Sunday, March 25, 2007

Run!

Do not walk, RUN to buy the April 2007 Cook's Illustrated. It has terrific reipes in it this month. There are wonderful variations on pan-roasted asparagus that are delicious and easy. I will be making them all summer: asparagus with goat cheese and red peppers, asparagus with onion and bacon, asparagus with olives. YUM! There is also a recipe for brown suger cookies that is good enough to make you weep. I tend to think that cookies are better w/ chocolate or icing, but these cookies are so delicious that they require neither accoutrement. The secret ingredient is browned butter.

I hadn't browned butter before. At least not on purpose! Once melted, it turns brown in only a minute or so. The "burnt" butter is a gorgeous, caramel color and it has a nice nutty, caramel flavor. I love it! It really makes these cookies. The cookie dough is wonderful. Maybe next time I won't even bake them!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is there a difference in Ghee and brown butter?

K said...

Yes, huge. Ghee is clarified butter most often used in Indian cooking. Brown butter is unsalted butter that you melt and stir and watch very carefully until it turns brown.

Anonymous said...

I think what confused me was that I saw a photo of Ghee used in a magazine and it was browned as well. Though as you said it's the clarified butter adn not the milk fats that settle to the bottom which brown butter consists of and supposedly has a nutty smell? Thanks again :-)