Fresh and Creamy Homemade Butter

Depending on which family member you talk to, we were (or we were not) fortunate enough to have a couple of farm animals: a cow, pigs, chickens, ducks, a goat at one point, while we were growing up. The Guernsey cow, Bossy, was my responsibility.  I milked her twice a day, cleaned out her stall, talked to her.  She would moo, look soulfully at me with her big deep brown eyes, and was ever so patient and gentle.

I'd bring the big stainless steel pail of steaming, foaming milk, trying not to slosh as I carried it with both hands in front of me to my mother who would take the pail to strain the milk through cheesecloth.  Into the refrigerator it would go and overnight the milk and the cream would separate, the cream rising to the top.  She'd reserve the cream to make cottage cheese, or my favorite, butter.  I can't stand the flavor of raw milk, I don't like ice cream made fresh on the farm (it all tastes the way a barn smells to me, yuck!) but creamy, pale yellow butter rises above all that. Mom would make loaves of homemade bread or dinner rolls, and I'd have a little bread with my butter.  Lawsy mercy, that butter was food for the gods.

I had a quart of heavy whipping cream that I wasn't going to use for it's planned purpose (and with the exorbitant price of groceries, I am not going to throw it away!!), so I decided to make butter.  Just like Mom's. The funny thing is, I don't remember my mother making butter.  For the life of me I can't picture it. I just remember it being on the table in a covered butter dish.  It was a white ceramic chicken with a red comb sitting on a white ceramic nest.  No, I don't want one.

Sooooooo, I had to do a little research, and believe me when I tell you, there's probably nothing easier that you can do that will yield such delicious results.

This is not a recipe, so much as a method.  You can use virtually any amount of cream so leftover heavy cream will never have to be wasted again.   And an added plus?  The liquid that is extracted as you whip the cream is real buttermilk, and can be used in any recipe that calls for it.  Cake, scones, buttermilk chicken, fried green tomatoes....oh the luscious uses of buttermilk.

Butter

A pint or more of fresh heavy cream or whipping cream , either will work fine
Pinch of salt, if you want your butter salted

Put your cream in the bowl of your mixer or in a bowl large enough to hold the cream (plus room enough for expansion as the butter starts to take shape.), whip the cream. That's it!

Mix at medium speed; it's the same as if for making whipped cream except you are going to go way beyond the stiff peak stage of whipped cream.

Once you get past the whipped cream stage, the cream is going to look curdled.  That's fine; it's supposed to, because now the cream and the buttermilk are beginning to separate. 

Things might get a little messy here, you may want to find a way to cover your bowl with plastic wrap while you continue to whip the butter.  I didn't run into this, but others do.  (It may be because I used a deep V-shaped mixing bowl so the heavy butter stayed at the bottom.) 

Once it looked really curdled, I strained the butter/buttermilk through a  fine mesh strainer and then a double layer of cheesecloth into a container.  It takes a bit of hand strength to do it, but you want to get out as much of the buttermilk as possible.  The butter squeezes out of the cheesecloth, but I don't know of another way to do it, so you'll have to scrape some butter off the cheesecloth if your frugal, as I am, smiles.

I put my now-lump-of-butter into the bowl I whipped the cream in, and rinse the lump under cold running water.  I want to rinse out as much butter milk as possible because removing the buttermilk will help to preserve the butter.  I smoosh the lump around a bit until the water runs clear.  If you are really particular about this, you can use a large wooden paddle and press the butter against the inside of a bowl to remove any extra liquid.

Refrigerate!  The entire process probably took only about 15 minutes, but I was a little fumble fingered with all the squeezing of the butter in the cheesecloth, so it may take you less time.

Looks like a lot of instruction, but it's not, honestly.  Whip the cream, strain the buttermilk out, rinse the lump of butter, add salt at this point if you are going to use it.

With one quart of heavy cream, I had 11 ounces of sweet, creamy butter and 2 cups of buttermilk.  Is it less expensive?  Yeeessssss and no.  A pound of store bought butter is running about $3.59 and that would be the store brand; the national brands are closer to $4.00. I would have to take out a second mortgage on my house to buy the European butter.   The quart of cream probably cost me just under $4.00 and it only gave me 11 ounces of butter.....but I did have 2 cups of buttermilk as a by-product that I didn't have to purchase separately and will now use in other cooking projects.  So, yes, it's worth it to me. 

Waffled French Toast with Strawberry Butter

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This recipe is so simple, it makes me wonder why I never thought of it on my own.  But I have the happiest of reasons...

The days have been just a little crazy around here lately.  Ole Sweetie-Pi's youngest daughter announced her and her fiance's intentions to be married this September and then asked if  I be willing to help her with the food, along with several of her friends and family.  Of course, I'm thrilled to be included and have spent countless hours scouring cookbooks and the net and delving into the recipes and  food memories of friends for the best of the best.  In spite of the stresses and the many moments of uncertainty, I am loving every minute of this!

