Tuesday, February 23, 2010

What I Made for Dinner: February 23, 2010

Roast turkey breast; baked pears and cranberries.

Last September, when the weather started to cool off, my friend Ally gave me a great idea for what to do with the herbs still growing in our garden. She suggested making compound butters: Cut the herbs up very fine, mash them into softened butter, mold the herb-butter mass into a log, and freeze it for future use.

When Ally gives me advice, I usually listen. Detailed instructions and beautiful pictures (not mine, obviously) are here. It's really fast and easy. I made single-herb butters instead of combining flavors. When you soften the compound butter, the herbs inside it look fresh-picked.

So tonight, the turkey breast (why turkey? Because it was on sale at Hy-Vee) was infused with last summer's sage and thyme, the skin crisped deep brown under the butter, and a little bit of tangerine juice squeezed over to brighten it.

2 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you used the butter! Just yesterday, I was staring into the freezer (looking for SOME kind of inspiration) and noticed my chilled logs of herby goodness. If poultry is on sale in my neck of the woods, I'll be soon shamelessly stealing your idea :)

    Happy eating, my friend!

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  2. yum!!! Turkey is so underrated.

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