This post originally appeared in my newsletter, The Sophisticate.

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Something to Try

I think one of the marks of a great home cook is the ability to riff on recipes you’ve mastered to create something new. I love foods and ingredients that feel like a canvas for experimenting with flavors – simple syrups are an example of this that I wrote about a few issues back. You take a base recipe, like the syrup composed of equal parts sugar and water, and incorporate creative flavors knowing that if the base recipe stays consistent, odds are things won’t go too terribly wrong. Risotto is another great example of this. Master a great base recipe and you can experiment endlessly with proteins, vegetables, herbs, and seasonings.

Perhaps the most approachable example is compound butter, which is literally just butter with add-ins. You don’t need any special equipment and there’s no cooking involved. You just need room temperature butter, flavors to incorporate, and a few hours for it to solidify in the fridge. 

To make compound butter: 

• Ensure your butter is room temperature. Butter that is too cold will be difficult to incorporate ingredients into, and butter that is melted will send the add-ins sinking to the bottom. 
• Use the good butter. Technically any butter will do, but for best results, look for butter with fat content of 82% or more, like Kerrygold or cultured French butter.
• Select the ingredients you wish to flavor the butter with. Stick to a general rule of 2-3 teaspoons total of add-ins for every 4 ounces (one stick) of butter. Adjust according to the intensity of the flavors you’re adding.
• To mix, add your softened butter and add-ins to a bowl and use a spoon or rubber spatula to combine.
• Serve the butter at room temperature, or form into a log to be chilled and sliced. To do so, scrape the butter mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Use a bench scraper or spatula to push the butter into a log shape while holding the plastic taut. Wrap the plastic around the log to cover, then twist the ends to secure. Refrigerate until solid.

Compound butter is delicious in both savory and sweet dishes. Consider adding savory butters to steak, pasta, bread, mashed potatoes, or roasted vegetables. Sweet butters are fantastic on warm bread, muffins, biscuits, and scones.

Some flavor ideas…

Savory

• Shallot and parmesan
• Garlic and parsley
• Lemon and mixed soft herbs
• Truffle dust

Sweet

• Cinnamon and sugar
• Orange zest and cardamom
• Honey and cayenne pepper
• Maple and rosemary

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Something to Know

If you’ve traveled to France or watched Gossip Girl, you’re likely familiar with Ladurée, the famed pâtisserie best known for its macarons. Established in 1862, it is Parisian savior-faire, tradition, and taste at its finest.

The house was founded by Louis Ernest Ladurée, a miller. It existed as a small pastry shop for decades until 1930 when Ladurée’s young cousin, Pierre Desfontaines invented what is today known as the macaron by sticking together two meringue shells with a ganache filling. This launched the Ladurée name to global fame and the macaron became synonymous with French sophistication.

Ladurée is known for its traditional approach to pâtisserie compared to other Parisian houses like Pierre Hermé, whose creations are equally delightful but lean more innovative. With its signature pistachio green interiors, pastel packaging, Belle Epoque flair, and pyramids of macarons stacked in the windows, Ladurée has one of the most recognizable aesthetics in Paris.

In their boutiques, you’ll find a gourmet pastry country that goes beyond just macarons. My favorite is the Ispahan – a giant pink macaron flavored with rose, raspberry, and lychee. As far as traditional macarons go, I recommend the salted caramel, the rose, and the orange blossom. 

If you don’t have any trips to France coming up, fear not – Ladurée now has boutiques all across the world and even offers delivery straight to your home in many countries, including the United States. Shop their online boutique for macarons, tea, chocolates, and more, whether you’re gifting to others or picking out a special treat for yourself.

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Three Good Things

First and foremost, The Sophisticate is not in the business of trying to sell you things you don’t want or need. This section is meant to share three things that have improved my life, and a little bit about why you might like them too. 

These will occasionally contain affiliate links. If you click one and ultimately decide to make a purchase, I may earn a small commission of roughly 5-10%. If you want to shop using my links, great! Easy for you, teeny tiny paycheck for me. 

However, it’s very important to me that you trust that I’m not just pushing links to make money, so if you’d rather purchase outside of my affiliate link, I completely get it! To do so, just be sure to shop from an incognito browser and type the product name into search rather than copy and paste my link. 

That said, I hope you’ll find that some of these recommendations may be the solution to a problem you’ve been having, or are simply a fun little luxury to add to your daily life.

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Recipe of the Day

If the spotlight on Ladurée has you craving macarons but there’s no trip to France in the immediate future, try making them at home! They are ambitious but surprisingly simple if you pay close attention to the details. I used the recipe from Preppy Kitchen to learn the technique, and have had great success even on the first few attempts.

Here are a few of my best tips, some of which come from the recipe and some of which I learned the hard way!

• You need a kitchen scale! A recipe this sensitive absolutely requires accurate measurements by weight. 

• To test whether your batter is mixed sufficiently, pick up the spatula and let the batter fall into the bowl. Draw a figure 8 with the falling batter twice to be sure you have the right consistency.

• To get perfectly sized macaron shells each time, consider investing in a silicon mat marked with circles you can use as a guide.

• If your kitchen is even slightly humid or warm, you’ll need to rest the piped shells for quite a while before baking. 4o minutes is the bare minimum – continue resting them until you can lightly drag your finger across the shells without damaging the surface.

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Tasteful Living, As Told by You

One of the things that inspired me to create The Sophisticate was reading what other women online had to say about taste, style, and living well. This section is dedicated to tips and advice submitted by you, The Sophisticate subscribers! 

Send us a message on Instagram @sophisticate.newsletter to share your favorite little luxuries, healthy habits, or other tasteful tips with us and we may include you in a future newsletter.

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