Paper Palate

…and I couldn’t agree more! I’m a total advocate for “the real thing.” I love what Christopher Kimball recently said on the taping of a live show for America’s Test Kitchen. Of course, this was said as he was adding 3 sticks of butter to a cake, “If you want a low-fat dessert, eat an apple.” Which only proves, yet again, the title of the book. Everything really is better with butter, aka The Real Thing.

When I received The Great Big Butter Cookbook, I eagerly tore through it, entirely expecting a book on lecture and facts of why butter is better than the hydrogenated oils, all-natural commentary, and more (which me and my geeky-self totally would have loved). Nope. Not even a little (well, other than the forward, written by James Robson, CEO Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board). It really is just a big book of recipes that use butter. And, after reading through every page, I wouldn’t have it any other way! I love it!!

I adore books that get down to the basics, a simple recipe that is meant to draw family and friends together. In all honesty, if either of my grandmothers still alive, I feel that this is a book they could have written themselves (of course, my maternal grandmother did spend her life on a cow farm, so it would have been a highly appropriate book for her), as the recipes are so simple, yet so nostalgic and inviting.

It seems as everything in the book is just that (the basics)… but, the very perfect, and very necessary basics. In fact, it almost seems as the Joy of Cooking, but for the simpler life (sorry, no squirrel recipes here). I can honestly say that it is a book I would turn to first in the moment of needing simple, fast recipes for appetizers or last-minute get-togethers.

Since I am an infamous dog-earer (if it wasn’t a word before, it is now!), here are a few of the recipes that I have dog-eared for future menus (ahem, or midnight munchies):

• Spiced Nuts & Candied Nuts (p. 9)
• Scone Sandwiches (p. 24)
• Open-Faced Apple Omelet (p. 74)
• Herbed Dinner Rolls (p. 104)
• Macaroni and Cheese Soup (p. 146)
• Grilled Havarti Sandwhich with Spiced Apples (p. 155)
• Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes (p. 172)
• Savory Stuffed New Potatoes (p. 175)
• Iced Cardamom Cutouts (p. 311) [an awesome Holiday cookie recipe)
• Orange Five-Spice Sugar Cookies (p. 318) [see my review here of this recipe]

Well, this is my “short list” of the many wonderful recipes of this 469-page recipe book. And to be honest, this book actually inspired a midnight phone call to my mother, to ask her about her years on the farm and all the recipes she used (oh, how I envy her memories of farm fresh dairy)! As my mother said, because I am the youngest, by the time I came along, “from scratch” recipes were a dream of hers, replaced by box cake mixes. Obviously, the passion still managed to work its way into my genes. It was still fun to hear about her family recipes, though, which drew me even closer to the book.

If you’re looking for a book to bond you to your local farmers, get in touch with your inner-grandmother, or simply have a basic “all-inclusive” cookbook, this book won’t fail!