Cooking in San Jose means that a variety of herbs are accessible year round. But what to do with such an abundance of herbaceous goodness? Try your hand at a smooth, leaf-free herb butter. Rosemary is a hearty herb that grows like weeds in the area (it literally grows in the parking lot of Trader Joe’s), it’s a good herb to start with (no one likes to get rosemary stuck in their teeth) but you could use any herb. This is THE BEST way I know to extract all that you can from your herbs:

The Wooden Table Herb Butter

1 oz. rosemary (or any herb of your liking)
1 lb. butter (the higher in fat content the better)
3 qts. cold water

1. Process rosemary removing all stems and sticks (only leaves should remain)
2. Finely chop or grind rosemary until grainy but not pasty
3. In a large pot combine rosemary and cold water (I know it’s unorthodox but just follow me on this)
4. Place pot on high heat until it reaches a boil
5. Reduce heat until simmering
6. Simmer for 1 hour
7. Add the butter and return to a simmer
8. Simmer for 1 hour
9. Allow mixture to cool (I use a metal bowl sitting in an ice bath to cool the mixture)
10. Bring the mixture to a second simmer
11. Strain mixture into a container and allow to cool
12. When no longer steaming, place in refrigerator
13. Cool for at least 4 hours (overnight is better)
14. The butter will rise to the top and form a cap of butter that has absorbed all of that good herbiness
15. Harvest, pat dry with paper towels, and wrap in wax paper for storage

Spread a pat of this butter on some nice rye with a touch of sea salt or even try it in something sweet. At The Wooden Table we like to use it in our lemon bars. Enjoy!