Sorry that I have been away so long, but I'm back and hope you will check in on me every week.....

I stumbled on a super ingredient and that's COMPOUND BUTTER...nothing special, extremely easy and so delicious....

I had extra cilantro and we love cilantro...that clean fresh taste, especially during the hot summer it is so refreshing.....I made cilantro lime butter and found out it has many uses....

1pound-1 1/2 pounds of butter cubed and room temperature
1 bunch of cilantro rough chopped, stems and all
juice of 1 lime
dash of sea salt
extra virgin olive oil about 1/4 cup

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy...you might have to drizzle in a bit more olive oil or maybe add a bit more cilantro or lime depending on the size of the bunch of cilantro and the juice of the lime...the above quantities are just a place to start....you adjust to your taste...

Place in a plastic container with lid or mason jar...this will keep for a month in the refrigerator.

USES FOR THIS BUTTER

1.  I take chicken breasts or tenders and saute' in about 2 TBL of this butter...you can use these for 

Chicken Salad, Chicken Enchiladas, Tostadas, Wrap Sandwiches, Tortilla Soup, White Chili, or just as they are.....I melt pepper jack on top of the whole breasts after they have been sauteed in the butter or sometimes add a couple of TBL of Philadelphia Jalapeno Cream Cheese to make a cream sauce to go over the chicken.

You can also cube the meat and serve as an appetizer with assorted sauces or dips. 

The application is endless...just use that imagination and see where it takes you...


I try to use only organic free range chicken...it's cleaner and so tender and delicious....plus so much better for you without all the antibiotics or hormones....

2.  This butter is also good on vegetables, especially grilled corn, but it's good on rice with the chicken on top as a meal.

I would love to hear about the different dishes you create using this butter....

Asparagus Tart

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed and rolled out to 11X17
1 pound of asparagus washed and trimmed
1 cup grated Gruyere
1 cup grated Parmesan
2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup light cream (I used heavy cream, had it on hand)
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp chopped chives
4 oz crumbled goat cheese  (the original recipe called for 2oz)

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Roll out the puff pastry and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Prick it all over with a fork and bake it for about 10 minutes, or until lightly brown.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.

2.  Blanch the asparagus in a large pot of salted boiling water. ( I put a good squeeze of lemon juice in the water also).  Cook for about 3-4 minutes and remove to an ice bath.  After they have cooled completely about 5 minutes in the ice bath, place on paper towels to dry.

3.  Blend together the remainder of ingredients except for the goat cheese crumbles, in a bowl and then spread this mixture over the cooled pastry crust, leaving about and inch for a border.  Arrange the asparagus on the mixture and I turned every other spear the opposite direction in a side by side line across the cheese mixture.  After doing this I sprinkled the goat cheese crumbles evenly across the top.  Bake for another 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese mixture has puffed up and the goat cheese crumbles are slightly toasted.


I must tell you I love this tart and I just searched for asparagus tarts and came across a link to 
thenaptimechef.com and this was her recipe that I just tweaked....she has an awesome sight and I encourage everyone to check it out....lots of great recipes and she also has a cookbook and working on her second so please check out......thenaptimechef.com    and enjoy this recipe for the asparagus tart.