Recipe: Stuffed squash blossoms with ricotta, lemon zest and basil.

In my ongoing effort to please my internist, and get her to stop muttering things like "impending gout" and other pesky phrases, I am trying to incorporate more vegetables in my life. I was meandering around, thinking of what to serve my guests at an upcoming dinner party, and was pleasantly surprised come across a box of flowers I could eat.

This solved two of my three quandaries.
1: It was not meat or alcohol, so it must be a vegetable.
2: It looks really good and is sure to impress my guests.
Now for problem #3, how to make it taste good. The answer of course, is to stuff it with cheese, because cheese is amazing. Done.

Surprisingly easy to make, a stuffed squash blossom arriving on someone's plate makes you an instant gastronomic hero. Seriously. The key is once you stuff them, casually lay them out as part of your "prep work". Everyone will assume you're Anthony Bourdain, and they haven't even tasted anything yet. Genius.

However, make sure you have practiced cooking one before everyone shows up, or you run the risk of screwing things up in front of an audience.


I'd say that went well...


You need:
Squash blossoms (try to use them within 2 days of purchase)
Ricotta cheese
Parmigiana, or any salty hard cheese (pecorino, cotija, etc).
1 egg
A lemon
Fresh Basil (about 10-12 good sized leaves)
Salt and pepper
Some warm tomato sauce (either home made or your favorite jarred version, I like Rao's Vodka sauce)

First GENTLY wash the blossoms by hand. Be careful, they are fragile and fast running water can tear them. You need to rinse the insides too, these things grew in a field after all. Then trim the stems off and set aside to dry.

You can cut the stem right at the flower's base. Pictured here is how NOT to do it.

Next, finely chop your basil: Wrap all the leaves up together and cut it like a teeny green carrot, this chiffonades it, then you chop those little ribbons widthwise, done.

Zest your lemon.

Grate up a good handful of the hard cheese, and mix into the ricotta (about half of a big tub) with the zest and basil. Add salt and pepper to taste, or add more grated cheese (this effectively adds salt). It should look like this:


Using a spoon, carefully fill the flowers. Again, they are delicate (as flowers should be) so be careful. Just fill them until the cheese reaches the top of the green section. Any leftover filling is delicious on toast.


Whisk up your egg, and dip the blossom in it (focusing on the petals). You don't want to try and make a batter here, you simply need to "glue" the petals shut. Give them a gentle twist to seal them.

Over medium heat, sautee gently in a little butter. Use a very thin spatula, and try not to mess with them to much. You'll get a nice browning of the egg, if some cheese leaks out you'll have some delicious fried bits of it. Top with some tomato sauce and viola.

The plate on the right was the original poster boy, but someone started eating it while I was waiting for the camera app to start up on my iPhone. Yes they are that good.

This concludes Gastroliaison's recipe for stuffed squash blossoms with ricotta, lemon zest and basil.

Still no fried chicken, but Hot Bird is getting its food truck.

The nifty little spot Hot Bird, with outdoor space (think mini beer garden meets nice bar), is finally getting some grub to put on its picnic tables on friday, July 23, 2010.

Named after two long-defunct Brooklyn barbecue chicken places that closed in the ’90s, Hot Bird is cashing in on the 4 original mural sized signs, that evidently are still causing people to get midnight chicken delivery demands. It's a good marketing technique.

Look, no wait for a table! Um...

Housed in an old gas station directly under one of those big old yellow signs, it is not actually in either previous location of the old restaurant. But who cares about accuracy. The building still keeps its garage doors, and I'd say all in all its a really good transformation.

Dyslexic photo by Clay Williams.

They make good drinks, and its a nice grown up hipster spot, where dudes who like to wear their girlfriends jeans still park their fixies outside, but drink 6 Point instead of PBR. The picnic tables have umbrellas, and its nice to have a little outdoor spot to drink at with friends. My one gripe is it's cash only.

Just a scratch, that will buff right out...

The food truck, which was this old run down Kustard King truck, has been reborn as a hot food truck by Alan Harding. Alan is truly one of Brooklyns pioneer restaurateur/chefs, the man who brought us such delights as the Gowanus Yacht Club and Beer Garden, Patois, and Pomme de Terre, amongst many others.

Ice cream? No! Why do you keep asking?

