If you are new to cooking with herbs, try herb butters. They are easy to make and taste wonderful on most dishes and of course all types of bread. Start with bread and when you find a flavor you like, try the herb butters on green beans or other steamed vegetables.

When mixing these recipes, start with room temperature butter and use a wooden spoon for mixing. It does help for a smoother butter.

Following you find some of my favorite recipes. You can try these are mixed your own flavors. It is fun to mix and match your herbs.

Roasted Garlic Herb Butter

• Roast bulb of garlic
• Mix your roast garlic with 1 lb. of sweet butter.
• 1/4 tsp. salt if using unsalted butter, which is my favorite
• Your choice, add 1 tsp. dried rosemary, or sage or thyme.

Mix this together and use on your favorite bread. Optional: Add freshly grated Parmesan cheese with a little olive oil.

Chive Butter

Mash finely chopped chives with soften butter and chill. I use about 1 Tbsp. fresh chives to 2 sticks of butter. For a decorative touch placed in candy molds and allow to chill thoroughly before removing. When cooking with chive butter, add it to the last of the cooking time, because long cooking can destroy the flavor of the chives.

Rosemary Butter

• 1/4 lb. butter
• 1 clove garlic, finely mashed
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary finely minced

Cream the softened butter with garlic, lemon juice and rosemary. Chill and allow the flavors to meld. This butter can be refrigerated for up to one month. Try it on grill cheese sandwiches or grill meats.

Parsley Butter

• 1/2 c. butter
• 2-3 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 tsp. lemon juice

Add parsley and lemon juice to softened butter. Mix well and served with any cooked vegetables. Try it on potatoes, green beans or carrots.

Dill Butter

• 1 c. butter, soft
• 1/3 c. chopped fresh dill, or 3 tsp. dried
• 1/3 c. minced fresh curly parsley
• 2 -3 green onions, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Add dill, parsley, green onions and lemon juice to softened butter. Mix well and chill.

Spiced Honey Butter

• 1 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground cardamom
• 1 Tbsp. orange zest
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp. candied ginger root, finely minced

If you are new to cooking with herb, it is better to start with one herb add a little lemon juice before trying too many combinations. But once you find the herbs you like, then mix to your heart content. Well maybe not too much, after all there is a lot of fat in the these recipes.

Other herbs to try include:

• Basil
• French Tarragon
• sweet marjoram
• Greek oregano
• rosemary
• sage
• Mexican Marigold Mint
• summer savory

These are just a few ideas for butters. Have fun.

Happy mixing!