Cornucopia

This is a short hello and “how do ya do!” and a I’ve not disappeared forever.

This is a love letter about butter.

For a stick of butter + any herb + salt = compound butter. Yesterday I threw in a handful of dill and some roasted garlic. No one was home. My dogs were barking and my chardonnay was cold and my corn was charring on the grill and my compound butter was waiting. I ate alone, happy, quiet, warm. In the setting sun with my laptop and my iPhone and my to-do list longer than my arm.

This moment of stillness did not last very long. Shortly after my butter affair, there were dishes and phone calls and negotiations and laundry and putting the dogs out. When I fell into the bed like a cement rock, one of my last fleeting thoughts was not of work or family or obligation. It was about compound butter. Its simple construction. Its unearthly delight. And so, I share with you, my friends.

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Grilled corn on the cob with compound dill butter

Ingredients:

12 ears corn, silks removed, husks peeled down and tied
1/2 pound unsalted butter, slightly softened
2 cloves garlic, roasted (optional)
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
Salt and pepper

Procedure:

Heat grill to high. Place corn on grill. Close cover and grill until just cooked through, about 20 minutes. While corn is grilling, combine butter, dill and garlic in a food processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove husk and slather with dill butter.

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