As it happened, while looking for girly-girl recipes, I discovered this delightful waffled French toast with strawberry butter recipe.  It's included in Best of the Best, The Recipe Hall of Fame cookbook, edited by Gwen McKee and Barbara Moseley. I love the reddish-pink butter, smiles, and who doesn't love waffles or French toast.  This would be  perfect for a special occasion breakfast with "just the girls."

Waffled French Toast with Strawberry Butter
(from Best of the Best,The Recipe Hall of Fame Cookbook)

I halved the recipe for the two of us, but I'll give you the recipe as written.

1/2 cup milk
4 eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt (I omitted)
2 tablespoons butter, melted (I omitted)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon vanilla (my addition)
8-10 slices bread

Preheat waffle iron and grease if necessary.

In a shallow bowl (I use a pie plate) with a flat whisk, combine milk, eggs, sugar and salt, then melted butter.  Dip bread slices, one at a time, in egg mixture and drain.  Bake in waffle iron 2-3 minutes, until brown.  Serve with Strawberry Butter.


Strawberry Butter

1/2 pound butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered (confectioners') sugar
10 ounces frozen strawberries, thawed and drained

Combine all in a mixer or food processor until smooth and creamy.  This is best served at room temperature, but can be stored in fridge for several weeks.  Yields 2 1/2 cups.

Thanksgiving with Liz

My friends, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, as I know we surely did. I just wanted to share several recipes I made at Thanksgiving time and I'm grouping them in one post, as I prepared these for Ole Sweetie Pi's sweet and lovelyl daughter, Liz.

For the first time, Ole Sweetie-Pi's youngest daughter, Liz (aka Lizard, an unpleasant nickname for this most charming young woman) shared the meal with us. We were just so delighted and excited to have her and were literally giddy with pleasure (picture a 60+ male being giddy, grins, but I swear Ole Sweetie-Pi was!). Much to do, much ado, as the beloved Liz is allergic to animals (can you say we have five cats and cat fur hidden in every imaginable nook and cranny in the house and you can see the fur fall from their little bodies as they brush past you, grrrr!) as well as multiple food allergies. The poor darling, I don' t know how she manages so well. I'd have a quivering bottom lip and feel quite put upon.

It's a whole new world when one has to be gluten free, soy free, egg free, corn free, dairy free, no fresh apples, plums, almonds, peanuts, white potatoes, beef, and I forget what all else, but the list does go on for a bit. Thank heavens she can at least have turkey and sweet potatoes, I thought! And the menu for her was built from there.

For a little snack, as dinner seemed to be running late, I had made some cashew butter. I went online and found an Emeril recipe, and served this delicious butter on rice crackers (purchased at a health food store). If you like the taste of peanut butter you'd probably like this as the flavors are similar. It's easy to make and so much less expensive than buying it. And Liz tells me it was better than anything she's ever purchased.

You can double click on any of the pictures to enlarge them.

Cashew Butter
(pictured lower right)

2 cups unsalted, roasted cashews
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar, optional (I used honey and kept adding it until I found a balance I liked)

In a food processor or blender, combine the nuts, 2 tablespoons of the oil, the salt, and the sugar, if desired. Process on high speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula and process to desired smoothness. Taste for sweetness and seasoning, adjusting to personal taste. Transfer to a bowl to use as a dip, spread, or in other recipes, or place in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.

My Notes: I used my blender, and either my blender is old and not very powerful or I should have roughly chopped up the cashews first to make them easier to blend. I definitely needed more oil to make a smooth butter, but can't tell you how much more I added. I just eyeballed it, frequently stopping to scrap it down, adding drops at a time and continued to blend it until it looked right. Oil does rise to the top after it sits a bit; it just has to be stirred back in before using it.

No white potatoes for Liz but she can have rice. I made my favorite rice recipe, adapted from Recipezaar. I didn't take a picture (too much going on, tripping over beleaguered and pitiful cats and constantly "dirty" hands and didn't want to goop up my camera) but the only changes for this recipe was I added a good half teaspoon of ground cumin and a finely diced shallot, and omitted the butter. Liz and I loved it; you may recall that Ole Sweetie-Pi has the rice-lice association (pulling a big frown here).

Vegetables weren't really an issue, just nothing creamed or with cheese, of course. I did make my favorite Thanksgiving onions which I will post another time because they deserve to be spotlighted.

Dessert presented its own challenges. I made the traditional apple and pumpkin pies for me and Ole Sweetie-Pi, loaded up with all the bad stuff of course, but boy they were good. But for Liz? Do you know how hard it is to find something that sounds delicious but doesn't have gluten, dairy, soy or egg in it? I spent hours looking on the Internet, and finally adapted this recipe.

