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Anna Stockwell had a butter epiphany while attending culinary school in her 20s. The recipe developer, food stylist, writer and editor was in the middle of a very French cooking program taught by retired French chefs.
“The solution to everything was just add butter,” she says. “It was the moment when I realized so much of the magic that occurs in pastry, but also in sauces, emulsification, creating that silky texture of a classic French sauce, it’s all because of butter.”
On Tuesday, Stockwell released “The Butter Book,” with 112 pages devoted to butter, and recipes that celebrate the star ingredient. The book is designed to resemble an actual stick of butter, wrapped in paper with a tablespoon measurement guide across the back cover.
It’s also a one-stop butter handbook, with information on what butter to buy, how to store it and what butter varieties might be better for different types of cooking and baking.
“Cultured butter, which is butter made by either allowing the cream to naturally ferment before turning it into butter, or by adding lactic acid, is really delicious and good on bread,” says Stockwell. “But I love using it in the book in baked goods, where the flavors of the butter really shine through, like for shortbread.”
And of course, the book includes a recipe for how to make your own butter, as well as a handful of flavored compound butters.
“There is so much amazing butter out there that you can buy, but I do think that everyone should make their own butter at least once,” Stockwell says. “It’s a fun process and great to do with little kids.”
Stockwell’s recipe is easy to follow and yields a rich, complex, mildly sweet flavor profile that’s excellent on plain bread or in a bowl of oatmeal.
Below you’ll find her recipe for homemade butter, as well as four more butter-centric recipes. “The Butter Book,” from Chronicle Books, is available now.
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Homemade Butter
If you want to get creative with the presentation, Stockwell suggests making butter curls, whipping the butter or making a butter sculpture. You can also flavor your butter with herbs and or spices.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 30 minutes.
(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times )
Broiled Scallops With Espelette Butter
Chef Ari Kolender’s recipe for broiled scallops incorporates an Espelette butter than can be used for cooking or as a finishing butter for other seafood, grilled corn or seafood pasta. And once you prepare the butter, the broiled scallops come together in less than 10 minutes.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 20 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.
(Yasara Gunawardena / For The Times)
Diep Tran’s Buttered Spaghetti With Dried Shrimp And Sake
This spaghetti recipe requires just six ingredients, and a sauce you can prepare in the time it takes to boil your pasta. Tran was inspired by mentaiko pasta, a Japanese dish that incorporates sake-marinated cod roe. In place of the roe, Tran uses a combination of dried shrimp, sake and butter. Look for medium or large dried shrimp online or at a Vietnamese deli in Little Saigon.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 20 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.
(Zoe Cranfill / Los Angeles Times)
Broiled Clams With Herbed Butter
This dish relies heavily on the flavor of the compound herb butter, made with basil, parsley, breadcrumbs, salt and garlic. Find the freshest clams available, and open them just before you’re ready to prepare the dish.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 35 minutes. Makes 24 clams.
(Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
Brown Butter-Cinnamon Crumb Cake
Former cooking columnist Ben Mims uses brown butter to give his cake’s crumb topping rich, nutty, toffee undertones.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 2 hours, largely unattended. Serves 12.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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