My all-time favorite restaurant in our neck of the woods is a wonderful little place called Alderwood Bistro... and my all-time favorite meal is their Steak Frite:
grilled Painted Hills bistro tender, blue cheese-shallot butter, house-made fresh-cut potato French fries, aioli, & sautéed Nash's greens.
I love every last bit of that meal... but I think what puts me over the top is the blue cheese shallot butter.
It is such an amazingly flavorful addition to a steak, and something about the contrast of a cold chunk of butter melting slowly over a sizzling steak is just... wow!
After dreaming repeatedly about this butter, and once even asking the chef for a little to-go container of it, I decided it was time to figure out my own version.
This recipe is it! It's easy, special and it can really make any good steak an amazing steak!
This would also be great on a burger, or grilled chicken... or even baked potatoes.
And don't be afraid to adjust the recipe... if you like more blue cheese, add more! If you want more onion-y kick, add more shallots! Take it and make it yours... if you're anything like me, you'll find yourself pulling it out of the freezer more often than you'd expect! :o)
Blue Cheese Shallot Butter (Chef's Butter) Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons finely minced shallot
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Directions:
In a medium bowl, stir all the ingredients together with a fork until well combined.
Lay out two separate sheets of plastic wrap, divide the butter in half and wrap each half up into a log in the plastic wrap. Place in the fridge to set and let the flavors meld... at least a few hours, but even better a day in advance.
Store any leftovers (and this makes a lot, so unless you are feeding a crowd you will have leftovers!) in a ziploc bag in the freezer for up to 3 months!
