🍰 Italian Compound Butter 🧈

A Taste of Italy in Every Spread! Perfect for enhancing your favorite dishes or making any meal feel like a gourmet experience.

🍽️ Ingredients 🍽️
- 1/2 tsp salt 🧂
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature, or salted if preferred 🧈
- 4 cloves pressed or finely minced garlic, about 2 teaspoons 🧄
- 2 tbsp finely diced fresh basil 
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, or to taste 
- 2 tbsp finely diced sun-dried tomatoes, drained and blotted dry

🧑‍🍳 Directions 🧑‍🍳
1. Start by placing the butter in a mixing bowl. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, blend the butter until it's smooth and creamy.
2. Add the garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, salt, and black pepper to the butter. Continue to mix all the ingredients until thoroughly combined.
3. Transfer the butter mixture onto a piece of parchment paper. Shape the mixture into a cylindrical log using the paper to help form it.
4. Tightly wrap the butter log in the parchment paper. Refrigerate or freeze the log until it is firm and ready to be sliced.

🍎 Nutritional Information 🍎
- Calories: 102 per tablespoon
- Carbohydrates: 0.4g
- Proteins: 0.2g
- Fats: 11.5g
- Sodium: 98mg

💡 Tips and Tricks 💡
- For a zestier flavor, add a pinch of chili flakes or lemon zest to the butter mixture before chilling.
- This butter is excellent on steaks, tossed with pasta, or as a flavorful spread for bread.

⏳ Preparation time ⏳ 
- Preparation time: 10 minutes | Chilling time: 2 hours | Serving: Makes about 1 cup of compound butter.