Butter is the key ingredient in most recipes. It makes all food delicious and smooth and its multiple uses in the kitchen are no secret. Butter makes everything taste better, whether it’s your favorite white sauce pasta or just an old toast. But what if our usual butter could get better? Yes, you read that right! Here’s a recipe for the usual butter with a twist: compound butter.

What Is Compound Butter?

Compound butter is our usual butter with some added seasonings. It’s a combination of different herbs, citrus, and garlic paste. One will often find it as a topping on dishes that have fish in them or with steak. It does wonders for a dish when used as a sauce, especially with pasta and baked potatoes. One can mix and match the herbs and make different recipes of compound butter.

How to Make Compound Butter

A basic recipe for compound butter is best suited for dishes like spaghetti. All you need is butter, preferably unsalted, with salted mixers like miso paste, briny capers, and flavorings of your liking. Soften the butter, and add the mixer and chosen seasonings like black pepper and kosher salt. Mix them all well, roll them in parchment paper, and freeze them for later use.

Shelf-Life of Compound Butter

Compound butter is expected to last for around three or four months in the fridge, while in the freezer it can stay fresh for almost a year. But if something is kept in the freezer, it’s important to ensure it’s well wrapped. The same is the case for compound butter. The shelf life of compound butter depends on the ingredients added to the butter. If the recipe has any ingredient that’s perishable, one should freeze it to make it last longer. For all the first-timers, it’s recommended to either make big batches and freeze them or make small batches of different types and try different toppings each time, depending on your mood and occasion.

If you’re a fan of the classic grilled cheese sandwich staple but would like to try it with a twist, you’re in luck. This layered masterpiece featuring a fantastic glazed pineapple adds such a fantastic sweet-and-salty kick to the crunchy creaminess of the original. You can either use bacon or leftover holiday ham. Here’s how to make it!

Ingredients

• 3 fresh pineapple rings, thinly sliced
• 6 slices of bacon/leftover Thanksgiving ham
• 2 ½ tbsp. butter, divided
• 1 tsp. brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• 8 slices Havarti
• 2 oz. (4 slices) sliced gruyere
• 4 slices sourdough bread

How to Make a Pineapple Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Step 1: Grab a skillet, spray it with cooking oil, and heat over medium-high flame. Fry the bacon (or ham) for about two minutes per side. When ready, remove them from the pan and set them aside.

Step 2: Lower the heat to medium and add a tablespoon of butter. Add the pineapple rings and sprinkle soy sauce and brown sugar on top. Cook until it’s caramelized, which takes about 4 minutes per side. Clean the pan when it’s done.

Step 3: Take the sourdough and spread the remaining butter on one side of each slice.

Step 4: Place the slices with the butter side down and layer your sandwiches. Start with two slices of Havarti, three slices of bacon/ham, half the gruyere, one and a half slices of pineapple, and then two more slices of Havarti on top.

Step 5: Top off with the remaining two slices of bread, the butter side facing up. Heat the pan to medium and cook your grilled cheese sandwich covered with a lid for about four minutes per side until it’s golden, crispy, and super melty.

Step 6: Feel free to sprinkle some Parmigiano if you’re a fan. Eat your sandwich before someone steals it from you, and while it’s still hot, delicious, and flavorful!