Unsalted Reprieve...

 So Katie took one look at the pitiful tone of the last post and decided to quiet my concerns of butter withdrawal. By noon there were brownies in the house! Brownies with big chunks of bitter sweet chocolate! Watching her go at the large dark block, working deftly with the 8" chef's knife, was a thing of beauty. And as with any good brownie, these were drippin', down right oozing in butter. So moist.

Sea Salt Caramels!!!

Just a few of the well dressed brownies.

 She was just getting started, for what followed was an avalanche of caramels studded in sea salt. Firm at first bite, giving way to more soft as the heat of mouth take's on the chewy mass. The sweet of sugar and the richness of the butter kept in check by the occasional find of sea salt. Ah, I'm good. Very content. Now, if I can only come up with something else that my palate has been lacking... Perhaps, my loving wife will make it. Any suggestions?                       (Recipes on Request.)

(http://www.chez-gautier.com)

As Goes Rain So Goes Butter...

Buns of the Morning

 As the gray lid lifts to what has been a very wet Winter both in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as Southwestern France, it will sadly see an easing of my butter intake. Crazy talk I know, but as the season's change so does the "menu". Already the first of the slender young asparagus have surfaced, a true sign of the prime growing season to come. Tender local arugula and tiny young radish have also started to appear. Barbeques are being dusted off, and their smoke drifts over both boundary line and backyard fence.
 So, reluctantly, it may be time to tip the balance more towards the oils (olive, walnut, etc.) that are never far from reach anyway, but tend to give way to the creamy goodness of butter during time's of foul weather. It's not just the bubbling gratins, the hearty soups, or the odd soufflé that I lament. How about the seemingly endless jar of cookies, the morning buns, or croissant "just for the hell of it" that my wife has so generously produced at the first sign of a threatening sky?! Already Katie has begun the transition, the spicy air of ginger cookies in the oven hovering about.

Dried Cherry and Bitter Sweet Chocolate

  No, butter will not disappear from our table. That's just not possible, especially in the Poitou Charente, it's dairy products as good as any in France. Few evening meals begin without a plate of shaved radish, mound of salt, cube of butter, and some bread. Even in the warming months to come, the opportunity to enhance a dish with a knock of butter will exist in abundance. Tender young beets deserve a chunk stuffed into their foil pouch before roasting, fish en croute may just need a little butter as company before the sealing of parchment, and young, sweet corn... Yeah, absolutely! In fact with the promise of the Summer fruit to come, galletes are sure to follow.
 That easy and accessible bit of magic done with little more than flour and butter, gallete bridge the seasons, being as good in the Fall/Winter (with apples and pears) as they are in the Spring/Summer (apricots, peaches, berries, etc.). The one's pictured below are done with Fuji's with a bit of cognac, a couple of thyme sprigs, and a pinch of sea salt on top. Oh, and did I mention there's butter? Rest assured. As with any element of the kitchen/menu, butter is just one component. Get it fresh, purely produced, and use it thoughtfully. But... Definitely use it.
(Recipes on request.)

(http://www.chez-gautier.com)