Butter blended with other ingredients is known as a compound butter. Here, we use fresh herbs plus lemon zest and juice to flavor the butter, which is excellent with everything from corn on the cob to grilled fish.

ready in about two hours and 10 minutes; serves 8
You might need to buy:
  • Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • Tbs. chopped fresh chives
  • lemon zest
  • fresh lemon juice

When hosting a barbecue, it is generally a good idea to offer a choice of at least two different grilled meats, and you usually cannot go wrong making chicken one of them. Chicken breasts marinated in lemon and herbs are a nice contrast to barbecued ribs or other rich meats.

ready in about 15 minutes; serves 8
You might need to buy:
  • extra-virgin olive oil
  • Tbs. chopped fresh thyme
  • coarse salt

These pretty little puffs are made from choux pastry, which is also used for cream puffs.

ready in about 25 minutes; serves 6
You might need to buy:
  • water
  • all-purpose flour
  • salt
  • shredded Gruyère cheese
  • Tbs. fresh thyme leaves
  • minced fresh rosemary leaves