Anyhow I am anxiously anticipating this little magic bus to get cooking, and I for one am optimistic about the vittles' ability to mix well with cold beer and warm summer. Take a look at the menu on hand for the evening.

Food Truck Menu version 1.0
Smashed Burger ( small Scoop) 4.00
Smashed Burger ( Lg. Scoop) 6.00
Schwag Dog 2.00
Good Dog 3.00
"Snappy" 4.00
Bratwurst 5.00
Hippie-wurst 5.00
Falafel dog 5.00 (deep fried)

Other things
Rice balls (4, deep fried) 5.00
Panelle Sandwich with roasted eggplant, peppers and basil ricotta 6.00
Soft Tacos with chili du jour and pico 5.00
Lobster “Summer Roll” with kimchee, mango and mint 9.00

Things that go with the above menu:
Juniper scented Kraut
Kimhee/kirby relish
Eddies pickles
Pico de Gallo
Cheese du jour
Nancy’s slaw
Potato salad , Chefs whim.
Really good bacon

Bacon? Sold. So head on down to Hot Bird this weekend, and let me know how it is (cause I can't go).

Hot Bird
825 Atlantic Ave
Brooklyn

Restaurant Review: Benchmark. Setting the bar to new lows.

That arrow points down for a reason.

I set off on a beautiful Tuesday night, with high hopes, for this little spot behind Loki Lounge. Now, I wanted to give Benchmark the best possible chance, and as we all know, Tuesday is a great night for a restaurant to shine. Why? Because purveyor's deliveries have come Monday, or even that morning, so everything should be fresh as the morning dew. The head chef has rested from the weekend grind, and hopefully has some imaginative specials or new items lined up. Since it's a weekday, the kitchen should be busting its hump, as they are performing for the home crowd, the local, the long term supporter of the restaurant, not the weekend warrior, the out of towner, the visiting team.

That smear on the right? Vadouvan Yogurt. That's ostentatious for overpowering curry paste.

First up, Artichokes Barigoule with olives, oven dried tomatoes, Vadouvian yogurt and lemon tumeric dressing. This was billed as "light" by our waitress. Oily, over dressed, way to much tumeric in the "dressing", no hint of lemon whatsoever, or, artichoke for that matter. Yes I would have actually liked to taste the subtle, delicate flavor of artichoke in my "Artichoke" Barigoule, thank you very much.

And I thought "blackened" went out in '83? Gosh I'm out of touch.

Next up. The burger, because they were OUT OF "KOBE" BEEF (and out of the chorizo stuffed chicken wings, dammit). 7pm. Tuesday. Place was nearly empty. Supposedly its a "steak" joint. Already alarm bells are going off in my mind. Oh, whoops, it's not really Kobe beef anyhow. It's falsely labeled American Wagyu. Same thing? Nope. One comes from all the way from Kobe, in Japan, the other does not. This is not to say American Wagyu isn't delicious, it is, just don't insult my intelligence, and label it correctly please.

Sorry, I digress. The burger was well done (we asked for medium), had gruyere cheese (great, but we asked for cheddar) and were it not for the ketchup, would basically have no taste. Ok "steak" joint, if I can't trust you with a burger, how on earth can I trust you with a pricey piece of meat?

Could I get a little color with this? Fresh out? Ok, how about some variation in texture?

Next up was my Beer Brined Pork Chop Pork Loin (they were out of the chop, surprised?). I was amazed by this piece of meat. I have never before tasted a brined piece of meat that was dry. Overcooked, unappealing, with a burnt, bitter, charcoal mess of a crust. Basically brining a piece of meat makes it idiot proof. Through osmosis, it causes the tightly wound proteins in the meat to unwind and get tangled together. This forms a matrix that traps water molecules, salt and flavor from the brine, and holds onto them tightly during cooking. So basically you kind of have to TRY to dry it out.

While I was eating dejectedly pushing my overpriced, overcooked meal around my plate, I noticed a cook walking through the dining area carrying a bag of raw meat. Really? You actually think that it's ok in a restaurant serving a $24 pork chop to walk supplies in through the dining room? The bus boy who followed him 10 minutes later with a Tupperware container of eggs evidently thought so.

Water? Sorry, fresh out..

