I found the dusty well-worn cookbook in an old antique store off the beaten path in Ogden, Iowa. In researching the author, I was thrilled that I had stumbled across a treasure. The Gold Cook Book, first published in 1947 was written by Louis P. De Gouy, the Chef at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel for 30 years. He was also one of the original founders of Gourmet Magazine and the author of 16 cookbooks. In the Gold Cook Book I found an entire chapter devoted to something you don’t find as a separate section in many cookbooks today- Compounded Butters. My favorite line opening the chapter reads, “Compounded (creamed) butters in cookery are the finishing touch to food, be it a soup, fish, meat, sauce or vegetable as is powder and make-up to the face of a beautiful woman.” The chapter covered every compounded butter from Anchovy to Truffle Butter, and I was struck at how simple these compounds are, often mixing together just two or three ingredients to the softened butter. The great thing about compounded butters is that they can be made ahead and stored in a closed jar and refrigerated indefinitely for use when necessary. I chose a recipe for a Garlic Butter and loved the idea of paring it with a simple salmon fillet. Adding some fresh squeezed lime juice to the compound gave the salmon a bright and flavorful finish. Choose nice fresh, thick slices of salmon, cook them in a grill pan or skillet with a little salt and lemon pepper, and then drop a dollop of Compounded Garlic Lime Butter on top for a perfect light meal in minutes.
| Servings |
- 4 1-inch thick salmon fillets skin on (approximately 6 ounces each)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened but firm (1/4 cup)
- 1 clove garlic, minced fine
- 2 tablespoons of freshly-squeezed lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
- teaspoon ¼black pepper
Ingredients For the Salmon:
For the Compounded Garlic Lime Butter:
| Rate this recipe! |
- Prepare compounded garlic lime butter by combining ½ stick of unsalted butter, minced garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper. Mix until well blended. Refrigerate until ready use. Heat a grill pan or skillet to medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and one tablespoon of butter to pan. When hot, place salmon fillets in skillet, skin side down. Sprinkle fillets with Lemon Pepper and salt. Cook for 3-4 minutes depending on thickness of fillet. Turn fillets over and cook for another 4-5 minutes. When done, place fillets on a plate or platter and spoon one teaspoon of compounded garlic lime butter on top of each fillet. Garnish with lime wedges. Serves 4.
