Crème Fraiche: a tasty topping that makes things feel fancy

Fancy Pants pairing - Ooo la la!

Any topping that you have to say with an accent is a good idea.  And Crème Fraiche is a perfect example.  It is rich and creamy and whipped and thick, all at the same time.  Food bloggers tout crème fraiche as an overall winner for toppings: throw a dollop on strawberries or pie as a dessert; mix in a bit as a rich topping for a soup; use as a dip with crudites.

I recently realized, as I read through recipes, that I had never tasted it.  It created some curiosity so when I came across it in the grocery store on special, I snagged some and decided to experiment.  For a recent dinner party, I made a topping for shrimp.  I wanted the Crème's creaminess to be balanced with a little salt and spice, and I wanted to a bit of color.  So, I added dill and thick flakes of black salt and voila! (OK, now I'm just trying to use more French words.)  It was a nice topper for the shrimp and dinner guests lapped it up.  Good maiden voyage!

Want to get super Fancy Pants about it and make your own?  It is possible, and relatively easy.  Add a bit of cultured buttermilk or sour cream to heavy cream. Let the mixture stand for a few hours at room temperature.  The mixture will toughen in consistency to get its thick creaminess once the bacterial cultures act on the cream.  Don't let this freak you out: the cultures happen in the same way that Greek yogurt forms (such as Fage) and the cultures are beneficial to intestinal health.  Another 'hidden' advantage to crème fraiche is that despite the high fat content (people are hard on it's creamy flavor because of this) , but it is very low in sugar as a result.  I guess the lesson is: pick your battles!

Regardless of how you decide to use the Crème Fraiche, it is a diverse delight. It's so good that I'm tempted to start saying crème cheese and crème of mushroom soup, and things like that.

Next time, I'll mix it with some honey and sea salt for fruit or maybe garlic and rosemary for a soup.

Like Butta.

Paula Dean, eat your heart out.

A few months ago, I saw a Bon Appetit piece about DIY flavored butter.  Oh yeah.  Every flavor they featured looked delicious - they each had great color, the flavors sounded amazing. So when it was time to serve up some bread at a recent dinner party, I thought I'd get creative.

My goal became orange bourbon butter - and I was delighted to find that the process was not too hard. You want the stick(s) of butter to be soft to mix in whatever you choose to flavor it with. I think salted butter is nice to add a boost of flavor in addition to whatever you add. You can leave the butter out at room temperature for a while to soften it, or put it in the microwave. It is soooo easy to overheat it, so be aware that you really only need to soften it for 5-10 seconds.

On a cutting board, lay down a piece of wax paper and get your mix-ins ready.  I finely chopped a fresh orange and added about an ounce of Buillet Bourbon to the butter and mixed it together with a spoon. Then I rolled up the butter in the paper like a Tootsie Roll and put it in the fridge to harden back into a more firm form.  You should do this early before parties so that the butter can return to a spreadable form.  This could even be an hour early, but you can do it days before if you choose because the butter will save if sealed well.

I got lucky and got the results I wanted that satisfied the dinner crowd.  Salty, sweet, and of course, like butta.  If anything, guests commented, there should be more Bourbon.

Isn't that basically always true?