Most of the reviews I seen for this place have been raving about a good brunch. Well folks, brunch sucks as a measure of a restaurant. Feed some greasy eggs, bacon, and Bloody Marys to anyone with a hangover and they'll think you are the best chef in town. Benchmark cannot even reliably keep its larder stocked, early, on a Tuesday night, can't dress a salad, can't cook a burger, and has the gall to charge you $24 for a piece of dry as a hockey puck pork, PORK (typically $3.99 a pound, yes, even for heirloom pig like Six-Spotted Berkshire).

On top of that, even though we ordered an appetizer, 2 entrees, and 2 rounds of cocktails, my water glass was filled once when I sat down, and sat empty until I handed them my credit card. Jesus. Oh, and keep in mind, even though their prices are high enough so you can easily drop $150 on dinner for two, they don't take AMEX. Brilliant.

FIPS says "So, seriously. Go there. Now. Run, don't walk." This is either blatant nepotism or blatant use of "herbal supplements" before eating. If you know anything about food, you'll run the other way. Seriously. Now.

Benchmark will not receive a Gastroliaison Bacon Strip.

This concludes Gastroliaison's review of Benchmark.

Benchmark
339-A 2nd Street
Park Sope
(718) 965-7040

Recipe: Sage brown butter polenta with ratatouille, sauteed spinach and goat cheese.

Note the artistic use of depth of field (pretentious for poorly focused iPhone pic).

I love polenta, its easy and quick to make, and can be created in a variety of consistencies to suit whatever your needs are. It captures flavors really well, in perfect juxtaposition to my poor image capturing skills.

Shopping
Pre-cooked polenta (its in a tube)
Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Red Onion
Bell Pepper (any color, orange is fun)
Mushrooms
Spinach
Can of roasted tomatoes
Garlic
Fresh Sage
Fresh Thyme

Butter
Goat Cheese

I know, it seems so wrong, but trust me, it gets better.

The polenta is easiest to work with if you cut it up and microwave it for 2 minutes (this will soften it).
Or you can gently heat it in a pan.

In this little reaction, we are using the butter like a fat delivery man.

Now, fry those sage leaves in a lot of butter, delicious. You see, there are tons of these complex fat soluable flavor compounds to be found all around us, but you need to use fat to release them. So there are certain flavors in that sage that your tongue would never have the joy of discovering unless you add some fat, this is why fat makes things taste so good.

Let it brown, its ok, medium high heat.

Remove your crispy sage leaves (save for garnish) and pour the butter into the polenta and mix. Add salt and fresh ground pepper.

At this point, the polenta will be really "tight". Simply add hot water in small increments and stir until it reaches your desired consistency. Some people like it firm, like mashed potatoes, others creamy, like grits. Cover and set aside.

Ratatouille is so simple to do, and really you can use whatever veggies you have on hand. The key is consistent cut sizes and timing.

Basically keep each veggie group the same size. So all your onion slices are about the same thickness, the mushrooms are the same size cut as each other etc. The other thing is to add the items according to how long they take to cook. Use your judgment here, and if you mess up it's still delicious.

Use a pan with enough room for everything. My first choice is a big dutch oven. My last choice is an overcrowded saute pan like the one I used here.

Throw down a little butter, saute some diced garlic until fragrant (NOT BROWNED) and start with the mushrooms, as they have a ton of water to release. When they are done, toss in the peppers, let 'em go for a few, then onions. Squash should go last.

Throw in the can of tomatoes, a few sprigs of fresh thyme, salt, simmer gently until all is done. Do not overcook or else it all gets mushy. Done. Put it in a bowl.

Quickly saute some spinach with a little olive oil and garlic. It takes like 30 seconds.

Polenta down first, then ratatouille, then spinach. Crumble some goat cheese on top, garnish with the crispy sage leaves. Eat it. Be amazed you actually don't miss meat.

This concludes Gastroliaison's recipe for sage brown butter polenta.

The Breslin Bar: Restaurant Review/Soft Opening

Stepping into my favorite bar in the lobby of the Ace Hotel, I was pleasantly surprised to see the Breslin was having its soft opening. So of course I had to go. Same owners as The Spotted Pig, but no horrendously long wait in line with a slew of foodies? Hell yes.

The place is nice, its in an old unrestored room, great ceilings. Lots of animal heads and sculptures hanging out. Has that worn overstuffed leather feel but all the furniture is brand spankin new. It's like all the hipsters in Williamsburg grew up, made lots of their own money an opened a "rustic" hunting lodge. It's actually designed by Architectural firm Roman and Williams, who did the Lobby of the Ace Hotel. Vinyl records, horsehair and stuffed badgers, oh my...

