So I followed Ruhlman's advice and decided to finally make some brown butter. Last night, for dinner, I cooked up some simple cheese tortellini. Rather than use tomato sauce, I decided to drop a stick of butter into a medium frying pan over medium-high heat.
The effect was quick and satisfying: after the butter melted it began to foam, and as the foam was clearing it began to turn dark gold, then amber-brown. The smell was amazing - cooks aren't kidding when they say it smells nutty. I tossed the tortellini in this, and stirred in some freshly grated Parmigiana Reggiano. I added a mixture of freshly ground pepper and coriander (I mixed a few coriander seeds in with the pepper in the mill - it's fantastic).
Brown butter is extremely versatile - either as a simple sauce or the base for myriad other dishes. I can already think of using some when I cook eggs or bake desserts. A graham cracker pie crust that uses brown butter would be incredible.
The effect was quick and satisfying: after the butter melted it began to foam, and as the foam was clearing it began to turn dark gold, then amber-brown. The smell was amazing - cooks aren't kidding when they say it smells nutty. I tossed the tortellini in this, and stirred in some freshly grated Parmigiana Reggiano. I added a mixture of freshly ground pepper and coriander (I mixed a few coriander seeds in with the pepper in the mill - it's fantastic).
Brown butter is extremely versatile - either as a simple sauce or the base for myriad other dishes. I can already think of using some when I cook eggs or bake desserts. A graham cracker pie crust that uses brown butter would be incredible.