textures, aromas for the past 2 days, I can use the “I’m PMSing excuse” so I’ve been going on a whirlwind gastronomic adventure for the past 2 days and I’m not complaining.

Last Sunday, after suffering most of the day with a really bad hang-over, and I admit I was tempted to whip up a blood mary to ease my queasy tummy, instead I ended up passed out in the couch until late afternoon. When I woke up, I wanted something simple, fast and wouldn’t cause another riot in my already sensitive tummy. The obvious answer a pasta dish.

I ended up making spaghetti with sage infused brown butter. I’ve never had brown butter sauce before. My pasta experience has always been either tomato or cream based sauces, but I wasn’t craving for either and I didn’t want to do all the work. The 2 main criteria I had were simple and fast. Coincidentally I the food network channel on (when don’t I have the food network channel on.. lol) and it featured a brown butter sauce. It was perfect, I had to try it out.

Spaghetti in Brown Butter Sauce
Good for 2 servings

¼ lb of spaghetti
3 tbsp of butter
10 – 12 leaves of sage
Juice of ½ a small lemon
Fresh cracked black pepper
Generous serving of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Cook the spaghetti as per package directions.
Melt the butter over medium heat
Add sage leaves and let it fry gently on the butter
Cook butter until it turns a hazelnut brown
Add the lemon juice to stop the cooking process
Pour over hot spaghetti
Add a couple twists of your pepper mill
And top generously with parmesan cheese

Bon Appetito!!
It was nutty, cheesy, and the taste of lemon gave a burst of freshness that was utterly delightful. It was a cornucopia of tastes that left me completely satisfied. The best thing is I didn’t have to spend a cent because I had all these things in my pantry. Try it out, you won’t regret it.

Monday night was a different story, I wanted seafood and there was a special sale at my local fishmonger for Dungeness Crab. I brought home a couple and started to make another simple and delightful dish. I simply boiled the crab for 20 mins in salted water, there wasn’t any reason for me to do anything fancy with it. But I brought my dipping butter to another level. I usually add a splash of orange juice when I make lemon butter but I ran out and there was no way that I’d go to the store to buy OJ, I went through my pantry and there was a bottle of grand mariner, orange liqueur in butter, why not!?!? It came out amazing..

Citrus Butter Dipping Sauce

2 tbsp butter
½ tbsp lemon
½ tsp grand mariner

In a microwave safe bowl, slowly melt the butter in defrost temperature every 30 seconds.
When butter is completely melted add lemon and grand mariner and mix thoroughly
Heat again for another 30 seconds
Serve alongside Crab, steamed
baby bok choy in oyster sauce and hot rice..

YUMMMOOOO!!!

My only comment for this butter dish is try the unsalted kind, now I know why chef’s prefer to use unsalted butter because as soon as the butter started to cool down the salt crystallized and what’s left in the dish was citrus flavored salt instead of butter. I could’ve gone all the way and made clarified butter, but I can always save that for next time I get hit with the munchies and satisfy my palate with butter sauces.