Wait, so next I bring the food to the... ummm...

Service is slow, they are obviously working out the kinks. Since it was the soft opening, there was a limited dinner menu, and the kitchen was definitely going through a shakedown. I'm sure they'll get thinks going smoothly soon.

Charcuterie from Left: head cheese, rabbit with prune, rustic pork with pistachios, ginea hen with morels

The Charcuterie is ok. There are some mighty fancy ingredients going on, unfortunately none of them are allowed to sing. This is most evident in the Ginea Hen with morels, it tastes just like a cheap processed chicken loaf; watery with a bit too much salt and a disconcertingly homogeneous texture. The rabbit suffered the same consequences, just being kinda "meh", and was a little tough. The head cheese (really bad name for a food) tasted like it should, pulled pork with a ton of fat. The rustic pork was the only star here, the pistachios added a nice variation in texture and it tasted like a lovely unsalted fresh salami.

After our main dishes finally arrived, I regretted only coming with one companion, as we could only order two items. I must say the mains are where this place shines.

Rustic photo (grown-up hipster for "low light iphone shot") of the Poussin.

The Poussin had a superb "perfect roasted chicken" flavor, offset by a bitter pomegranate reduction and pops of the pomegranate seeds. The pumpkin seeds here and there were fine, but the best part was an unexpected hit of mint. The accompanying toasted pumpkin was sweet and delicious, with a hint of cumin. Really an inspired grouping of diverse and unexpected flavors.

The Beef shin was cooked nicely, perhaps erring on the firm/dry side, but not too much. There is a punch of citrus in it, and when eaten with the parsley's fresh herbal notes comes together marvelously. The polenta is firm and good, but the real star I thought was the black cabbage puree; it had wonderful amounts of butter and cream, so it was rich and delicious but did not step over the line into cloying.

The deserts need work. The quince crumble was almost there, the buttery sauce and quinces being done just about perfectly, but the crumble falls painfully short. Instead of a wonderful complex topping it seems like someone sprinkled store bought granola on it. They brought us a chocolate mousse with beer (the dessert chef is really nice btw) and the mousse had an inconsistent texture, at times thick, others runny, and the beer flavor added a little too much bitter that was not quite balanced.

Overall
Ok, here I buy the high end super expensive "salt of the earth pub fare" genre. Its great. Also the breakfast menu looks great, fry ups with pork of all kinds, mmmmm yes. Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield have once again managed to bring the Gastro-Pub rage to us from across the pond (with the help of Peter Cho, the current chef at the Breslin Bar).

The Breslin, 3 out of 5 bacon strips.

The Breslin Bar and Dining Room
20 W. 29th St. , New York, NY 10001
(Just east of Broadway)

This concludes Gastroliaison's mini review of the Breslin Bar.

Restaurant Review: The Shake Shack

The short of it:
If you've ever had a craving for the simpler times of the cheeseburger, before demand from the overpaid nimrods on wall street pushed it so far in complexity, size and cost, it somehow morphed into something Dr. Frankenstein would have been proud of, look no further than the Shake Shack. You need to eat this burger, and you need to experience one of the great quintessential NY dining experiences.

Eat: The Shackburger (single or double), excellent fries (maybe go all out and get the cheese sauce), 'shroom burger is decent too.

Drink: Frozen custard shakes, beer, and Arnold Palmers.

Note: Long waits (about an hour) are famous at the Madison Ave location, uptown spot is faster and you can call in, but its not nearly the same experience. Shake Shack's branding was done by Pentagram, whose NY office sits on the west side of the park; it just goes to show that any place that sweats the details in their appearance is usually gonna do the same with their food.

Sweet, 43rd already!

The long:
Expect a line, unless you arrive at 9:45 on a weeknight (after the late dinner crowd, but before the just got done drinking crew). Trust me though, an hours wait for this juicy tidbit, with the chance to eat it alfresco in our beautiful borough of Manhattan (with a beer if you desire) is well worth it. Standing in line is great people watching, send someone to the deli to brown bag a beer, you might even make a friend or two (we did).

You should know ahead of time this is a griddle cooked burger, it's a very different animal from a grilled burger. It's thinner and has a different kind of sear on it, and I'm not gonna deliberate here which one is better; its kinda like comparing an Aston Martin to a Ferrari.

