Browning Butter

 

     Dear people, I wrote this post a long time ago....and then....I never posted it. But, it still holds true! More posts soon!

 

      Have you ever browned butter? Placed a tablespoon or two of butter in a pan and cooked it lightly until it turns a light brown color and then cooked things in said butter or put it in your baked goods? If you have, you are a very smart person. I wish I had been like you earlier. If you haven't, you should - sometime soon. Because it is very very very worth it.

     I don't actually think I've ever smelled anything as delicious as the fragrance that floated up when I dumped a box-worth of sliced brown mushrooms into two tablespoons of browned butter. Just thinking about it is making my mouth water. Like actually.

     And delicious smells are important. Linguine covered in a fall-inspired pumpkin brown butter sauce and mushrooms is important. Full stomachs are important. Because people, it is cold outside. It snowed...what is with that? Why did it snow????? But moving past that, life can get tiring. One can get so worn down by school that one (i.e. me..ahem ahem) can stop caring about anything but the stress of work work work essay essay essay exam exam exam. And that is not good.

     So, one needs to stop and smell the roses...or butter...you know what I mean. Its worth it to take a little bit of your day to chop up those mushrooms and make some delicious (note: hearty, slightly pumpkin-y, a little rich, with that depth of brown butterness) sauce and just let everything go. Or make anything you want! Just stand by the stove or over a mixing bowl and stir stir....and relax a little. Then maybe go out...or see some friends! And forget work for a bit. Because after tonight I get a real life BREAK from work for a few days....and I want you to get one too.

Browned Butter Mushroom Pumpkin Sauce

2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 box Brown Mushrooms, Sliced
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1/8 tsp Nutmeg (maybe a little heavy 1/8th of a teaspoon, but to your own taste - I like nutmeg)
1/4 tsp Ginger
3/4 cup Canned Pumpkin
1/3 cup Chicken Broth (or vegetable broth, so this can be veggie-friendly)

In a large frying pan at medium-low heat, cook the butter. Stir it so it melts, then allow it to cook for 2 minutes until it is a light brown color. Once that is done, dump in all the sliced mushrooms. Make sure they get coated in the butter, and cook them for two minutes. Add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, and ginger, stirring into the mushrooms. Then, add the canned pumpkin, stirring it in, and lastly the chicken broth. Once everything is mixed together, allow it to simmer for 3-4 minutes, so that it thickens. Once the sauce is nice and thick, serve with your pasta of choice. I used linguine that I cooked as the sauce was cooking.