Brunch is one of our favorite meals for entertaining guests, and an elegant brunch is such a nice way to start the day. Here's one tiny suggestion for a special brunch: Individual butter pats for each guest.
It's a bit of frippery, of course; you would do just as well with a plate or bowl of butter on the table. But breakfast is often so butter-centered (think pancakes, crumpets, toast, and muffins), and it's a nice grace note to give each guest their own bit of butter. (Even better if it's homemade!) Then they can slather it on without needing to reach over for the butter dish.
If you do this, though, have a plate off to the side with a few extra pats of butter, just in case some of your guests run out quickly! (Certain members of my extended family would laugh at these wee buttons of butter. For average butter users, though, a lump like the one pictured above should be plenty.)
And look out tomorrow for a tip on making tiny molded butter pats; it's extremely easy, and will make you look (and feel) like Martha Stewart at her finest.
Related: Tip: Make Butter By the Pound in a Stand Mixer
(Images: Faith Durand)
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Nice, I always like having a little individual butter pat. But what I really want to know is where do those adorable little tiles you have the butter on come from?
@Slow Lorus, they are from a little local shop that has pretty home goods and such. I will do a store review for AT, eventually! But I think that you could find such things at lots of pottery shops, or on Etsy.
It must be the art school in me from decades past, the tile is screaming LEAD to me (as in toxic glazes not suitable for food.) I hope it is safe.....
that is an adorable idea!!!!!
I can see butter pads flying off those tiles the second you try to cut into the butter. I think you'd do better with a plate with some kind of lip on it.
@1790_house, yes, I believe they are food-safe.
@greenish, I was actually expecting the same thing - I was quite prepared for it to be another harebrained aesthetic idea that didn't work in practice. But it actually worked perfectly; the butter softens a little and sticks to the plate. And the tiles were so small they didn't take up too much room on the table.
It looks like Mexican talavera, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talavera_(pottery)
Although there are some labeled as food safe. Most are not.
Hmm...it makes it very visible how much butter a guest eats, and might discourage them from helping themselves to as much as they really want. Also, the leftover butter from guests who didn't finish their pats would go to waste.
it's really cute
mini talavera tiles from mexico
http://www.directfrommexico.com/talavera-pottery--tiles.html
That's a cute idea.
I was taught to take the amount you want from the butter dish and place it on your plate, then butter your food from there...not directly from the butter dish.
There are actual little china dishes called "butter pats". Some people collect them as a way of collecting many china patterns.
My grandmother always set a holiday table including an individual bread plate for each person for their dinner roll. Then a pat of butter would be placed on each and an additional butter dish placed on the table in case someone wanted more. You also had a butter knife. This is so East Coast/Blue Blazer but that is my gram.
I think it's a lovely touch and would definitely do this for my family when they get older.
I used to work for an upscale catering company who catered to large parties and weddings. They would make trays of butter pats squirted from an icing tube in elegant swirls. The butter swirls were then frozen so they were easy to slice off the tray and put on the butter plates. By time the guests arrived the butter was softened. Oh the thousands upon thousands of butter swirls I placed on butter plates!