One box of delicious with a side of tasty. Thank you Shake Shack, thank you.

The Shake Shack starts off right, blending some brisket (flavor), chuck (flavor), and some short rib (fat). They know the right way to prep their meat for the griddle (unlike LaCense), using a loose easy grind, and keeping the patting to a minimum. This allows the burger's proteins to stay loose and retain their juices (taste), as well as avoiding any unpleasant rubbery texture. It also creates those nice little nooks and crannies that hold the lovely melted cheesy goodness.

You just made 10,000 taste buds your BFFs.

The burger is cooked perfectly, has a great char, with crisp little edges here and there. It's juicy and flavorful throughout. The cheese is spot on, with enough American cheese flavor to stand up to the burger without overstepping its supporting role. The Shack Sauce (any snack bar burger worth its salt had better have special sauce) is good, but it's mayo based so if you don't like that skip it. The tomato and lettuce add just the right variation in taste and texture. The bun is moist and tasty, but not so soft as to fall apart on you.

The whole thing is nice and thin so your mouth isn't doing an impression of the Lincoln Tunnel at rush hour, and the little wax paper sack it comes in keeps the grease off your lap. It is exactly what a griddle cooked burger should be; every person should eat this once.

A snackbar as only Manhattan could do it.

Sit under the lights at Madison Square Park, dig into a great burger with an ice cold beer, and watch the city go by as you chat with friends. Heaven.

The Shake Shack: 3/5 Bacon Strips

This concludes Gastroliaison's review of The Shake Shack.

Bar Review: Wilfie & Nell

The Short of it...
This is a great place to go with some friends for some bar food and beer. Early arrivals mean quiet space, as the night drags on it fills and gets too loud to have a conversation below a soft shout. The food is hit or miss, but when its a hit it's great. The decor is that contrived gastro-pub/urban farmhouse oasis that one can't seem to get away from, but it's a good little spot.

EAT: Amazing sliders, great grilled cheese, good fries, good salad.

DRINK: Great beers, good wine, whiskey tea, and they will make spiked Arnold Palmers (hooray!)

AVOID: Anything with sausage, I mean it.

Some interior decorator took 3 weeks planning the "haphazard" box pile.

And the Long...

The owner of this place is buddies with Joaquin Baca (the guy behind Momofuku and Rusty Knot), who put the menu together. So I was not surprised to see written on the menu "Wilfie & Nell prides itself on sourcing foods from the following local purveyors (ostentatious for nearby suppliers): Bread: Blue Ribbon Bakery. Cheese: Murray’s Cheese Shop Chutneys and preserves: Beth's Farm Kitchen. Meat: Piccinini Brothers. Pickles: Bob McClure".

Wood slats, mismatched tables, mason jars, you get the idea.

These are good places to be buying stuff from, so we can overlook the culinary equivalent of name dropping at a party and get down to brass tacks. The menu looks like the kiddies at top chef were told to make pub food. The roots are there, and there is special attention paid to the ingredients. Farmhouse cheddar, gruyere (these are my favorite cheeses) and tallegio (its good too). You can have your choice in their excellent grilled cheese. These are thick, buttery, crisp, gooey bombs of cheezy goodness. I recommend any, but I especially like the ham and cheddar. These guys do know how to get a crisp buttery surface on a slice of toast, that's for sure.

Great bread and cheese, skip the corned beef.

Oddly enough, the Corned Beef and Gruyere was a huge fail. The gruyere simply overpowered it (or the corned beef is underwhelming), so instead of any flavor from the meat all you get is salt. This makes the cheese even more robust, but too salty, and just doesn't quite do it. If you're gonna intake that much cheese, meat and butter it had better be worth every single calorie.


The salad is delicious, and the fries are great. The real super star(s) here though is (are) the Berkshire Pork sliders. The meat is perfect, the pickles a little spicy, and the cut surface of the brioche bun has been subjected to that same heavenly treatment as the grilled cheese; the insides of the bun have an amazingly satisfying buttery crisp bite that offsets the soft texture of the pork.

These are good, really, really good.

On a high from the pork sliders (or perhaps all that Smithwick's Ale...) I thought it prudent to sample the pigs in blankets. These little pork sausages are not wrapped in your run of the mill pastry dough my friends, they are wrapped in BACON.