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free Pumpkin Custard (pictured on the left hand side)

1½ cups of rice milk
4 tablespoons tapioca (next time I'll grind it fine)
1/2 teaspoon xantham gum
1½ cups of solid-pack canned pumpkin or cooked pumpkin
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, whisk together the rice milk, tapioca, and xanthum gum until smooth and then the remaining ingredients, stirring well to combine. I used an 8 x ll inch baking dish and baked the custard for about 45 minutes. The custard never became what I would call "firm" but I don't think it should be; after all it is a custard and should have some jiggle to it. Cool before scooping out and serving.

I took a spoonful of this and this really tasted pretty good. Liz said she really liked it. The texture is a little different because of the use of xanthum gum and the tapioca (and I definitely should have finely ground the tapioca as it left little "pebbles" in the custard, grins) but it did set up nicely. The rice milk does not have a big flavor, so the flavor of the spices showcased nicely. Now if we could only find a dairy free, soy free whipped topping, it would be perfect!

Lastly, for lunch on Friday, because I had to work, I wanted to slow cooker something for Liz, so she could have something warm and wonderful. She mentioned that she loves spicy foods and has a great fondness for chilis. Well, as luck would have it I found a delicious butternut chili recipe that all of us enjoyed (even Ole Sweetie-Pi who swears he doesn't like vegetables!). Will wonders never cease? I arose at 3:30 a.m., chopped up some vegetables, opened some cans, and set it in the slow cooker. At 6:30 I came downstairs (I am lucky enough to work full time from home) to turn the slow cooker on, and viola, lunch was in the works.

Butternut Chili(pictured upper right)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon each cumin, chili powder and ginger
1 medium red or sweet onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, diced
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, diced
2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
3 cups vegetable broth
1 28-oz. can whole tomatoes
1/4 cup diced, canned jalapeno peppers, drained
2 14-oz. cans black beans, rinsed, drained
1 14-oz. can white Northern beans, rinsed, drained
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar

Drizzle the olive oil in the bottom of the cooker; add the garlic and spices and stir to combine.
Add the remaining ingredients. Gently stir with a wooden spoon so that you don't mush up the beans. Cover and cook on low for five to six hours.

I took out a chunk of squash and pierced it for tenderness with the point of a sharp knife. Once the knife easily pierced the squash, the chili was done.

I served this without lime, but I think a nice splash of lime at the end would have been a perfect addition and was probably the flavor that I felt was lacking in an otherwise healthful and flavorful chili. A dollop of sour cream would have been excellent as well (sorry Liz!).

Sweetie-pi with his youngest daughter, Liz. What a pair!

Chili Beef Burgers with Mustard Butter

Ole Sweetie-Pi watched me while I was taking a picture of these burgers. He wrinkled his nose in disdain and asked, "Getting desperate, Dearie? You're now taking pictures of hamburgers?!"

Really, timing is everything. I'm standing there with the camera in my hand, contorting my body to get the best possible light and angle. I was becoming more and more frustrated because I can see the green cast being shed from the platter onto my food, and he says he says something infuriating. So, I do as I always do, I "uh huh" him and then pretend not to hear anything more.

I'm not a real big fan of beef, but every now and again I absolutely crave a really good, thick and juicy, genuine beef, hamburger. Most of the time, I like my burgers about as plain as you can get them, just minced beef and a little salt and pepper. And they have to be cooked all the way through. No thrills, no frills. I only want ketchup. No cheese, no lettuce, no secret sauce, no mayonnaise, no pickles, no onions, no tomatoes. I'm talking bare bones here. I don't even want seeds on my buns. Yes, sirree, they are plain and boring. Little did Ole Sweetie-Pi realized that when he quipped his witty observation that these weren't just my normal Plain Jane burgers.

His expression markedly changed after his first bite of these Chili Beef Burgers with Mustard Butter. The surprised look of approval and smile said it all.

Barbecued Chili Beef Burgers with Mustard Butter
(adapted from Favorite Meat Recipes by the Confident Cooking Promise of Success)

1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, grated
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon malt vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon chili sauce
1-3 teaspoons dried oregano

Place all ingredients in a large bowl, and using your impeccably clean hands or a sturdy spoon, combine well. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 2 hours.

When ready, take bowl from refrigerator and shape the mixture into burger sized patties. Place the patties on lightly oiled grill or cast iron grill plate or heavy duty fry pan. Cook about four minutes each side, until nicely browned and cooked through. Serve with mustard butter.

Mustard Butter

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons mustard

Place all the ingredients in a small bowl and beat until combined. Set aside for a half hour or so to allow the flavors to meld and ripen.