Wait, do I smell bacon?!?!

Sadly, I did not plunge to uncharted depths of deliciousness, discovering a new, delectable, diet-damming dish. I am of the opinion that bacon is one of the most perfect foods ever, so these little things are a travesty. The sausage is like a stick of greasy chewy salt, wrapped in a piece of bacon so overly cooked that it tastes like charcoal; the cook should be scolded.

You may need to avert your eyes.

They look like cat poop, and they are so greasy they actually stained the granite bar through the wax paper and the basket they came in. The poor HP sauce they come with, that has been bravely masking horrible English pub food for centuries, tries in vain to overcome these little burnt salt licks from hell. Looking at my neighbors Scotch Egg and its charred beyond taste sausage shell, I abstained from ordering one. Anything with sausage is a no no at Wilfie and Nell's.

This bar is a good place to be.

The only drink worth mentioning is the whiskey tea. The others are Kool-Aid with booze (the bramble especially) or glorified gin and tonics. Great beers, good wines.

Wilfie and Nell: 2/5 bacon strips

This concludes Gastroliaison's review of Wilfie and Nell.

Recipie: Buerre Maître d'Hôtel

This is a classic, must have, for anyone who wants to grill or roast or broil just about anything. It will add a delicious citrus herb finish to everything from mushrooms to broccoli to shellfish. You can keep it in the freezer for months, slicing off as much as you need per meal. Trust me, it's great to keep on hand.

Background
Buerre Maître d'Hôtel (Buerre Maître D') is a classic french invention. The Maître D' is the master of the hotel or restaurant, assigned with making sure everything goes smoothly, getting people seated, etc... Did a Maître D' first make this butter up to sooth disgruntled patrons, unhappy with their hangar steak? I have no idea, but I do know that any bistro worth its salt in Paris has a great one, ready to slap onto your steak as it rests. Ummm, butter, on top of steak? Isn't that the French acting all stereotypical and making my food too rich? Dairy fat on meat fat? Gross. Oh, wait, cheeseburgers...

Do I smell cheesesteak?

Butter (fat) is a great way to finish grilled meats. It adds a depth of flavor that is subtle, yet delicious. Take note, Peter Lugers finishes every single steak with a big old pat of butter (fat). Authentic Bistecca alla Fiorentina is finished with olive oil (fat) and lemon. Authentic steak frites is finished with, well you get the picture.

Gastroliaison's Buerre Maître D'

So what you are doing is mixing parsley, garlic (or shallot for a nice, mild twist), lemon and ground pepper into softened butter. It takes a little patience, but is well worth the effort, and keeps for a few months in your freezer. A garlic press really comes in handy here. Note- If you freeze it, make sure you cut off the slabs you need ahead of time, so they can thaw.

Use unsalted butter, that way you can judge your salt easier because the butter won't add any to the dish. Since fat is such a good conductor of flavor for spices, adding the black pepper to the butter gives a really fresh pepper flavor. This is especially true of grilled meats, where the high heat of the grill actually diminishes the punch of the pepper.

Red wine/beer/any cocktail is optional equipment...

Ingredients

• 1/4 a small bunch of parsley
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 stick of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 lemon (the juice only)
• About 8 twists on the grinder of black pepper
  

Equipment

• Garlic press
• Knife & Board
• Mixing bowl
• Flat wood spoon
• Parchment paper or plastic wrap
  

Here is a tip for getting the skin off your cloves easy-










Cut the top and bottom off the clove









Smash it with the side of your knife









Done.









Preparation

1. Crush skinned garlic in a press.
2. Chop parsley fairly fine.
3. Juice the lemon.
4. Cut the butter into small cubes (it makes the stirring easier).
5. Combine in a bowl with the pepper too (pictured below is waaaaay to much parsley)
6. Stir. It takes a while, but that lemon juice will incorporate! Again, I used too much parsley here.
7. Lay it out on parchment paper
8. Roll it up into a little log, and twist the ends. then stick it in the fridge or freezer. I won't ask how you got good at that...

Try roasting clams with this, or fish in a packet with a splash of wine, put it on some asparagus, or on a portobello mushroom cap as it grills. Melt it for your lobster, stuff snails with it, spread it on a hot baguette, stuff it under the skin of a chicken before you roast it. The possibilities are endless.

This concludes Gastroliaison's recipe for Buerre Maître d'Hôtel